The Cemeteries Coordinator is responsible for conducting and scheduling services and administrative functions at the Massachusetts Veteran's Memorial Cemeteries, assisting family members with obtaining the necessary documentation for interment, provide information on the types of interment services available and complete chain of custody forms and ensure all records are completed and properly safeguarded in accordance with state and federal laws. This role will have a significant role in conducting and ensuring chapel services are held with the utmost respect and reverence. The Cemeteries Coordinator may spend equal time at the MVMC in both Agawam and in Winchendon to ensure proper office/administrative coverage.
Duties and Responsibilities: - Coordinate and conduct chapel services in a formal and professional manner.
- Assist in maintaining and inputting physical and digital records into cemetery, statewide, and VA databases.
- Perform daily office tasks/duties, including but not limited to: organizing, cleaning, and restocking the office, chapel, public areas, and office supplies as directed; answer phones and respond and follow up to inquiries; assist the public needing assistance in the office; and complete any other relevant tasks as directed by office staff.
- Send, create, and receive correspondence to funeral homes, families, state agencies, banks, and local officials, including but not limited to: sending How to Prepare packets to families, processing deposit receipts returned by mail, filing returned surveys with the Manager, sorting mail addressed to various staff, receiving and scanning all invoices to the Procurement Specialist, and following up with any returned mail (e.g., returned postcards).
- Start, follow up on, input, and complete all paperwork for committal services, including but not limited to: preparation of documents, coordination with families and funeral homes, VA plot allowances and forms, collecting and inputting all relevant military and civilian documents needed for burial, and any other paperwork needed to schedule the service.
- Create casket tags, cemetery envelopes, cheat sheets for services, temporary markers, etc., to be reviewed by management before dissemination.
- Review and respond to suggestion box comments and surveys.
- Perform related duties such as attending meetings and conferences, maintaining records, and preparing reports.
- Provide training and orientation to other staff, new hires, and contractors.
- Provide administrative and chapel services at both MVMC Winchendon and Agawam as needed, with up to 40% travel depending on operational needs.
- Act as liaison and primary contact between the Executive Office of Veterans Services and the veterans and their families.
- Ensure that all services at the cemetery are conducted with the highest levels of integrity, aligning with the department's mission to provide eligible Massachusetts veterans and their dependents with the benefits they have earned.
- All other duties as assigned.
Preferred Qualifications: - Knowledge of the methods of general report writing.
- Ability to understand, explain, and apply the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, etc., governing assigned unit activities.
- Knowledge of work simplification methods.
- Ability to understand, explain and apply the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, etc. governing assigned unit activities.
- Ability to analyze and determine the applicability of data, to draw conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations.
- Ability to gather information by examining records and documents and by questioning individuals
- Ability to assemble items of information in accordance with established procedures, including determining the proper format and procedure.
- Ability to maintain accurate records.
- Ability to prepare general reports.
- Ability to write concisely to express thoughts clearly and to develop ideas in a logical sequence.
- Ability to give written and oral instructions in a precise understandable manner.
- Ability to communicate effectively in oral expression.
- Ability to establish rapport with others.
- Ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others
- Ability to adjust to changing situations to meet emergency or changing program requirements.
- Ability to exercise sound judgement.
- Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
- Ability to supervise, including planning and assigning work according to the nature of the job to be accomplished.
- Knowledge of the principles and practices and techniques of supervision.
Qualifications acquired on the Job: - Knowledge and the ability to use the BOSS System.
- Knowledge and the ability to use the ON BASE data base software.
- Knowledge of the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, instructions, specifications, standards, and guidelines of the Department; the ability to analyze and determine the applicability of data, to draw conclusions, and to make appropriate recommendations.
- Knowledge of the national state Cemetery System policy guidelines and handbooks governing eligibility, interment/disinterment and utilization of standardized gravesites within state Veterans' Memorial Cemeteries
- Knowledge of a wide range of military documents from each branch of service and the differences between documents of different eras.
- Ability to understand, explain and apply the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, instructions, specifications, standards, and guidelines of the Department; to analyze and determine the applicability of data, to draw conclusions, and to make appropriate recommendations.
- Knowledge of the proper telephone procedures for making and receiving agency calls.
- Knowledge of the organizational structure and functions of the assigned agency.
- Knowledge of the types and uses of agency forms.
About the Executive Office of Veterans Services: On March 1, 2023, Governor Maura T. Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kimberley Driscoll established the Executive Office of Veterans Services. The office oversees programs and services for Massachusetts veterans, including Chapter 115 benefits for eligible veterans. It also manages the state's two Veterans Homes in Holyoke and Chelsea and the Memorial Cemeteries in Agawam and Winchendon.
Qualifications:First consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 days.MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must have at least (A) three years of full time, or equivalent part-time, professional, administrative or managerial experience in business administration, business management or public administration the major duties of which involved program management, program administration, program coordination, program planning and/or program analysis, or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.Substitutions:I. A Bachelor's degree with a major in business administration, business management or public administration may be substituted for a maximum of two years of the-required experience.*II. A Graduate degree with a major in business administration, business management or public administration may be substituted for the required experience.*III. A Bachelor's or higher degree with a major other than in business administration, business management or public administration may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required experience.**Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.Comprehensive Benefits When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future. Want the specifics? Explore our Employee Benefits and Rewards! An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. The Commonwealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role.
Pre-Offer Process: For BU and MI-MIV A criminal background check will be completed on the recommended candidate as required by the regulations set forth by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services prior to the candidate being hired. For more information, please visit Education, licensure and certifications will be verified in accordance with the Human Resources Division's Hiring Guidelines. Education and license/certification information provided by the selected candidate(s) is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law and may be published on the Commonwealth's website. If you require assistance with the application/interview process and would like to request an ADA accommodation, please click on the link and complete the Reasonable Accommodation Online Request Form