Transitional Services is charged with the oversight of directly operated, contracted and non-contracted facilities that houses pregnant women and families with minor children. Specifically, the unit is responsible for the oversight and contract monitoring as well as social services delivery at the 150+ shelter locations, both contracted and non-contracted.

The Division of Family Services provides temporary, emergency shelter to homeless families with children younger than 18 years of age and pregnant women and operates and maintains over 170 shelters for families with children throughout the five boroughs. The shelters are operated by over 50 providers, most of whom are non-profit social services agencies contracted to provide services.

Under the direction of the Assistant Commissioner for the Transitional Services Unit within the Division of Family Services, with wide latitude for independent judgement and initiative, the selected candidates will be responsible for the administration of a portfolio of DHS directly operated and Not-For-Profit Shelter Providers, responsible for providing Temporary Shelter and Social Services Case management activities, as well as moving homeless families to permanency. The incumbents will also serve as the third level of program review for budgets, invoices, annual reviews, budget modifications and budget amendments from the contracted providers. On a monthly basis, the incumbents will be responsible for reviewing and approving invoices and any other related budget actions for the assigned contracted shelter providers.

The Department of Homeless Services is recruiting for one (1) Administrative Director of Social Services M-3 to function as a Program Administrator, who will:

- Responsible for overseeing the administration of a Portfolio of Shelters across the five boroughs. DHS directly operated and provider operated shelter facilities responsible for moving homeless families to permanency. Responsible for the implementation of procedures and protocols ensuring that assigned shelters are well maintained and in compliance with regulatory agency standards to the maximum extent possible.

- Provide technical assistance to shelter providers and monitor their progress in meeting their assigned annual placement target by the Office of Performance, Planning and Management (OPPM); this placement target is broken down into weekly and monthly placement goals. Attend weekly meetings with the Associate Commissioner of the Rehousing Support Division to review and discuss the housing progress of DHS Move Out Initiatives: i.e., Long Term Stay Families, Large Families (compositions of 5-11 household members), Veterans, SOTA, City Employees, just to name a few. Also, collaborate with other divisions such as Rehousing Support Division, Legal Budget, Finance, Audit, ACCO, Facility & Logistic, and Legal to meet agency mandates and to follow up on pertinent matters related to shelter providers and/or clients.

- Collaborate with the Assistant Commissioner of Transitional Services in developing and implementing new initiatives to ensure compliance with moving families to permanency. Responsible for developing program initiatives within the guidelines set by the state/federal authorities and the goals of the agency. Ensure compliance with applicable mandates, agency standards and regulatory requirements.

- Direct shelter staff in ensuring that appropriate and comprehensive social services are being offered to families in shelter. Conduct on-going periodic site visits to inspect physical plants, identify deficiencies, and follow-up with the appropriate shelter staff for development and implementation of corrective action plans. Conduct both announced and unannounced weekly shelter visits (during the day and after hours) and in cases of emergencies. Will also be part of a 24 hour on-call rotation. Conduct shelter visits, which includes after hours, nights and weekends for extreme emergencies.

- Provide technical assistance to shelter providers regarding vacancy control reports to ensure optimum usage of facility units; review weekly housing placement targets to evaluate progress, compare milestone expectations and provide technical assistance to sites. Review New York State Department of Social Services (NYSDSS), Fire and Health Inspection reports and discuss methods of correction of cited violations with Shelter Directors; monitor timely submissions, accuracy, and appropriateness of responses to regulatory agency inspection reports and follow-up on implementation of corrective actions.

- Oversee a unit of Program and Compliance Analysts of non-managerial personnel in the day-to-day oversight of shelter operations, including the provision of social/related services. Ensure that providers submit their annual budget reviews, budget amendments and monthly invoices, as well as budget modifications. Direct the reviews and analysis of contracts to ensure appropriate and effective spending within the given budget and ensure that requests for new needs are appropriate as well as the staffing levels in shelter. Participate in exit conferences with shelter providers and auditors in addition to reviewing audit findings from the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance.

- Conduct high level conferences with shelter leadership and families, assess shelters to ensure they are being maintained in a healthy and sanitary manner and address client complaints as well as elected officials/advocate concerns. Conduct on-going provider meetings to discuss relevant issues and provide training on procedures, and areas of concern; ensure that staffing levels are maintained, and productivity maximized.

- Work with shelter providers to ensure that they establish and maintain cooperative relationships with Community Boards, Shelter Advisory Boards, local police precincts and encourage community involvement in shelter activities; and

- Monitor compliance with strategic plans; assist in the negotiations with non-profit providers and ensure that contracts reflect programmatic concerns.

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and four years of progressively responsible experience, in a large governmental agency, business firm, civic or community organization operating in the area of social services, including one year at the administrative or managerial level; or

2. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" above. Graduate education or a license may substitute for up to a maximum of three years of experience in the area of social services, but not for the one year of experience at the administrative or managerial level as described in "1" above, as follows:

(A) A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in accounting, business, child welfare, counseling, economics, education, finance, human resources, labor relations, management, management science, nursing, operations research, organizational behavior, personnel or public administration, political science, psychology, sociology, social work, statistics, and/or urban studies may substitute for two years of experience; and/or

(B) Graduate education beyond the baccalaureate degree may be substituted at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college or university in the area(s) listed in “2(A)” above for each year of experience up to a maximum of three years; or

(C) A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) may substitute for three years of experience.

However, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and one year of experience at the administrative or management level as described in "1" above.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.