Deputy Director

About the role

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of children and families through child welfare and juvenile justice services and community supports. The Division of Child Protection (DCP) is charged with investigating all allegations of child abuse and maltreatment that the city receives from the New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Assistant Commissioner, the Deputy Director will have overall responsibility for a team of Child Protective and/or Family Support Units. The Deputy Director will be responsible for:

• Directing several Child Protective Managers, each accountable for the activities of several units of Child Protective Specialists
• Ensuring that each unit is sufficiently staffed, properly equipped, and trained and capable of carrying its responsibilities in accordance with applicable law, rules, regulations, and policy
• Overseeing the implementation of agency policy and operational systems within the borough to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of services
• Implementing and monitoring the necessary management controls and being accountable for the evaluation of subordinates
• Taking the necessary steps to improve and ensure the quality of services and carrying out other administrative assignments as required
• Resolving procedural and operational problems within the program
• Designing and overseeing the implementation of creative solutions to case-related problems within the program
• Being responsible for the program reporting process, reviewing, and assessing all the pertinent information used, in the ongoing monitoring and review of the borough’s program
• Developing and implementing initiatives to improve the quality of work and work environment, including quality supervision
• Establishing and maintaining liaison relations with other service providers throughout NYC
• Making decisions under pressure without prior approval of superiors

Requirements

The selected candidate will be offered a salary of $140,106. To be eligible, candidates must meet the minimum qualifications, which include:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of full-time, satisfactory professional social services or related experience in organizations dealing directly with children and/or adolescents
• At least eighteen months of the required experience must be in a supervisor, administrative, managerial or executive capacity

A Master's degree in Social Work may be substituted for one year of the required general experience.

Preferred Skills

The preferred candidate should possess the following:

• Record of proven managerial or supervisory accomplishments in child protection or a closely related human service field
• Master of Social Work degree or master’s degree in a related discipline
• Excellent communications skills
• Ability to deal tactfully and effectively with diverse constituencies at all levels
• Extensive understanding of child welfare issues
• Knowledge of the NY State Connections comprehensive case management system, or other automated child welfare system
• Familiarity working with NYC’s diverse communities
• Bilingual ability to communicate clearly in Spanish or other languages is considered a plus for this position