Job Description

The Office of the Ombudsperson Deputy Ombudsperson shall serve under the direction of the Ombudsperson. We are looking for someone who is compassionate, inquisitive and fair-minded with a demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality. Responsibilities of the Deputy Youth Ombudsperson include:

Leading and Planning

• Assisting Youth Ombudsperson with establishment of the Office of Ombudsperson
• Assist with management and supervision of OYO staff;
• Developing protocols, guides, policies to help build and maintain ongoing trainings, support, and professional development for OYO staff
• Assisting with planning, coordination and technical support of other projects as requested by the Ombudsperson.

Monitoring and Data Collection

• Assist Youth Ombudsperson with developing and maintaining a central City database of complaints, incidents and grievances relevant to youth residential placements;
• Analyzing short and long-term data to identify issues that may be affecting quality of service and may require corrective action;
• Monitoring and evaluating City agency action in response to complaints, grievances or incidents.
• Receiving, documenting, and resolving complaints using a variety of conflict resolution strategies;
• Monitoring system performance, analyzing data and preparing written reports;
• Conducting administrative investigations and evaluation of services;

Engaging and Educating

• Working with the Ombudsperson and key stakeholders in Philadelphia’s child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems in the development of recommendations for addressing identified systemic issues;
• Monitoring and respond to queries and complaints that come through the OYO’s email account, website complaint form, phone number/hotline, walk-ins, etc.
• Working with diverse youth, family, and community populations;
• Visiting and inspecting sites to evaluate service quality and youth wellbeing;
• Developing and delivering informative materials and educational programs for youth in residential placements, family members, advocates and other stakeholders;
• Developing and maintaining an independent avenue to receive complaints and grievances;
• Conducting or leading interviews of facility personnel, City employees, youth and others;
• Supporting best practices research and secondary research, theory and practice relevant to youth residential placements.

Communicating Results

• Drafting written reports and recommendations to City agencies and officials to address complaints, adjust policy or procedure and otherwise improve the residential placement process;
• Annually reporting on the work of the OYO;
• Publishing data and informational resources to guide youth, family members and policy-makers;
• Conducting community outreach and appearing in public forums to present the OYO’s work and encourage stakeholder engagement.

Work-Life

Working hours are generally 37.5 hours per week. Our team is currently hybrid with both virtual and in-office days; however, the position can opt to come in the office each day if desired.

Qualifications

• An advanced degree and experience in the field of social work, law, policy, public administration, auditing or investigations.

• At least 5 years of senior management experience.

• Extensive experience and knowledge of the child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health system.

• Demonstrated ability to work at a very senior level in an independent and impartial manner.

• Demonstrated ability to develop and utilize a centralized database

• High level skills in interpreting legislation and policies.

• Substantial experience in the presentation of complex documents and reports

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Investigatory and Analytical Skills

• Monitoring and evaluating City agency action in response to complaints, grievances or incidents.

• Receiving, documenting, and resolving complaints using a variety of conflict resolution strategies;

• Monitoring system performance, analyzing data and preparing written reports;

• Conducting administrative investigations and evaluation of services;

• Identifying and analyzing complex issues of fact and policy;

• The objectives, styles and methods of various types of investigations and reviews;

• Investigative and interviewing methods and techniques;

• Quantitative and qualitative statistical analysis;

• Common office software, such as Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint.

Interpersonal Skills and Core and Cultural Competencies

• The scope, applicability and operational practice of the juvenile justice, child welfare and behavioral health systems in the City of Philadelphia;

• The various agencies and stakeholders with distinct roles in the juvenile justice, child welfare and behavioral health placement processes, including at the City, state and national level;

• Diverse communities and families;

• Be a strong, visionary, and decisive leader;

• Promote and embrace best practices, collaboration, innovation, and transparency;

• Proven ability to lead an organization through a strategic planning and implementation process;

• Be politically astute and able to build trust, complemented by superior interpersonal and communication skills to act as an advocate to initiate discussions and gain support from stakeholders;

• Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully, very outcome focused, steadfastly pushes self and others for results;

• Decisive, able to process facts and circumstances and make quick decisions;

• Relates well to all kinds of people, uses diplomacy and tact, builds constructive relationships;

• Can orchestrate multiple activities at once, uses resources effectively and efficiently;

• Can quickly find common ground and solve problems for the good of all, is a team player and is cooperative, encourages collaboration;

• Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks to simultaneously advance both short-term and long-term projects;

• Sets objectives and goals, measures performance against goals, evaluates results;

• Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems, probes all fruitful sources for answers, can see hidden problems, is excellent at honest analysis;

• Significant discretion and care in handling confidential and sensitive information;

• Strong cultural competency and commitment to racial equity and social justice.

Additional Information

TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.

Salary Range: $77,397 - $116,106

Did you know?

• We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
• 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available

_ *The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire_

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx