Division Director-Veteran Services-HHVS

The Wayne County Veterans Services Division assists honorably discharged wartime and peacetime veterans and their families in obtaining various benefits and services. The division offers temporary emergency financial assistance to eligible veterans, their spouses, and dependent children to help meet immediate needs. The division also provides funeral expense assistance toward burial benefits and installing a government marker for eligible veterans.

The Division Director for Veterans Services leads and supports day-to-day operations that support services, contracts, funding, and projects to ensure the effectiveness of service delivery, resource utilization, and results. Key duties include planning and executing strategic outreach to veterans' associations and organizations and overseeing the coordination of outreach activities and services to assist veterans. This role will expand awareness of and access to the County’s veterans’ services County-wide, including throughout the city of Detroit, central Wayne County, and Downriver.

Required Tasks

Leadership & Division Oversight

• Performs administration of the day-to-day operations of Veterans Services with oversight in addressing the immediate emergency requests of clients who qualify for assistance.
• Provides executive-level leadership, decision-making, and strategic direction for the Veterans Division.
• Provides oversight of staff in the implementation of burial assistance applications.
• Continually monitors and stays informed of veteran issues related to the division's mission and conducts staff training to reflect changes.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, and training staff, as well as oversee and evaluate staff performance.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local policies and regulations. 

Program & Service Delivery

• Plans and conducts outreach to the veteran community within Wayne County and advocates for veterans and their special needs related to military service.
• Provide guidance and support to staff to ensure efficient and innovative service delivery.
• Collaborates with other government agencies to improve services provided to veterans, spouses, widows/widowers, and dependent children.
• Use programs and other data sources to monitor and report on key program performance metrics, including, but not limited to, service utilization, reach, trends, and expenditures, to evaluate impact.
• Present key operational findings to multi-stakeholder groups, including the Executive Office, Wayne County Commissioners, other elected officials, Veterans Organizations, and the general public.
• Ensure marketing and promotion of the division’s resources to reach marginalized communities.

Budget & Grant Administration

• Plans and manages the Division’s fiscal year budget.
• Oversees grant submission, compliance, and resource allocation while ensuring operations remain within budget.
• Identify funding gaps and provide strategic recommendations for filling those gaps.
• Track and present key findings on division expenditures, spending trends, and funding needs.

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a management role
• At least 5 years of experience building and maintaining community partnerships and collaborating with community-based organizations and/or key stakeholders within the Veterans’ community.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, connecting with diverse populations and communicating effectively with community leaders and service partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Honorable Discharged Military Veterans prefer to have at least 5 years’ experience dealing with veteran issues and advocacy on behalf of veterans and their dependents.
• Established community presence and/or network of community-based relationships
• Experience advocating for veterans and their families

The Charter County of Wayne

The Charter County of Wayne is Michigan's largest county. We are home to 34 cities and nine townships. From Rockwood to Livonia, from Sumpter Township to the Grosse Pointes, each community in Wayne County offers residents and businesses a unique blend of opportunity to live, work, play and raise families.

Headquartered in Detroit, our largest city and the autom