Director of Home Life - Residential Children's Home

Organization

Boys and Girls Country's mission is to change the lives of children from families in crisis by loving and nurturing children in a Christian home, raising them to become self-sustaining and contributing adults. Boys and Girls Country serves up to 60 residential boys and girls aged five to eighteen and 40 young adults in our College and Career program. Boys and Girls Country is located 35 miles northwest of Houston (www.boysandgirlscountry.org).

Position Summary

The Director of Home Life works closely with and under the direction of the Chief Operations Officer. The responsibilities of the Director of Home Life are the direct supervision of House Parent and other direct care staff, to lead and manage them, and to ensure quality care of children. This will include but is not limited to staff scheduling, transportation, financial budget for cottages, annual performance evaluations, and related activities. This position is demanding and highly interactive with residents and staff.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Oversee the House Parent Staff and ensure that they follow updated procedures and policies established in the Policy Manual and Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services Minimum Standards.
• Hire, support, supervise, train, motivate, evaluate, teach, model, consequent, and reward staff with the goal of growing, maintaining, and retaining quality House Parents.
• Active participant in the on-call rotation including weekends and evenings. This position will work closely with Intervention House Parents when needed for crisis intervention for cottages.
• Support and aid the Director of Trauma Competency and Implementation and the Case Managers regarding day-to-day operations to meet the needs of children in care.
• Assure the House Parents provide good basic childcare (food, hygiene, clothing, exercise, adequate rest, etc.) and a warm, receptive home environment. Provide professional development to House Parents regarding the BGC Model of Care on a consistent basis.
• Continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of programs, keep informed of developments and trends in the field, and make recommendations to the Chief Operations Officer for changes and/or new program directions.
• Work with the Director of Trauma Competency and Implementation, Director of Quality Assurance, Director of Education, and the Clinical Director to make sure their needs for staff supervision and/or guidance are being met by House Parents in order to ensure that every child receives the best possible health, education, and guidance to prepare them for their future.
• Conduct quarterly cottage inspections to assure the home environment meets BGC standards and Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services Minimum Standards. Provide coaching and support as needed when cottages do not meet requirements.
• Collaborate with the Directors of College and Career and Trauma Competency to update and implement a Life Skills Program that aligns with the College and Career Transitional Living Program, addressing needs, monitoring progress, and recommending improvements to teach basic life skills to seniors.
• Maintain excellent relationships with public schools, churches, volunteers, and external groups, and represent Boys and Girls Country in a positive manner at all times.
• Ensure that the cottages are operating efficiently and practicing good stewardship of all financial and donated resources.
• Work with the Chief Operations Officer annually to create the annual budget and maintain quality innovative services within budget.
• Keep abreast of needs for program; submit innovative ideas and needs for program to the Chief Operations Officer and the Director, Special Events and Stewardship for funding.
• Assist the Director of Training with the implementation of the BGC Model of Care, TBRI, and SAMA and provide training to ensure direct care staff meet Texas licensing regulations for General Residential Operations (GRO).
• Serve as member of the Boys and Girls Country Performance and Quality Improvement committee.

Position Qualifications

• Dedication to and passion for the mission of Boys and Girls Country; experience working with children in crisis preferred.
• Bachelor's Degree in psychology, social work, or a related field. Masters preferred.
• Must be a Licensed Child Care Administrator or able to obtain within 60 days.
• Minimum of five years' experience in working with at-risk youth and supervision and management of campus staff.
• Desire to work with young people to achieve all they can be, and the skills and patience to do so, based on their uniqueness.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively with a sense of urgency to handle complex situations.
• Must be cleared through a criminal background and FBI finger print investigation.
• Must be cleared through a drug test panel.
• Must be tested for tuberculosis.
• Must attend Boys and Girls Country orientation and pre-service training.
• Training and/or designation as a current electronic records system administrator to ensure proper data entry and integrity.
• Must possess the ability to establish him (her) self as a leader with all department heads with ability to operate usually in a collegial manner with all staff.
• Must possess strong management skills and knowledge of interpersonal relationships; supervising staff in a high demands job with compassion and care.
• Annual training/CEU's required for specific licensure and staff development.