Special Assistant, Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Development Team Supervisor & Team Lead

Special Assistant

The Division of State Operations (DSO) has created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Model designed to strengthen the capacity of OPWDD, as it supports the DSO as a service provider to advance and maintain cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) as essential approaches to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion within its system of support and services for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families, and the communities in which they live.

The DSO is looking for a Special Assistant to lead our newly developing State Operations Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Development Team to serve as the Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Development Team Supervisor & Team Lead. This position will report to the Associate Commissioner of State Operations. Additionally, the Special Assistant may also have routine portfolio review meetings with the OPWDD Chief Diversity Officer to review and provide updates on the State Operations DEI projects, as well as other duties which will integrate the State Operations DEI work to the larger agency DEI strategy and team.

Specific duties include, but are not limited to :

• Supervise team members who perform and coordinate these more sensitive and difficult diversity and inclusion, and equal opportunity training activities.
• Plan work schedules, projects, and reviews; assign and train staff.
• Interview, select, develop, nurture, cultivate DSO Champion Trainers (of all three types of trainings) for the field.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of the DSO DEI Training Plan to meet the DEI needs within the DSO.
• Oversee coordination, tracking, and implementation of DSO DEI trainings statewide.
• Evaluate staff performance; determine training needs; and advise about performance standards and how to meet them; Review work activities and reports; assist staff in resolving problems.
• Interpret laws, rules, regulations, and policies for staff and ensure that staff complies with them.
• Conduct and deliver specialized and expert DEI related trainings within State Operations.
• Oversee DEI Champions Training staff who are volunteers in the "field" DEI Champions trainers to ensure staff competency and provide feedback for their development ensuring the quality of the training meets the standards and expectations and / or fidelity of that training program.
• Regularly attend OPWDD Agency DEI Office meetings and trainings.
• Provide regular portfolio updates to the OPWDD DEI Officer; Integration of OPWDD Agency DEI information and resources and DSO DEI within the training staff as needed.
• Travel to various Developmental Disability State Operations Offices and state operated programs to observe the DEI Trainings being delivered and evaluate its effectiveness in meeting the training goals.
• Lead SO Statewide Implementation of Train-the-Trainer initiatives through coordination of DSO DEI training related events statewide.
• Standardize workflow processes for DSO DEI training staff across the state.
• Lead an interdisciplinary Community of Practice (CoP) meeting for trainers and ensure best practices are implemented consistently statewide.
• Directly supervise at least one Equal Opportunity Specialist 2s (G-23s), who will be a master Train-the-Trainer staff and lead the coordination efforts statewide.
• Design, create and analyze DEI related reports, surveys and data collection that can inform the impact of DEI Champions training and supports to the field.
• Design surveys to elicit information about the quality, impact and effectiveness of DSO DEI efforts and initiatives.
• Be an active member of the DSO DEI Committee, providing updates to the committee members and working on special DSO DEI training projects that may arise through that active committee participation.

Preferred Qualifications :

Nine years of experience participating in the development, implementation, and / or administration of programs related to diversity, equity, or inclusion of protected class members, or in the service delivery to individuals with developmental and / or intellectual disabilities. Two years of this experience must have been at a supervisory level.

Substitutions : An associates degree may substitute for 2 years of non-supervisory experience, a bachelors degree may substitute for 4 years of non-supervisory experience, or a masters degree may substitute for 5 years of non-supervisory experience.

Preferred candidate will have experience implementing DEI related training initiatives statewide, experience with abuse prevention initiatives and professional boundaries, and experience training both direct care and clinical staff. Preferred candidate will have a clinical license in a mental health field such as social work, psychology, or mental health counseling.

Location :

Preferred Location : OD Heck - 500 Balltown Rd Schenectady NY 12304

Alternate Location option : 44 Holland Avenue, Albany NY

Telecommuting to be discussed at interview.