Director, Strategy & Research

Job Description

The selected candidate will be offered a salary between $106,117-$122,034. 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. ACS manages community-based supports and foster care services, and provides subsidized child care vouchers. ACS child protection staff respond to allegations of child maltreatment. In juvenile justice, ACS oversees detention, placement and programs for youth in the community. The Division of Child and Family Well-Being (CFWB) at ACS works to ensure families and children have the critical supports they need to thrive and enjoy self-determination. The Division focuses on leveraging concrete resources, stakeholder relationships, and community and family strengths to drive toward greater equity and social justice, reduce disparities and disproportionality - including in the child welfare system - and create conditions that foster well-being for all families across New York City. The Office of Strategy, Research, and Provider Partnerships (SRPP) within the Division of Child and Family Well-Being (CFWB) at ACS oversees strategic, analytical, and data-driven initiatives that support CFWB offices, programs, and policies. The SRPP is comprised of four specialized teams : Family Enrichment Centers Program Management (FEC PM), the FEC Program Sustainability and Improvement (PSI) team, the Child Care Data Management and Systems (DMS) team, and the Strategy and Research (SR) team. This position will sit on the FEC Program Management team and report to the Executive Director of that team. The Research and Strategy team will provide strategic research, project management, and stakeholder engagement support to CFWB program areas for the purpose of creating new, or enhancing pre-existing, business processes, initiatives, and systems. Additionally, the unit will provide research and strategic support for the development and implementation of new programs that support children and families, including the expanding Family Enrichment Center continuum in NYC. The Director of Strategy and Research will report to the Associate Commissioner of SRPP and will carry out various duties, including, but not limited to :

• In close collaboration with the leadership of other CFWB program areas, use an array of strategic research, project management, and stakeholder engagement frameworks to develop new or enhance preexisting programs, business process, policies, or systems.
• Manage a team of at least two, including regular and ongoing strength-based supervision and coaching, professional development, performance assessment, and thought partnership in alignment with a culture of psychological safety, trust, and values of equity, growth, and innovation.
• Oversee and facilitate the use of equity-centered methods to collect and analyze perspectives and data from diverse sources, including from families and community stakeholders that interact with CFWB child care subsidy or FEC programs.
• Implement frameworks and leverage digital platforms to translate qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights, including through the creation of journey maps; interactive dashboards; service blueprints; personas; program or product requirements; communication plans; implementation plans; or policy memos.
• Use digital tools and platforms to project manage, analyze and visualize insights, and manage engagements with stakeholder groups, including, but not limited to, using Airtable, FIGMA, Miro, InDesign, and Google and Microsoft suites of tools.
• Use data analysis and visualization methods and platforms, including Excel, Tableau, and / or PowerBI, to help people and teams better understand data, see and understand problems, create data-driven solutions, and measure results.
• Conduct literature reviews, analyze local, state, and federal policies, and write strategic memos for internal teams, partnering NYC agencies, or external oversight partners.
• Regularly and consistently communicate, collaborate, and plan with CFWB program area teams, including the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships and the Office of Child Care Operations.
• Provide strategic and research support towards the development, implementation, and sustainability of CFWB programs, including the expansion of the continuum of FECs.
• Build strong knowledge in Federal, State, and City policies that shape the environment of CFWB's work, including childcare, City / ACS procurement / contracting, government finance and budgeting, social / human service delivery.
• Plan and facilitate effective communication with internal and external stakeholders regarding CFWB's portfolio of work and intersections between other critical programmatic and policy areas within ACS, other city agencies, and other local and national stakeholders.
• Build and maintain a knowledge management system of innovative research methods, best-practice, and innovative ideas that could advance CFWB's portfolio of work.

ADDITONAL INFO : Section 424-A of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a candidate for employment with child-caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and maltreatment report.

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