Director of Foster Youth Transitional Service

Job Title: Director of Foster Youth Transitional Services

Department: Foster Youth Services 

Location: Ontario, CA

Reports To: Senior Vice President    

FLSA Status: Exempt  

Salary: $110,000 - $125,000

Position Summary:

The Director of Foster Youth Transitional Services serves as the executive leader responsible for the design, governance, and performance of Marsell’s education, vocational, and youth transition systems for foster children-funded programs. This role provides strategic oversight to ensure that education, vocational readiness, transitional age youth (TAY), and independent living (IL) services operate as a unified, compliant, and outcome-driven platform rather than as isolated programmatic activities.

 The Director is accountable for aligning the programs' education and vocational services across sites, reducing variation, strengthening transition pathways for long-stay minors, and ensuring audit-ready documentation and continuous quality improvement. This role supervises managers and works cross-functionally with the Program Director, compliance, and operations teams to ensure that youth are prepared for reunification, release, or long-term stability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Education & Vocational Platform Governance

• Serve as the executive leader accountable for program-funded education and vocational services as a unified system.
• Provide strategic oversight and direct supervision to:
  • Education Manager – responsible for transitional foster care instructional delivery, staffing coordination, educational compliance, and the design and implementation of age-appropriate academic programming that supports social, emotional, and educational development.
  • Vocational Manager – responsible for vocational readiness, skill-building, credentialing, and employment-aligned pathways for long-stay minors.
• Ensure education and vocational services:
  • Operate consistently across program sites.
  • Meet program’s requirements without duplication, drift, or fragmentation.
  • Are aligned to youth transition outcomes rather than activity-based outputs.

Youth Transition System Design

• Design, implement, and maintain a standardized Youth & Transition Framework that integrates:
  • Educational access, continuity, and progression.
  • Vocational readiness and employability skills.
  • Life skills development.
  • Aftercare planning and continuity of services.
• Ensure education and vocational services function as a coherent pathway supporting youth stability, reunification readiness, or transition outcomes.
• Reduce variation across sites by standardizing expectations, documentation, protocols, and outcome measures.

Transitional Age Youth (TAY) & Independent Living (IL) Pathway Development

• Serve as the executive lead responsible for designing and sequencing IL and TAY preparation for minors currently in care.
• Address identified organizational gaps by leading:
  • Framework development.
  • Readiness criteria and eligibility standards.
  • Funding strategy and compliance alignment.
• Ensure TAY and IL pathways are:
  • Designed once at the system level.
  • Built intentionally with clear milestones and supports.
  • Piloted only when infrastructure, staffing, and funding are fully secured. 

Outcomes, CQI, and Audit Readiness

• Establish outcome measures that reflect:
  • Educational stability, engagement, and progress.
  • Transition and Independent Living readiness.
  • System performance indicators (not activity counts alone).
• Implement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) processes across education and vocational services.
• Ensure all documentation, policies, and data systems remain inspection-ready and compliant with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, CARF, and Community Care Licensing standards.

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Align education, vocational, clinical, and foster youth services around a shared youth outcomes model.
• Clarify decision rights, handoffs, and escalation pathways across departments.
• Reduce operational friction caused by unclear ownership, duplication, or inconsistent expectations.

Requirements:

• Must be 21 years of age or older
• Must have a Valid Driver's License

Other Duties

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• This position has direct supervisory responsibility for management-level staff and indirect oversight of education and vocational teams across program sites.

Competencies:

• Systems Leadership: Ability to design and manage integrated service platforms across multiple sites.
• Strategic Thinking: Strong capacity to align services with long-term youth outcomes and compliance requirements.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to lead through influence across clinical, educational, and operational teams.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance: Deep understanding of ORR, CARF, and child welfare regulatory frameworks.
• Youth-Centered Approach: Commitment to trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive services.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Education, Social Work, Counseling, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in program management, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership or director-level role.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing education, vocational, or youth development programs serving high-risk or system-involved youth.
• Strong understanding of program-funded programs, foster care systems, or child welfare services.
• Proven ability to manage staff, budgets, compliance, and cross-site operations.
• Experience with CQI, audit preparation, and outcome measurement.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working within ORR, child welfare, or federally funded human services programs.
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred but not required.
• Experience designing TAY or Independent Living frameworks.

Work Environment:

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. 

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee often needs to use their hands to handle, feel, or finger objects, as well as to talk or listen. The employee is occasionally required to stand and move around. The employee must be capable of lifting and/or moving up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision.

Marsell Benefits:

• Medical

• Dental  

• Vision

• 401 (k) company matching

• Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Paid Holidays

• Flexible Spending Account

• Life Insurance

• Voluntary Life Insurance

• Employee Assistance Program

• Employee Wellness Day(s)