Assistant Director, Division for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs

The Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking an energetic, dynamic and self-motivated individual to serve as the Assistant Director of the Division for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (DCYSHN) within the Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition (BFHN). The incumbent will work under the general direction of the DCYSHN Director and will be responsible for the Division’s internal needs, including handling the oversight of operations, activities and support for the following clinically-oriented programs: Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, Hearing Aid Program for Children, MASSTART, Medical Review Team, Pediatric Palliative Care Network and Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):      

·       Direct, coordinate and provide oversight to approximately 15 staff including the direct supervision of their five program managers/specialists including conducting performance evaluation and promote compliance with personnel policies and procedures.

·       Serve on Division’s leadership team and participate in DCYSHN management decisions, including resource allocation and budget planning, grant writing, coordination and collaboration linkages, review of service utilization and strategies for provision of high quality services by the Division’s programs.

·       Raise awareness of DCYSHN programs and services internally by ensuring linkage and coordination of CYSHN services and collaboration with BFHN Maternal and Child Health programs and other DPH programs.

·       Oversee internal communications; organize DCYSHN advisory boards, including youth and family advisors.

·       Set direction, provide guidance for, and oversee contract management for several programs ensuring that they align with and address top DCYSHN, Title V and CLAS priorities.

·       Assure compliance with state and federal regulations, procedures and standards, and division goals and objectives.

·       Provide clinical technical assistance for DCYSHN programs and vendors on the needs of children with medical complexity. Participate in Division policy development.

·       Monitor Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant priorities and related activities for the Division.

·       Participate in the implementation and progress monitoring of the five-year DCYSHN Strategic Plan, in particular (1) leading activities that address our role and impact in serving CYSHN and their families; (2) integrating systems so that services are seamless and accessible; and (3) assisting to build internal awareness of the DCYSHN across DPH programs such as web and social media campaigns, and participation in communication, branding, and marketing.                                                      

Preferred Qualifications 

·       Master’s degree or PhD.

·       Experience working on issues related to systems of care for children and youth with special health care needs, particularly children with medical complexity and life limiting conditions, strongly preferred.

·       Familiarity with varied components of the human services and healthcare delivery system.

·       Ability to learn federal and state laws, policies and procedures relevant to the Division’s target populations.

·       Knowledge of program planning needs assessment, quality improvement, surveillance processes, policy development, project management and program evalua