Description
Are you passionate about protecting client rights and ensuring every voice is heard within a complex behavioral health system?
San Mateo County Health's
Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) division
is seeking a thoughtful and detail-oriented
Grievances Coordinator II (Quality & Special Projects) to lead the grievance and appeals process for individuals receiving behavioral health services. This role is critical in protecting client rights, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and strengthening trust between clients, families, providers, and the County.
The Role
The Grievance Coordinator II manages the full lifecycle of complaints and appeals, including intake, documentation, review, communication, and resolution within mandated timelines. The role requires direct engagement with clients, families, and providers to gather information, conduct impartial reviews, and draft clear, compliant determinations.
This position also supports system improvement efforts by tracking trends, preparing reports, and collaborating with internal teams, providers, and oversight entities. In addition, the Coordinator will assist with special projects related to program quality improvement, peer support data tracking, and community education initiatives such as the Lived Experience Academy.
There is currently one vacancy. This position is based in San Mateo and requires travel throughout the County as needed. This full-time position follows a Monday-Friday schedule and may offer a hybrid arrangement, with a combination of remote and on-site work. It is anticipated that four on-site workdays will be required to align with operational needs and County requirements.
Key Responsibilities
- Administer and oversee the grievance and appeals process in compliance with state and federal regulations.
- Ensure timely response, documentation, and resolution of complaints within mandated timeframes.
- Conduct interviews and gather information from clients, families, staff, and providers.
- Draft clear, accurate written determinations and resolution letters.
- Maintain tracking systems and logs to support compliance, reporting, and audit readiness.
- Prepare reports and presentations for leadership, partners, and regulatory agencies.
- Identify trends and recommend improvements to reduce barriers and enhance the grievance process.
- Serve as a resource on client rights and grievance procedures.
- Collaborate across BHRS programs to track outcomes and support peer services data and reporting efforts.
Why This Role Matters
The Grievance Coordinator ensures that individuals receiving services-adults, youth, and families-have a respectful and effective pathway to raise concerns. This role promotes fairness, transparency, and accountability while driving improvements in service quality.
Grievances often highlight opportunities for system and policy improvements. Through thoughtful engagement and, when applicable, lived experience, this role helps foster meaningful, compassionate resolutions that strengthen relationships between clients and providers.
What You'll Find Rewarding
- Supporting individuals and families in being heard and achieving meaningful resolutions
- Strengthening relationships between clients and providers
- Identifying system improvements that enhance care for the broader community
What to Expect in This Role
- Navigating situations where immediate resolution is not possible due to policy or system constraints
- Supporting individuals who may feel frustrated or unheard
- Managing sensitive situations with both clients and providers, requiring patience, tact, and professionalism
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a patient, equity-minded professional who understands client rights, regulatory requirements, and the importance of timely, fair resolution within a behavioral health system. They bring strong interpersonal skills, cultural humility, and the ability to navigate complex government processes with clarity and compassion.
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Experience coordinating or resolving grievances, complaints, or appeals in a healthcare, behavioral health, or public-sector setting.
- Knowledge of client rights and applicable state and federal regulations.
- Ability to manage deadlines and ensure compliance with required timelines.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including experience engaging individuals experiencing serious mental illness or emotional distress.
- Experience drafting clear, accurate written findings and resolutions.
- Ability to track, analyze, and report data using tools such as Excel, SharePoint, and Power BI (or similar).
- Experience preparing reports or materials for audits, leadership, or regulatory review.
- Comfort working within government systems and collaborating across departments and partners.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
- Commitment to reducing barriers and promoting equitable access to services.
- Lived experience with behavioral health services or demonstrated ability to engage authentically with diverse populations.
- Spanish fluency (reading, writing and speaking) is preferred but not required.
NOTE : The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.
Examples Of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Lead and coordinate the intake, review, and resolution of client complaints, grievances, and inquiries, including those of a sensitive or complex nature.
- Serve as a liaison between clients, families, providers, County staff, and community partners to support issue resolution and effective communication.
- Conduct interviews, gather and analyze relevant information, and determine appropriate approaches to address client concerns and service needs.
- Maintain accurate program records, logs, and tracking systems; prepare reports, correspondence, and audit-ready documentation.
- Monitor trends, identify areas for improvement, and support enhancements to policies, procedures, and service delivery systems.
- Provide technical and administrative support to management, staff, and partner agencies; follow up on action items and coordinate communication across stakeholders.
- Plan, organize, and coordinate program activities, meetings, and events, including community engagement and outreach efforts.
- Support the development and maintenance of tools and systems used for tracking, reporting, and evaluating program performance.
- Assist in preparing and updating materials such as reports, manuals, web content, and educational or outreach materials.
- Collaborate with internal departments and contracted providers to improve processes, track outcomes, and support program initiatives.
- Promote effective customer service practices that enhance client experience, program performance, and public trust.
- Perform related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education and Experience :
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:
- Program Coordinator II: Bachelor's degree in public or business administration, management or a related field and four years of professional level analytical and administrative experience in a community-related setting.
Knowledge of:
- Principles and practices of program area/option to which assigned.
- Principles and practices of effective customer/client relations.
- Principles and practices of working with and managing volunteers, if assigned to volunteer coordination.
- Technical procedures and requirements of program area/option to which assigned.
- Applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations and County and program policies and guidelines governing program area/option to which assigned.
- Principles, practices and techniques of administrative and programmatic research and analysis.
- Computer applications related to the work.
- Office administrative practices and procedures, including records management and the operation of standard office equipment.
Skill/Ability to :
- Analyze, interpret and apply various regulations and requirements.
- Plan, coordinate and implement administrative and programmatic research and analysis.
- Train staff in work procedures and provide technical and programmatic assistance to staff and subcontractors.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with grantors, subcontractors, County staff, elected and appointed officials, the public and others.
- Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
- Compile, analyze and interpret data using research techniques; draw sound conclusions and prepare and present effective reports regarding findings and recommendations.
- Exercise sound independent judgment within general policy and regulatory guidelines.
- Prepare clear and accurate reports, correspondence, procedures and other written materials.
- Organize and prioritize work and meet critical deadlines.
- Maintain accurate records and files.
- Interact with a wide variety of people.
- Listen sensitively and accurately, exercise tact, patience and diplomacy.
- Develop, coordinate, and implement plans, programs and events.
- Utilize the appropriate interpersonal style and methods of communication to gain acceptance, cooperation, or agreement of a plan, activity, and/or program idea.
- Make public presentations and prepare articles for publication such as press releases and articles related to events of assigned program.
- Prepare narrative and statistical reports.
Application/Examination
Open & Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.
The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in the County of San Mateo, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.
IMPORTANT :
Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the
"Apply" button above or below. If you are not on the County's website, please go to
https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT TIMELINE
Final Filing Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 11:59PM PST
Application Screening: Week of April 21, 2026
Panel Interviews: Week of May 12, 2026
About the County
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.
The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity in order to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.
The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer. We seek to hire, support and retain employees who reflect our diverse community.
We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.
Talent Acquisition Contact: Priscilla Bermudez (040626) (Program Coordinator II - G244)
