Program Officer for Foster Care- western Pennsylvania
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
- Baltimore, MD
- Permanent
- Full-time
- medical, dental, and vision available on the first day of employment,
- professional development, tuition reimbursement,
- generous paid time off including 20 days of vacation, 12 days of sick leave, 12 paid holidays,
- 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave and up to 12 weeks of fully paid FMLA leave,
- company 403(b) contribution of 3%, an additional 7% match which vests immediately,
- Family Building benefits for reproductive procedures, adoption/foster care assistance, and
- an annual wellness benefit that can be customized to support your personal needs including funding enrichment classes, gym memberships, and healthy eating plans (to name a few) all in an inclusive and progressive environment!
- Provide oversight and administration of Foster Care grants to network partner agencies including; child welfare best practices, program management, and compliance with the Global Refuge cooperative agreement and ORR policies and procedures.
- Lead collaboration efforts with Foster Care partners engaged in service provision to unaccompanied migrant and refugee children. Responsible for network coordination, communication, and peer learning throughout the network.
- Provide support and technical assistance to partners related to issues of service delivery, documentation, reporting, Global Refuge, and Child Welfare best practices, as well as Federal obligations.
- Provide ongoing desk and onsite monitoring to Foster Care Partners to assess program functioning and compliance with State/ORR/Global Refuge standards, as well as to identify trends, and service gaps, and evaluate service models.
- Identify training needs and program challenges, for the development of materials, resources, and tools to enhance the delivery of program services in accordance with recognized child welfare standards, Global Refuge Best Practices, and Global Refuge/ORR Policies and Procedures implementation.
- Assist with the writing of various governmental reports (quarterly, annual, and monitoring visit reports).
- In collaboration with the Assistant Director for Foster Care, oversee network capacity and development, including recruitment, retention, and termination of partners throughout our network. Provide support for regular referral coordination throughout our network.
- Coordinate regular effective collaboration with Global Refuge partners, ORR, Voluntary Agencies, and other key stakeholders who are engaged in service provision to unaccompanied migrant and refugee children on various tasks.
- Assist the Associate Director for Foster Care by ensuring coordination, collaboration, and information sharing on major developments, trends, activities, and initiatives are communicated effectively and efficiently.
- Represent Global Refuge Children's Services at assigned external meetings, trainings, or groups.
- Engagement in agency-wide activities and initiatives including all-staff meetings, working groups, or task forces and implementation of strategic initiatives.
- Other duties as assigned by the supervisor
- Masters Degree in Social Work or other behavioral science.
- Minimum of three years of experience and knowledge of child welfare systems, principles, practices, and emerging trends.
- Minimum of three years of managerial experience with increasing roles and responsibilities in supervision, program management, implementation, and evaluation.
- Demonstrated ability to work within a team and independently to establish priorities and exercise sound judgment in response to systems that are highly complex, sensitive, and confidential.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and manage collaborative partnerships across various systems.
- Demonstrated experience in providing training and technical assistance to internal staff and external partners.
- Experience and knowledge of legal and political issues related to immigration and child welfare.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to interact well with all levels of various systems.
- Experience with and commitment to working in a cross-cultural or diverse workforce.
- Bilingual in Spanish and English is strongly preferred
- A valid driver's license and the ability to drive unrestricted are required
- Able and willing to travel 25% of annual time. The position will require local travel to central and western Pennsylvania up to 25% of the time. Preference for candidates to reside in Pennsylvania but will also consider candidates in neighboring states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.