Strategic Practice Director

Strategic Practice Director

Begin a fulfilling career with the State of Indiana by joining one of the largest employers in the state, offering a range of opportunities across 60+ agencies. At the state, you'll find competitive compensation, a robust benefits package and a commitment to work-life balance. Most importantly, you'll have the chance to make a real and measurable impact on the lives of Hoosiers across Indiana.

About the Department of Child Services (DCS) : Join a group of passionate, dedicated public servants to support one of Indiana's most critical missions!

The Department of Child Services helps children who are victims of abuse or neglect and strengthens families through services that focus on family support and preservation. We pursue permanency for children and families through reunification, guardianship, and adoption. Our services also encompass foster care, child support, and transitional support for those adjusting to adulthood. Our culture is built upon our MVP foundation :

Mission : Champion Indiana's future by protecting children and strengthening families with compassion and determination.

Vision : Every child in Indiana thrives in a safe, loving, forever home.

Purpose : Ignite hope. Cultivate joy.

Role Overview : The Strategic Practice Director oversees the Practice Model team who is responsible for ensuring fidelity to the Practice Model and embedding the model into daily practice. You will be a subject matter expert in practice and a transformational leader who helps build a child welfare environment that fosters a culture of safety, transparency, empathy, and continuous improvement. You will partner with internal and external customers to account for safety, stability, permanency, and well-being for children and families. You will participate in, and often lead, agency-wide initiatives.

The Strategic Practice Director champions DCS's mission, vision, and purpose (MVP) at all levels across the agency. You will guide Practice Model Consultants on improvement projects across the state, partnering on strategic initiatives that elevate family engagement, refining service delivery, and driving outcomes aligned with agency goals and federal guidelines.

Salary : The salary for this position traditionally starts at $67,314 but may be commensurate with education or work experience.

Use our Compensation Calculator to view the total compensation package.

A Day in the Life :

The essential functions of this role are :

• Establish, monitor, and implement long-range objectives and specifying the strategies, KPIs, and actions to achieve them.
• Analyze operations to evaluate performance of the specific program or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
• Interpret and explain in-depth and complex policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals.
• Develop and implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
• Prepare and present reports for approval, including those for funding or implementation of services to executive leadership.
• Develop and oversee program financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
• Develop and monitor program requirements to ensure it meets federal and state policies and grants compliance.
• Develop and supervise training of employees and consultants on program requirements and usage.
• Develop, coordinator, and deliver communication plans and communications.
• Preside over, or serve on, boards of directors, management committees, or other governing boards.
• Recruit, select, onboard, and train employees to ensure role responsibilities and expectations are clearly understood while providing opportunities to continue professional development.
• Set expectations, measure progress, provide ongoing feedback, and evaluate the performance of employees. Ensure work adheres to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures.

The job profile is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

This position is exempt from overtime compensation for additional work hours that may be required to complete essential functions or other assigned work. Exempt employees may work more than 75 hours in a pay period without additional compensation and must report a minimum of 75 hours per pay period of work hours and / or paid leave taken to receive their base biweekly salary.

What You'll Need for Success :

Credentials :

Additional qualifications :

Supervisory Responsibilities / Direct Reports :

This role may serve as a team lead for an assigned work group.

Benefits of Employment with the State of Indiana :

Equal Employment Opportunity : The State of Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to recruiting, selecting, developing, and promoting employees based on individual ability and job performance. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable individuals with disabilities to complete the application and interview process as well as perform the essential functions of a role. If you require reasonable accommodations to complete this application, you can request assistance by contacting the Indiana State Personnel Department at jobs@spd.IN.gov.