Program Specialist III (Community Homeless Concerns Liaison) - CA Nanakuli-Waianae Leeward District

Program Specialist III

Employer: Hawaii State Department of Education

Salary: $5,107.00 - $6,221.00 Monthly

Location: CA Nanakuli-Waianae

Job Type: Temporary, Full-time 12-month

Job Number: 2026-02611P

District / Complex Area: Classified / Leeward / NW

School / Office: Classified / CA Nanakuli-Waianae

Opening Date: 07/16/2026

Max Number of Applicants: 35

Position % 100% Position Number 803903, 803914

This position is located in the Leeward District-Homeless Concerns Office. The function of this office is to ensure that homeless children and youth receive uninterrupted access to education and related services as authorized under the McKinney-Vento Act (MVA). This position will provide assistance to the Complex Area Superintendent in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program operations, services, and activities to ensure compliance with the (MVA). This position also responsible for performing a variety of liaison, coordinative and advisory work including the facilitation of communication between the school, family and community agencies; coordination of services with different community agencies and organizations; and providing technical assistance and training.

Examples of duties are:

1. Assists a higher level specialist in conducting segments of major studies or special projects;
2. Conducts analyses of programs, their operations and activities and makes recommendations of findings to a higher level specialist or program supervisor;
3. Conducts research into changes in State and federal laws, rules and regulations, community concerns, etc.;
4. Interprets and explains new or existing program policies and procedures, rules and regulations, program standards, etc.;
5. Provides information to, and communicates with various committees, other agencies and community groups and organizations concerned with the agency's program;
6. Assists in the development of contracts and grants;
7. Monitors and evaluates program operations and activities to insure program objectives meet State and federal requirements;
8. Develops and implements corrective action plans to address program deficiencies;
9. Develops training programs to implement new or revised program policies, procedures, activities, functions, etc.;
10. Assists a higher level specialist in the preparation of the agency's State plan;
11. Participates in developing legislative proposals and testimonies;
12. May speak before groups to promote or provide information or coordinate program activities and objectives;
13. Assists in the development of budget requests;
14. Provides technical assistance, consultation and interpretation of the program rules and procedures to agency staff, other public, private and community agencies;
15. Develops, recommends and coordinates implementation plans for specific program areas; and
16. Advises and explains program requirements to data processing personnel.

Basic Education Requirement: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a Bachelor's degree.

Experience Requirements: Except for the substitutions provided for in this specification, applicants must have had progressively responsible experience of the kind and quality described in the statements below and in the amounts shown in the following table or any equivalent combination of training and experience:

Class Title - Specialized Experience(Yrs) - Supervisory Experience(Yrs) - TotalExp(Yrs)

Program Specialist III - 1-1/2 - 0 - 1-1/2

Specialized Experience: Progressively responsible professional experience in one or a combination of the following:

1. Progressively responsible professional experience which demonstrated the ability to conduct studies and analyses of programs or projects through active participation in the planning, coordination, development and/or evaluation of programs and/or program activities. The experience must have involved performing professional work concerned with program interrelationships, effectiveness or intra-program integration. It must further have demonstrated a high degree of analytical skill involving the ability to identify information needs, collect and analyze data, and identify problems and alternative solutions and their advantages and disadvantages and develop logical recommendations for a course of action and the ability to read, comprehend and interpret complex material such as State statutes and/or federal regulations and draft comprehensive reports of findings and conclusions.
2. Progressively responsible professional work experience which involved providing assistance and support to individuals and families in need of social services or other related community resources. The professional experience must demonstrate knowledge of the McKinney-Vento Act (MVA) and a high degree of cultural awareness and sensitivity to issues facing homeless children and families.

Selective Certification Experience Requirement: Of the Specialized Experience Requirement, applicants must possess a minimum of one (1) year of experience as described in Specialized Experience Type 2 above. Such experience may have been gained concurrently or separately in meeting the Specialized Experience requirement.

Driver 's License Requirement: Applicant must possess a current, valid driver's license.

Substitutions Allowed: Possession of a Master's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in business administration, public administration, or a field pertinent to the agency's programs may be substituted for one (1) year of the Specialized Experience (Type 1), but not for the Specialized Experience (Type 2).

Quality of Experience: Possession of the required number of years of experience will not in itself be accepted as proof of qualification for a position. The applicant's overall experience must have been of such scope and level of responsibility as to conclusively demonstrate that applicant has the ability to perform the duties of the position for which applicant is being considered.

Equal Opportunity: The Hawaii State Department of Education does not discriminate in its educational policies, programs, and activities on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, and disability in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991. The Department does not discriminate in its employment policies, programs, and activities on the basis of sexual orientation, arrest and court record, and National Guard participation, as well as on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, and disability, in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991, Equal Pay Act of 1963, and Chapter 378, Part I, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Payday: New employees can expect their first paycheck within the first 3 pay periods of their start date. Payday is on the 5th and 20th (or previous business day) of every month.

Benefits: 12-month civil service and SSP employees enjoy a range of competitive benefits including holidays, vacation, sick leave, health insurance, group life insurance, premium conversion plan, flexible spending accounts, retirement plan, tax shelter annuity, deferred compensation, temporary disability insurance, social security, workers' compensation, and union & collective bargaining.