Program Director of Transitional Foster Care

EnCircle’s Transitional Foster Care program is part of our Immigration and Refugee Services division. This program is in partnership with Global Refuge (GR) and serves unaccompanied children in the custody of Office of Refugee Resettlement and are now living with foster families.  

The primary responsibility of our Program Director of Transitional Foster Care is to help develop and oversee the Transitional Foster Care program for unaccompanied migrant children as part of a larger Immigration and Refugee Services division. The Program Director is responsible for overall management of the programmatic, administrative, and operational systems related to the provision of care and services. In this role it is essential to maintain program efficiency and compliance and communicate effectively with key stakeholders, community partners and service providers. 

The program operates 7 days/week, 365 days/ year, and we must be responsive to frequent policy changes from funders. This position is expected to function effectively with minimal supervision, while following the guidelines given on procedures, along with agency, state, and federal regulatory requirements. 

Please note: This role requires driving, therefore a "clean driving record" is critical.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive pay starting at $86,000
• Health coverage options: medical, dental, vision, disability, life, accident, hospital, critical illness, pet
• Financial benefits: 401(k) with match, retention bonus, early wage access via DailyPay
• Time off & well-being support: generous PTO, paid holidays, employee assistance program& chaplain services, educational assistance, professional development, Calm app access(for you, friends & family)

MINIMUM EDUCATION, TRAINING, REQUIREMENTS AND PREREQUISITIES 

• Master’s degree in Social Work or a field related to social work such as, but not limited to, sociology, psychology, special education or counseling with at least 4 years of experience in providing casework services to children and families in a child-placing agency.
• Minimum Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of experience providing casework services to children and families.
• 2 years of experience in program management or as director of a licensed childcare program.
• Bilingual English and Spanish, preferred.
• Prior experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations, preferred.
• Trauma-informed training for serving immigrant or vulnerable populations, preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including interpersonal communication, group leadership skills, public speaking, and persuasive writing skills.
• Ability to work under stress or in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Effective communication with stakeholders and timely provision of regular reports to ORR regarding operations, services, and finances.
• Strong organizational skills with knowledge of financial, human resource and marketing requirements.
• Pass a criminal history screen and fingerprint check, including state and local child protection agency registries.
• Knowledge and skills for use of data management systems, Microsoft 365, office technology.
• Willing and able to be on an on-call rotation for emergency response situations.
• Willing and able to work a variable schedule including weekend and evening hours.
• Subscription to and integration of the agency Guiding Principles and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:30AM-5:00PM. On call supervisor coverage on rotation.
• DRIVING SPECIFIC (The following list may or may not be all inclusive at time of posting): 
  • Must not have any of the following violations within the last 5 years: 
    • Reckless driving, including speeding 20mph or more over the posted speed limit.
    • Driving under the influence/impaired/intoxicated or refusing a blood/breath test.
    • Manslaughter or negligent homicide.
    • Driving after being declared a habitual offender.
    • Driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • Driving a commercial motor vehicle while disqualified, under the influence, with a blood alcohol level of .04 or higher, refusing a blood/breath test, or violating an out-of-service order.
    • Injuring a person while racing - felony.
    • Failure to stop at the scene of a crash where there is injury, death, or property damage of $1000 or more.
    • Emergency vehicle violation - death.
    • Vehicular assault or willful stopping, impeding, or damaging a vehicle.
    • Blocking access to the service facility.
    • Attempting to elude police.
    • Operating an unsafe vehicle.
    • Vulnerable Road User – Death.
  • Must not have any of the following violations within the last 3 years:
    • Passing a stopped school bus. 
    • Careless driving.
    • Three or more minor moving violations within the last three years.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Provide oversight and administration of foster care services for unaccompanied migrant children including child welfare best practice, program management, and compliance with the Global Refuge cooperative agreement, ORR policies and procedures and state licensing requirements.
• Supervise program staff to ensure cohesive, teamwork-oriented environment consistent with enCircle’s mission and Guiding Principles.
• Understand and be able to step into roles of direct reports as needed to ensure continuity of operations.
• Maintain the delivery of quality services that are consistent with state licensing and standard operating practices.
• Coordinate regular effective collaboration with Global Refuge partners, ORR, Voluntary Agencies, and other key stakeholders who are engaged in service provision to unaccompanied children.
• Ensure effective program operations through staff selection, hiring, training and development, as well as scheduling to ensure 24/7 coverage for case management and on-call services.
• Responsible for acting as interim Lead Case Manager (LCM) in the event that the program is without an LCM until the position is filled.
• Oversee compliance of administrative policies and procedures that govern annual employee evaluations, employee leave requests, and timesheet management.
• Oversee the timely preparation and submission of documentation for services and reporting purposes.
• Monitor and assess child placement activity and family reunification, while remaining apprised of foster care and reunification planning and decision making.
• Maintain current knowledge of child welfare concerns, updates related to policy and practices affecting the refugee and immigrant communities, internal and external issues, legislative trends, and practices.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with contractors, referral sources and partner agencies.
• Explore program development and service expansion opportunities.

To give equal employment and advancement opportunities to all people, we make employment decisions at enCircle based on each person’s performance, qualifications, and abilities. EnCircle does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. 

s part of the Company’s EEO commitment, we will also provide reasonable accommodations consistent with applicable law. The Company will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of the job unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense — i.e., an undue hardship. Similarly, the Company will also make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations of a person related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.

If you seek an accommodation because of a medical condition or impairment, or related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, please notify Human Resources so we can evaluate your request. Please cooperate with the Company as to any information needed so we can assess your request for an accommodation. 

As part of our EEO commitment, the Company will also reasonably accommodate an employee whose sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance conflicts with a work rule or requirement unless doing so would impose more than a de minimis cost or burden. 

Please inform Human Resources if you seek an accommodation based on a religious belief. The Company will not take any adverse action or tolerate any retaliation against a person who requests or uses a reasonable accommodation.