About Job
Exempt; full-time; 40 hours per week; Monday - Friday; varied schedule with typical work hours between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; full benefits
Frederick County Government is seeking a purpose-driven, people-focused, professional to serve as the County’s new Division Director, Family Services. We seek to identify an innovative leader that is prepared to develop and cast a transformative vision for Family Services and thoroughly equip Division staff in their roles to assess and meet the needs of children and families in Frederick County.
This professional, administrative position directs all aspects of the Frederick County Division of Family Services (DFS), comprised of the Administration, Family Partnership and the Child Advocacy Center. This position will serve in a critical leadership role in the event of an emergency that requires the establishment of an emergency shelter or Family Assistance Center. Supervision is given to the Deputy Director, department heads with varied areas of specialized expertise, as well as to DFS administrative and support staff; supervision is received from the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. This position serves at the pleasure of the County Executive.
For best consideration, submit your application by 4:00 p.m. Friday, June 27th.
NOTE: The upper pay range reflects possible wage rates for internal County transfers and promotions, which are calculated per County policy. For external hires, offers are made at the base wage rate, with limited exception.
Frederick County Government values the principles of diversity and inclusion, and strives to ensure equal opportunities for its workforce, applicants and community members. If you are a person who wants to make a difference, give back to your community, and be a voice for change, apply to Frederick County Government today.
TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE:
Frederick County offers an extensive compensation package to reflect how highly we value our employees. The following is what you can expect in your first year as a full-time benefited Frederick County Government employee.
- 11 days of Vacation leave with increase after 2 years of employment
- 15 days of Sick leave with unlimited annual carryover
- 11 paid holidays, plus 2 additional floating holidays
- Day 1 coverage of comprehensive Medical Insurance Plan options to include generous County Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution (if enrolled in the high-deductible plan). This is part of a full range of benefits including Dental, Vision, and Flexible Spending
- 100% County paid 2x annual salary Group Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit
- County and Employee funded Defined Benefit Pension Plan
- Vesting after 5 years of service
- Additional service credit for eligible previous public service, military service, etc.
- Work/Life balance programs include: Employee Assistance Program and Employee Wellness Program
- Generous Tuition Reimbursement Program
- Other employee-paid benefits such as Deferred Compensation Plan, Legal Resources, Supplemental Life Insurance, Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Lifetime Benefit with Long Term Care plan.
- Coming in 2025: Employee Health Center with no or low-cost primary and urgent care
For more information, visit our page on the Frederick County Government .
- Manage the daily operations of the Division of Family Services (DFS)
- Convene formal and informal discussions and efforts with senior human services executives within Frederick County to discuss emerging trends, collaborations, partnerships and gaps for families in the community
- Develop a plan to brand the DFS to include mission and vision identification, marketing, and other public facing efforts to increase visibility within the community
- Develop, execute, and modify the Division’s Strategic Plan and set the overall direction for Family Services through prioritizing projects; provide long and short-range goals and plans for program departments
- Oversee all facets of staff hiring, evaluation process, supervision, and management; evaluate and monitor staffing requirements and personnel needs; oversee professional development and training for staff
- Evaluate Division operations to identify opportunities for process improvements such as quality assurance and innovations
- Evaluate programs and services to ensure continuous improvement in meeting needs of children and families
- Monitor Division programs for compliance with applicable federal, state, local laws, regulations and policies
- Develop and render decisions to improve Division’s policies, procedures or practices; analyze Division and system-wide service delivery and implement decisions that improve service
- Promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging practices within the Division of Family Services; confer with the Chief Equity and Inclusion Office to identify and execute strategies to ensure that all programs are designed and delivered using equitable practices; communicate values and expectations to management staff through policy creation, practice, and guidance; identify mechanism to monitor and evaluate efforts
- Using an outcomes-based budgeting approach guide, oversee the development and monitoring of the Operating and Capital Budgets for each DFS department, present to the County Executive and the County Council
- Coordinate human services programs between DFS departments to improve synergies, facilitate cost efficiency, and to broaden, integrate and maintain compatibility of services available to Frederick County residents
- Ensure that division and programmatic policies incorporate procedures, practices and policies that are underscored by cultural competence and achieve equitable outcomes for families engaging in division services
- Oversee research and maintenance of information on funding sources; advise the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of grant programs available to Frederick County Government; serve as a liaison between Frederick County Government and funding sources
- Confer with and provide technical assistance to deputy director, department heads, advisory boards and the public
- Direct the implementation of studies, identification of human service needs, development of plans to fill gaps in service and promote an efficient and effective human service delivery system
- Serve as Shelter Officer; coordinate assistance to individuals and families affected by a disaster, maintain emergency operations documents and annexes, regularly convene planning and review meetings, coordinate training and exercise opportunities, and keep partner agencies engaged and informed regarding shelter and mass care preparations.
- Design, create and implement new services, methods of delivery or modify existing programs or services to enhance human service delivery
- Ensure that DFS departments are coordinated collaboratively in their work and with other County divisions and departments
- Travel to on-site meetings and trainings across the State of Maryland as needed to participate in trainings, meetings, conferences, special events, etc.
- Represent the County at meetings with federal, state and local governments, funders and foundations and with non-profit agencies in the state, region or county
- Speak to community groups and at Division functions
- Perform other related duties as required
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Any single position may not be assigned all duties listed below, nor do the examples cover all duties that may be assigned.
The qualifications / requirements, knowledge/skills/abilities and physical demands or working conditions described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Education, Psychology, Social Work, Human Services, Public Administration, or a related field
- Minimum 10 years of human services management work experience that must include the following (experience items may be concurrent):
- Minimum 5 years work experience in the management of grant programs
- Minimum 5 years work experience in the management of child and family programs
- Minimum 3 years supervisory work experience
- Minimum 3 years budget preparation and fiscal work experience
- Intermediate skills in MS Office Suite
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Extensive knowledge of programs and services for child, youth and families including best practices, emerging trends and methods to address challenges
- Extensive knowledge of applicable grant programs, grant writing, program planning, strategic planning, budget and program management
- Extensive knowledge of management practices and procedures, including those related to planning, budgeting, personnel, purchasing and acquisitions, contracts and capital improvement expenditures, and general administration
- Extensive knowledge of local community resources related to programs services for children, youth, families, adults with developmental disabilities, and residents who are disadvantaged and/or vulnerable
- Knowledge of federal, state and local funding sources as they relate to delivery of County services
- Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration as applied to local government
- Understanding of emergency response operations/activities, with the ability to coordinate resources, manage activities, and facilitate regular staff and community partner training sessions
- Ability to effectively access and utilize Microsoft Office Suite, e-mail, spreadsheet and other systems and equipment, and to learn new software as it is required
- Ability to effectively manage and coordinate varied departments within a division
- Ability to effectively organize work, determine priorities, including the ability to make decisions and complete assigned duties with minimal supervision
- Ability to effectively supervise and evaluate the performance of assigned division leadership and other staff
- Ability to work collaboratively as a leader, bringing multiple players into the conversation and achieving consensus
- Ability to effectively implement, monitor and comply with Federal and State regulations governing grant programs
- Ability to effectively organize and manage Division functions including budget and grant preparation and management, personnel selection, training and evaluation, preparation and maintenance of statistical data and reports, etc.
- Discretion and good judgment while working with sensitive and personal information with ability to maintain appropriate confidentiality
- Strong and effective spoken and written (English) communication skills, including the ability to effectively prepare and present complex fiscal and program information for written submission and/or spoken presentation
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with elected officials and other agency directors, human service professionals, program administrators, co-workers and persons from all socio-economic situations
PREFERENCE MAY BE GIVEN FOR:
- A related Master's degree
- Additional 2 years budget preparation and fiscal work experience
- Leadership experience in a human services government agency
- Experience leading organizational development
- Leadership experience in one or more of the following:
- Oversight of a human services system focused largely on vulnerable populations
- Building coalitions of senior executives to address needs for children, youth and families
- Experience coordinating community emergency response activities and resources
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS:
- While working in this position, the employee is frequently sitting and performing repetitive motions; occasionally walking
- While working in this position, the employee is constantly working indoors
- Ability to provide own transportation to other locations, as needed
- Available for varied working days and hours, as needed
EXAMINATION PROCESS (may include):
An evaluation of training and experience
One or more interviews
Compensation details: 116805-204409 Yearly Salary
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Professional Field

