NOTE: POSITION IS ONLY OPEN TO CURRENT DOE EMPLOYEES.
POSITION SUMMARY: The Mayor and the Chancellor are committed to providing high-quality full-day Pre-K for all 4-year-olds in New York City. Research demonstrates that quality Pre-K contributes to student achievement and is associated with other long-term benefits. Every student in NYC deserves access to the variety of teaching approaches and strong foundation of skills and knowledge that high-quality Pre-K provides.
The Senior Director of Mental Health Consultation will oversee the birth to age 8 mental health and wellness strategies. Included in these strategies is the management of internal and external partnerships that play a part in the development of social-emotional development, trauma-informed care, and other areas related to mental health consultation in early childhood programs. This position will implement strategic initiatives and program policies for social workers for the Division of Early Childhood Education while leveraging best practices across the team. Performs related work.
REPORTS TO: Senior Executive Director of Mental Health and Wellness, Division of Early Childhood Learning
DIRECT REPORTS: Associate Director of Social Work Programs, Mental Health Consultation Manager, Mental Health Consultation Coordinator
KEY RELATIONSHIPS: DECE Teaching and Learning team, DECE Program Operations and Monitoring teams DECE Borough Offices, Special Education Office, DECE Family Empowerment, Partnerships and Communication Team, and various offices/divisions within the DOE, including external stakeholders.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Policy and Strategy
- Conducts early childhood education and organization research and policy analysis to inform DECE policy.
- Makes recommendations to the Senior Executive Director of Mental Health and Wellness on citywide programming and policy; drafts policies to support program effectiveness and quality.
- Develops and manages strategies for identifying and creating innovative birth to age 8 mental health and wellness and social-emotional learning models with internal and external partners.
- Provides guidance, direct assistance, expertise, and support services to DECE Borough Leaders and Offices.
- Creates and/or reviews presentations, frameworks and templates related to mental health and wellness for use by the Deputy Chancellor of Early Education, City Hall, DECE Chief Program Officer (CPO), and the Senior Executive Director of Mental Health and Wellness.
- Conducts data analysis and generation of reports for use by the Deputy Chancellor, DECE CPO, the Executive Director of Mental Health and Wellness, etc.
Mental Health and Wellness Supports
- As a member of the MH and Wellness leadership team, develops the Mental Health and Wellness quality strategy with the Senior Executive Director, in accordance with DECE’s quality assurance initiatives.
- Develops and implements a strategy to incorporate a trauma-informed lens into DECE practices system-wide.
- Develops and leads partnerships with organizations and vendors to further mental health and wellness strategy at DECE.
- Drives the definition of mental health and wellness quality standards, per mental health and wellness best practice research, the systems of assessing mental health and wellness quality, and the ongoing support of programs to improve mental health and wellness quality for positive student outcomes.
- Manages related Mental Health and Wellness central and field staff to develop mental health and wellness supports and resources that programs can leverage to improve the quality of mental health and wellness practices.
Social Worker Initiatives
- Develops the short- and long-term Social Worker Initiatives Strategic Plan for DECE for our 170+ Early Childhood Social Workers.
- Leads the team of mental health professionals to implement an Early Childhood Mental Health consultation model (ECMHC) for all birth-5 center-based programs that includes programmatic, classroom, and child and family consultation services provided by early childhood social workers.
- Develops protocols that leverage the best practices in the management of staff and the work of staff.
- Defines strategic supports for the Mental Health Administrator and their ECE Social Worker teams to ensure their effectiveness in working with children, families, and programs.
- Creates and researches best practices in NYC and across the country in social-emotional development and trauma-informed care (literature reviews, discussion with partners and experts, field research, etc.) and classroom/school/home supports that contribute to positive outcomes for children.
- Develops the scope and sequence for ECE Social Worker professional development, and works with Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives to determine and implement structures that will leverage Early Childhood Social Workers to advance DECE priorities most effectively.
- Provide guidance on early childhood teacher and program leader professional development, especially regarding the strengthening of emotionally responsive practices in the classroom, as well as strategies for implementing trauma-informed care.
- Implements a goal-setting process for Mental Health Administrators and Early Childhood Social Workers, with the appropriate planning templates, site visit reviews, ongoing logs, data capture and analysis.
- Reviews and responds to requests submitted by central, district, school and program-based personnel, parents, and community organizations concerning methodology, materials, practices and procedures for both traditional and alternative early childhood education.
- Coordinates Mental Health and Wellness, operations and instructional training for social workers.
- Assists with the development of a performance management system to measure the effectiveness of implemented programs and uses data gathered to improve program quality and social worker supports.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
MINIMUM
- A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, business administration, education administration, personnel administration, management or a related field and four years of satisfactory, responsible, full-time experience in any of the above areas or in another area of specialization applicable to the position, at least 18 months of which must have been in an administrative, consultative, managerial or executive capacity; or
- Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" However, all candidates must possess the 18 months of administrative, consultative, managerial or executive experience as described above.
PREFERRED
- High-level managerial experience and expert knowledge of policies and programs.
- Strategic policy-level thinker with a strong grasp of operational needs.
- Motivated self-starter who thrives in and enjoys working in a team-oriented, high-pressure environment.
- Superior analytical and project management skills for planning, designing, documenting, communication, and follow-up.
- Ability to build strong working relationships with constituents and represent DECE internally and the DOE externally.
- Broad-based strategic planning experience; conceptual understanding of relationships between data, instructional, and organization content.
- Ability to conduct systematic analysis and develop solutions to complex data analysis problems.
- Ability to lead organizational change in large, dynamic institutions.
- Excellent and effective communications skills, including the ability to write well and make clear, concise verbal presentations and written reports.
- Leadership, teamwork, and influencing skills with experience in management of project teams at all levels in a cross-functional and diverse environment.
- Strong strategic thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to proactively identify key issues and risks.
- Effective customer service and problem-solving approach.
- Independent thinker able to adapt and modify research concepts and approaches to specific projects.
- Experience or working knowledge of the public sector and/ strong interest in public education.
SALARY: $110,419+
(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not make less than their current salary.)
PLEASE INCLUDE A RESUME AND COVER LETTER WITH YOUR APPLICATION.
APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH MAY 13, 2020 UNTIL 3:00 P.M.
NOTE: THE FILLING OF ALL POSITIONS IS SUBJECT TO BUDGET AVAILABILITY AND/OR GRANT FUNDING.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, unemployment status, caregiver status, consumer credit history, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.
Required Skills
Required Experience