Director of Child, Family, and Adult Services
Mecklenburg County
ORGANIZATION:
Mecklenburg County is home to over a million residents and the City of Charlotte. With 6.9 million residents within 100 miles, Mecklenburg County and Charlotte lie in the heart of a region that is the sixth largest urban area in the United States. Mecklenburg County has the largest population of any county in the State of North Carolina. The County includes the City of Charlotte; the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville (north of Charlotte); and the towns of Matthews, Mint Hill, and Pineville (southeast and south of Charlotte). With a world-renowned park and recreation system, a range of professional and minor league sports teams, and diverse communities, people who come to Mecklenburg County find an energized downtown (also known as “Uptown”) and a variety of living options. This access has helped attract several Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies that bring millions of investment dollars into the local economy.
With an annual operating budget of $2.5 billion and over 6,000 employees, Mecklenburg County is a Council/Manager form of government, governed by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The BOCC is a nine-member board made up of representatives elected from six single-member districts, and three at-large representatives elected by the entire county. Mecklenburg County contains seven municipalities including the City of Charlotte.
As one of the largest counties in North Carolina, Mecklenburg County is recognized by Niche.com, a market leader in connecting colleges and schools with students and families, as one of the Best Counties for Families in North Carolina (#2), Best Counties for Young Professionals in North Carolina (#2), and Most Diverse Counties in North Carolina (#3). Mecklenburg County has also been recognized as one of the hottest housing markets in 2024 (#7) by Zillow.
For more information, please visit MeckNC.gov.
REPORTS/RELATIONSHIPS:
This position will report directly to the Deputy County Manager and leads one of the four departments within the growing Consolidated Health and Human Services Agency.
BASIC FUNCTIONS:
This key position is responsible for performing complex professional and administrative work directing social service and public assistance activities and programs for Mecklenburg County. The director is responsible for overseeing operations within Youth and Family Services, Adult Services, Operations, Strategy, and Innovation, Clinical and Contractual Services.
Specific duties will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
- Develop departmental operational and strategic plans, goals, and objectives for approval by the Board of County Commissioners.
- Develop and maintain performance measures for all department operations.
- Evaluate department performance against these established measures and take corrective actions.
- Develop and recommend changes to the annual budget; perform ongoing assessment of financial performance; approve expenditures; review all financial reports to the Board; assure conformity to county and state fiscal policies and procedures; oversee financial reporting to state, county, and other funding sources.
- Assess community and departmental resources against client and public needs; assure development and maintenance of sufficient resources to protect children and vulnerable adults, preserve families, promote self-sufficiency, and meet basic human needs by expanding program activity and initiatives; identify public and private grant sources, and work with the community to prepare proposals, assist in grant writing and oversight of performance under grants.
- Establish collaborative relationships with nonprofit human services organizations.
- Establish program goals; approve policies, objectives, and procedures; conduct program status reviews; review and approve program staff reports; ensure compliance with federal, state, and local statutes, regulations, policy and procedural requirements.
- Coordinate services and administrative issues with other County departments and County administration.
- Consult with staff on high-profile or high-risk cases.
- Preside over departmental fair hearings for benefit and service eligibility and determinations of child abuse or neglect.
- Receive and respond to inquiries and complaints.
- Conduct legislative, regulatory, and policy review and analysis to provide input on system change to legislators and policy makers.
- Serve as staff at disaster shelters; assist in coordinating shelter operations during emergency situations.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum of ten years of experience in public management; including three years of supervisory experience.
- Executive-level experience in human services/government agency.
- Background in Child Welfare, Adult Services, and Behavioral Health policies and regulations.
- Demonstrated ability to manage and lead a large number of people.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including effectively communicating with elected officials, all levels of management, community stakeholders, and staff.
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Services, Social Work, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field is required.
- Master’s degree in Public Administration, Health, or a related field is preferred.
Knowledge of
- Business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Principles and processes for providing customer services, including customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, and agency rules, and the political climate.
Skills
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Communicate effectively in writing and verbally, including excellent presentation skills to individuals or groups; delivering presentations suited to the characteristics and needs of the audience.
Abilities
- Aligning performance for success: Focusing and guiding others in accomplishing work objectives.
- Building strategic work relationships: Developing and using collaborative relationships to facilitate the accomplishment of work goals.
- Leading through vision and values: Keeping the organization’s vision and values at the forefront of associated decision-making and action.
- Formal presentations: Presenting ideas effectively to individuals or groups; delivering presentations suited to the characteristics and needs of the audience.
- Strategic decision-making: Obtaining information and identifying key issues and relationships relevant to achieving a long-range goal or vision; committing to a course of action to accomplish a long-range goal or vision after developing alternatives based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational values.
- Initiating action: Taking prompt action to accomplish objectives; taking action to achieve goals beyond what is required; being proactive.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
A competitive salary based on experience will be offered for this position with generous benefits. Benefits include medical, dental, vision care, flexible spending accounts, short- and long-term disability, as well as basic and supplemental term life insurance. The selected candidate will be automatically enrolled into the North Carolina Local Government Retirement System upon their employment. In addition, there is optional participation in one of two deferred compensation plans, a 457 Plan or a 401(k) Plan, with a 5% match from the County.
APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS:
To apply, provide a referral, or obtain additional information, please use the contact information below. Interested candidates may submit a cover letter and resume via email directly to DirChildFamily@CLCBsearch.com to apply. Resumes will be screened based on the criteria outlined above. Please visit MeckNC.gov to learn more about the municipality.
Mecklenburg County is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at all levels of its workforce.
For more information, please contact:
Jonas Hedin, Managing Partner
DirChildFamily@CLCBsearch.com
704-377-0362
Coleman Lew Canny Bowen