Social Services Program Manager (Promotional)

YOU MUST BE AN ALAMEDA COUNTY EMPLOYEE TO APPLY FOR THIS RECRUITMENT.

 

THIS IS A NEW PROMOTIONAL ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.  Qualified applicants must be current county employees and have completed the equivalent of six months of continuous service following a regular appointment in the Alameda County classified service.

 

A regular appointment does not include provisional, TAP (Temporary Assignment Pool), or STEP-UP appointments. Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

 

THE AGENCY

The Alameda County Social Services Agency is comprised of 2,400 men and women working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the community. Services are provided through five departments: Agency Administration and Finance, Adult, Aging and Medical Services, Children and Family Services, Workforce and Benefit Administration and Policy Office.

The Agency assists approximately 11.3 percent of Alameda County's residents. Benefits programs contribute over $278 million to the local economy through cash assistance and CalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps). Every month, more than 52,000 people receive CalWORKs (assistance for families with children), CalFresh and General Assistance. Every month health insurance is made available to more than 78,000 people through the Medi-Cal program. More than 11,000 frail, elderly and disabled individuals receive in-home care, adult protection and support managing their affairs monthly and 16,000 seniors will receive services through the Area Agency on Aging throughout the year. Three thousand and seven hundred children are in foster care. More than 1,600 reports of child abuse or neglect are filed with SSA each month. Emergency shelter is made available to 415 people nightly. 

 

THE POSITION

Under general direction, to supervise, plan, staff, organize, and direct the operation of designated social services programs comprised of multiple units within a subdivision of the Social Services Agency; and to perform related work as required.

 IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal Social Services Program Manager has thorough knowledge related to social work principles and laws, and clearly understands the mission, values and role of the Agency including:  its policies, procedures, programs and services; and can effectively communicate this understanding to staff and the community.

Critical attributes for success in the position include:

• Great understanding of local government programs and passion to provide high quality public service. 

• Proficient collaborator skills; adept in identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships to help achieve business goals.

• Ability to identify and understand complex problems and concepts, apply logical thinking and quantitative methods to gathering and analyzing information, make decisions and exercise good judgment based on available data, design solutions to problems and formulate and articulate action plans proactively and collaboratively.

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and oral, and the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences and in a variety of contexts.

• Ability to actively listen and respond effectively in a changing environment; having a commitment to facilitating the implementation and acceptances of change in the workplace.

• Sets high goals for personal and group accomplishment while leading through the Agency’s vision and values; using sound supervision techniques and being a positive role model for change and advancement of the work of the Department and Agency.

• Demonstrates interpersonal sensitivity while providing guidance and leadership in a fast paced, high stress environment.

• Outstanding organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks effectively and work on multiple projects simultaneously.

• Excellent customer service skills and ability to problem solve and resolve conflicts between staff, clients, community agencies and advocacy partners.

• Knowledge and awareness of diverse population SSA serves, the barriers, challenges, and socio-economic factors that clients encounter that adversely affect healthy individual and family well-being.

• Embraces cultural humility and understands how institutional systems, policies, and procedures may contribute to inequitable treatment and disparity in services.  

Either I

The equivalent of four years of full-time experience as a Social Work Supervisor, Supervising Eligibility Technician, or similar first-line supervisory classification in the Social Services Agency (possession of a bachelor’s degree in a social service field may be substituted for two years of the required experience; a master’s degree in a relevant field for three years).

Or II

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience as an Administrative Specialist or equal or higher-level administrative class in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or III

The equivalent of six years of full-time experience at least at the first-line supervisory level in a human/social services agency (possession of a bachelor’s degree in a social service field may be substituted for three years of the required experience; a master’s degree in a relevant field for four years).

License:

Most positions require possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of: 

• Organization, programs and functions of the various departments of the Alameda County Social Services Agency. 
• Federal, State and local laws, codes and regulations pertinent to social services, economic opportunity and employment program. 
• Principles of supervision, training, and evaluation. 
• Community resource development. 
• Social work principles and casework techniques. 
• Psychological, socioeconomic and the other factors that may affect client and family functioning. 
• Client and public relations. 
• Automated system capabilities and applications. 

Abilities: 

• Oral communication. 
• Written communication. 
• Decision making. 
• Analytical and problem solving. 
• Planning and organization. 
• Management control. 
• Leadership. 
• Interpersonal sensitivity. 
• Flexibility. 

Selective Certification Criteria: 

When assigned to a Children’s Protective Services Division, incumbents will be required to possess a master’s degree in Social Welfare (MSW) from an accredited school of social work, which included a supervised field placement providing social casework and counseling services to individuals and families; or possess a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Counseling or Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling (MFCC), based on a two-year program (72 quarter or 56 semester units), which included a supervised field placement as part of the course curriculum; or possess an MFCC license.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2)  An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.  CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website,www.acgov.org/hrs. 

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing: Review of Minimum Qualifications: Panel Interviews:

5:00 pm, Thursday, September 7, 2017 Tuesday, September 26, 2017 Week of October 9, 2017

**The combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance (Employer Credit)
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Group Legal
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Ione Bell,  Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

510-272-6456