Katherine Howard
Kuna,ID
Summary
Meticulous and knowledgeable Legal Administrative Specialist with strong background supporting veterans and management. Highly-motivated employee with desire to take on new challenges. Strong work ethic, adaptability, and exceptional interpersonal skills. Adept at working effectively unsupervised and quickly mastering new skills. value to any organization in need of great collaboration, interpersonal and multitasking abilities. Meets tight deadlines.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Legal Administrative Specialist
Veterans Benefits Administration
Boise, ID
08.2023 - Current
- Provided personalized service tailored to each individual veterans needs.
- Provided claim updates to Congressional staff on a variety of complex issues.
- Tracked progress of congressional claims through emails, veterans claim folders and excel.
- Responded promptly to inquiries from congressional offices relating to veterans claims.
- Maintained professionality and efficiency while working closely with leadership.
- Provided referrals to appropriate resources when needed.
- Responded promptly to inquiries from veterans regarding their rights under federal law or department policy.
- Provided assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits from the VA.
- Researched Veteran Administration regulations, policies and procedures related to benefit eligibility requirements.
- Participated in community events that promote awareness of veteran's issues and concerns.
- Documented all contacts with veterans in an organized manner within multiple agency database systems.
- Assessed individual needs of veterans based on interviews and assessments of their needs.
- Acted as role model for clients by exhibiting positive behaviors.
- Served as a resource for family members seeking additional information about available services for veterans.
- Used active listening skills and supportive diction to cultivate client rapport and open communication.
- Managed office scheduling and kept accurate notes on deadlines, motions, and other dates.
- Coordinated correspondence between veterans service officers for active cases and other matters.
- Assisted in maintaining veterans claims and files with utmost confidentiality.
- Pleasantly welcomed visitors, answered phone calls, and maintained clean organized interview room.
- Coordinated multiple schedules using online calendaring system.
Veterans Service Representative
Veterans Benefits Administration
Boise, ID
02.2022 - 08.2023
- Comprehensive knowledge of VA benefits to include the claims & appeals process, provided extensive details of rating decisions to include all available information in systems.
- Reviewed claim folders for completeness and conformity to guidelines prior to submission.
- Provided detailed correspondence to veterans, dependents and beneficiaries of all their benefits.
- Maintained the highest standards and production with exceeding quality score.
- Reviewed claim for errors, overdevelopment and other problems within system updating with current and most accurate information.
- Assisted veterans in preparing forms, documents and applications for benefits.
- Checked documentation for appropriate coding, catching errors and making revisions.
- Expedited high priority claims for terminally ill veterans processing within one day as a team.
- Provided feedback to management on areas where improvements could be made.
- Participated in quality assurance reviews by providing feedback on processes and procedures.
- Collaborated with colleagues across multiple departments to resolve problems quickly.
- Updated veterans accounts with any changes in status or contact information.
- Analyzed denied or rejected claims for errors and resubmitted them as needed.
- Investigated, researched, and resolved discrepancies in claim documentation.
- Organized information by using spreadsheets, databases or word processing applications.
- Reviewed and processed claims for accuracy prior to submission.
- Collaborated with fellow team members to manage large volume of claims.
Employee Benefits Manager
Veterans Health Administration VHA
Boise, ID
08.2020 - 02.2022
- Developed and implemented employee benefits program to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Conducted employee surveys to determine interest in potential benefit programs and evaluated results for implementation.
- Ensured compliance with HIPAA privacy rules by developing procedures for handling confidential medical information.
- Delegated work to staff, setting priorities and goals.
- Maintained records on all participants in company's benefit plans including enrollments, terminations, changes due to qualifying events.
- Coordinated open enrollment activities such as information meetings, distribution of materials, data entry into HRIS system.
- Analyzed employment-related data and prepared reports.
- Led classes for new and existing employees to outline benefits choices.
- Monitored the effectiveness of existing health care, disability, retirement, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, vacation and leave policies and other related programs.
- Created personnel forecasts to project employment needs.
- Developed procedures for administering leave of absence requests ensuring compliance with state and federal laws.
- Responded to inquiries from employees regarding eligibility criteria for benefits coverage or claim status information.
- Provided education on various aspects of employee benefits programs through one-on-one counseling sessions or group presentations.
- Evaluated employees needs and proposed specific benefits options.
- Processed change forms submitted by employees requesting modifications to their benefits elections according to policy guidelines.
- Worked successfully with diverse group of coworkers to accomplish goals and address issues related to our products and services.
- Provided excellent service and attention to customers when face-to-face or through phone conversations.
- Planned and completed group projects, working smoothly with others.
- Completed day-to-day duties accurately and efficiently.
- Promoted high customer satisfaction by resolving problems with knowledgeable and friendly service.
- Recognized by management for providing exceptional customer service.
- Displayed strong telephone etiquette, effectively handling difficult calls.
- Interviewed team leaders and recommended new strategies for motivating team members to boost productivity.
- Documented company organization in multimedia presentations to explain organizational structure.
Human Resourses Specialist
United States Air Force Reserve
Albuquerque, NM
10.2005 - 11.2011
- Assisted in employee recruitment, hiring and interview processes.
- Answered employee questions during entrance and exit interview processes.
- Helped with employee transfers and referrals.
- Facilitated dispute resolution between employees or between employees and management.
- Conducted employee performance reviews and implemented corrective actions to increase productivity.
- Handled employee conflicts efficiently while following all company procedures.
- Coordinated training sessions for employees on topics such as safety, sexual harassment prevention.
- Processed new hire paperwork and conducted onboarding orientations.
- Conducted exit interviews to determine reasons for employee departures.
- Analyzed employment-related data and prepared reports.
- Conferred with management to develop or implement personnel policies or procedures.
- Performed payroll functions including calculating hours worked and overtime pay rates.
- Created presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint to educate staff members about HR topics.
- Acted as a liaison between employees and upper-level management when needed.
- Completed reports and employment forms.
- Gathered and distributed content management system training materials to users.
- Organized and managed the production of high-quality, engaging digital content for web, mobile, and social media platforms.
- Kept documents moving in proper flow by applying strong organizational, planning and multitasking abilities.
- Identified process gaps, determined solutions and implemented updates to drive efficiency improvements.
- Destroyed obsolete and outdated records using company-mandated procedures.
- Developed and implemented content management strategies to ensure smooth operations across multiple departments.
- Filled out and stored transmittal logs for permanent records.
- Set up documents for individual projects based on specifications.
- Uploaded documents to control sites, tracked transmittals and coordinated revisions.
- Filed accurate weekly, monthly, quarterly regulatory paperwork and maintained organization to support smooth audit processes.
- Administered document access and revision rights to personnel to maintain documentation integrity.
- Developed electronic, CD and hardcopy data books.
- Provided guidance to managers on disciplinary action and performance management.
- Onboarded technology to make remote work scalable for company.
- Scheduled or conducted new employee orientations.
- Organized recruitment events such as career fairs and open houses.
Skills
- Contract Administration
- Electronic Filing Systems
- Office Administration
- Calendar Management
- Legal Document Preparation
- Recruiting
- Training Development
- Customer Relations
- Administer Training Modules
- Compensation and Benefits
- Event Planning
- Employee Onboarding
Timeline
Legal Administrative Specialist
Veterans Benefits Administration
08.2023 - Current
Veterans Service Representative
Veterans Benefits Administration
02.2022 - 08.2023
Employee Benefits Manager
Veterans Health Administration VHA
08.2020 - 02.2022
Human Resourses Specialist
United States Air Force Reserve
10.2005 - 11.2011
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