Primary Function
Under the Contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), position provides administrative oversight and programmatic management for all Northern Illinois Simulation and Training Center (NISTC) staff and services required to provide professional, administrative and support functions including, but not necessarily limited to the development, design, delivery, management, support and/or evaluation of an array of professional development events related to Illinois’ Child Welfare.
Duties and Responsibilities (generally)
- Provide oversight and supervision to IRSTC Facilitator(s) and Coordinator(s) to ensure smooth and effective supervision of staff, professional development, and adequate staffing coverage for all deliverables.
- Coordinate with staff from the IDCFS Office of Learning and Professional Development (OLPD) to ensure effective delivery and tracking of Child Protection Training Academy (CPTA) training and simulations.
- Collaborate with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), university partners, as well as external consultants to ensure the implementation of simulation based training for child welfare and child protection staff.
- Other duties as assigned including possible teaching of child welfare foundations coursework in Human Development and Family Sciences
Programmatic Evaluation and Reporting
- Coordinate with IDCFS, OLPD, university partners, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC), and with consultants and other researchers to ensure evaluations and quality assurance activities are regularly performed and are utilized to inform programmatic practice, and if needed, programmatic enhancements are implemented.
- Will ensure regular and routine progress and activity reports are composed and submitted to IDCFS as required.
Management of Staffing Resources
- Ensure staffing resources are adequate to meet NISTC deliverables. This includes but is not limited to, ensuring hiring search committees are formed and are effective in filling all vacant positions in a timely manner, ensuring NISTC staff effectively coordinate the use of available actors, and that NISTC staff schedule an adequate number of simulation trainings to effectively meet IDCFS’ professional development needs.
- Oversee employment conditions, responsibilities and obligations; work with the NISTC Principal Investigator on all personnel matters consistent with the University’s personnel policies and procedures.
Minimum Required Qualifications for this position
1. Master’s degree in social work or related field from an accredited university.
2. A total of seven (7) years of professional work experience in a public-sponsored, agency-based child welfare setting providing a combination of direct child welfare casework including Child Protection services, Intact Family services, Permanency/Foster Care services, and direct supervision of child welfare staff and/or management of child welfare services. All experience must be in the provision of public-sponsored casework services provided directly to children and families receiving child welfare services from IDCFS, one of its private sector partner agencies, and/or comparable agency.
Specialty Factors (Additional Required Qualifications)
Education and Experience Preferred
1. Master’s degree in Social Work or related field.
2. Prior experience in program design, implementation of evidence-based interventions, quality improvement, and supervision of staff.
3. Prior experience of training students and staff in human service practice.
4. Familiarity with the IDCFS Core Practice Model
List the knowledge, skills, and abilities critical to the performance of this position.
Program administration, working knowledge of organizational change management strategies; training, simulations, and transfer of learning methodologies; evidence-informed child welfare practices; and the Illinois Core Practice Model.
Ability to work collaboratively with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Cultural and linguistic competence.
