Subject Matter Expert II

The Subject Matter Expert (SME) II will serve as the executive director responsible for leading and managing the NCWCIA contract. This role requires strategic vision, operational excellence, and a deep understanding of the national child welfare system and services, as well as federal contracting processes and regulations. The SME II will oversee a multidisciplinary team, ensure compliance with federal guidelines, and drive performance to meet contract deliverables, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations.

The SME II in Child Welfare leads culturally relevant training and technical assistance (T/TA) that requires establishing relationships, rapport and trust with child welfare agencies and stakeholders supporting child safety, permanency, and well-being. This will require knowledge and expertise with Administration for Children and Family, Children's Bureau programs and the legislation funding these programs. For example, you will need to possess expertise in Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Title IV-B and Title IV-E Programs, Child and Family Services Review including strategic and annual service planning required of jurisdictions, and National Youth in Transition Database.

The SME II will deliver capacity-building training and technical assistance for the National Child Welfare Center for Innovation and Advancement (NCWCIA) leading the delivery of capacity-building T/TA services and assist in creating tools and resources/product development for child welfare agencies.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Manages multi-million-dollar budgets; selects, coordinate, and oversees multiple subcontractors and consultant experts; and leads large-scale projects to deliver tools, training, consultation, or other technical assistance-related services to governments, agencies, communities, businesses, schools, or other organizations.
• Leads and facilities strategic planning, process and performance improvement, communications and change management.
• Contributes to the design and management of project and performance management processes ensuring compliance among staff, subcontractors, and consultants.
• Contributes to assessing and managing project risk.
• Consults and provides technical assistance to organizational capacity building.
• Leads and manages problem identification and analysis, theory of change articulation, organizational assessment, intervention selection, intervention development, problem solving and strategic planning, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability.
• Contributes expertise in public child welfare, strategic consulting, research and evaluation, change management, and data analysis and continuous quality improvement.
• Reviews and approves project products and deliverables ensuring excellence in written and verbal communication.
• Using professional communication with assigned client contacts, responds to requests; participates in meetings; provides up-to-date information about trends, issues, policies, and EBPs; offers recommendations regarding effective TA approaches for grantees, topics for grantee meetings and workshops, and skilled consultants and presenters.
• Ensures TA activities carried out by project staff meet all contractual obligations and requirements of the client/contract.
• Manages, guides, and monitors the design and delivery of all TA; ensure all TA related activities are documented (whether in the designated TA tracking system or other method) in a timely fashion.
• Develops budgets and monitors expenditures to ensure all allocated funds are spent appropriately and no overages are incurred.
• Leads preparation and ensures high quality finalization of written deliverables, including site visit reports, meeting reports, literature reviews, technical documents, and other products (e.g., PowerPoint presentations) requested by client.
• Supervises, guides, and manages assigned TA staff in carrying out delivery of all types of TA.
• Supports professional growth, learning, and performance of each staff person, leveraging individual strengths and maximizing each person's contributions to the project.
• Identifies issues and successes to ensure transfer of lessons learned and increased efficiency in the delivery of TA.
• Collaborates with other SMEs and leadership to support the exchange of information across JBS projects.
• Oversees expenditure tracking and analysis, final review of consultant agreements processing, and follow up with grantees and consultants, review of expense vouchers, timely and accurate TA report preparation and submission.
• Plays a key role in program development and thought leadership include but not limited to work groups, advisor boards, develop content for the Centers of Excellence meetings, etc...
• Researches potential new business opportunities including funding agency background and decision makers, fit with JBS, and current incumbent.
• Contributes to proposal writing and development.

Minimum job qualifications:

Education: Master's degree in relevant field

Language: English Fluency (oral and written)

Experience: Minimum of 15 years of professional experience with local or state child welfare service delivery.

Knowledge: Content knowledge of current and emerging issues for child welfare. Family first, strengths-based approach to delivering T/TA and to working with others. Knowledge of and experience in Federal government contracting. Expert level knowledge and experience in the areas of strategic planning, process and performance improvement, communications and change management. Expert level knowledge and experience providing consultation and technical assistance to support organizational capacity building.

Fundamental Requirement:

• Must have a passionate commitment to family-centric design and delivery of TA and an understanding of and commitment to the project's model of TA as a strengths-based, continuous process that supports children and families, child welfare agencies, community stakeholders, and states and territories.
• Strong knowledge of change management in organizations and systems, including but not limited to expertise in problem identification and analysis, theory of change articulation, organizational assessment, intervention selection, intervention development, problem solving and strategic planning, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability.
• Experience hiring, developing, managing, supervising, and retaining a team of highly skilled, culturally diverse, and experienced multi-disciplinary and specialized staff.
• Extensive and progressively responsible experience in public child welfare with expertise in one or more of the following areas: child welfare practice, training, and administration; strategic consulting; research and evaluation; data analysis and continuous quality improvement; change management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large expert multi-disciplinary teams.
• Understanding of federal, state and county government and experience working in or providing support to large government bureaucracies.
• Leadership of staff recruitment, development, and performance including hiring, developing, managing, supervising, and retaining a team of highly skilled, culturally diverse, and experienced multi-disciplinary and specialized staff.
• Sustained expertise maintaining professional expertise in content area, ensuring that subject area knowledge remains current; identify trends, emerging issues, policies, and evidence-based practices (EBPs) and share them with program area staff, other TEs, senior management, our clients, and other JBS staff as appropriate.
• Demonstrated expertise and experience managing multi-million-dollar budgets; selecting, coordinating, and overseeing multiple subcontractors and consultant experts; and leading large-scale projects to deliver tools, training, consultation, or other technical assistance-related services to governments, agencies, communities, businesses, schools, or other organizations.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing project and performance management processes with staff, subcontractors and consultants and assessing and managing project risk.

Skills: Interacts well with others in a positive, courteous, and professional manner; functions well as a member of a team and is also able to work independently and without extensive supervision and follows chain of command to address personnel or management concerns. Honors, respects, and celebrates cultural differences. Effective, clear, and professional writing and oral communication skills. Attention to detail.

Physical Job Requirements:

• Ability to sit forprolonged periods at a desk or computer workstation.
• Regularly uses a computer, keyboard, and mouse.
• Normal or corrected vision to read documents, view computer screens, and perform tasks that require visual accuracy.
• Ability to hear and understand spoken information in person and over the phone.
• Minimal lifting and carrying may be required, typically light office supplies or documents.
• Ability to move within the office environment to access equipment, files, and interact with colleagues.
• Ability to handle occasional stress related to deadlines, workloads, or challenging tasks.

Preferred job qualifications:

Education: Doctorate's degree

Language: Fluency in a language other than English

Experience: Minimum of 20 years of professional experience with local or state child welfare service delivery.

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED: This position description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are the exclusive standards of the position, nor will it be the sole basis for any subsequent employee evaluations. Incumbents will follow any other instructions and perform any other related duties as may be required by their supervisor.

This position is subject to availability of funds and to any and all restrictions contained in the contract or contracts that provide funding for this position.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

If you meet the minimum requirements for this position, please click on the "Apply" link posted below and complete the application. Please include a cover letter, resume, and at least three (3) professional references.

Our company is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Applicants can learn more about the company's status as an equal opportunity employer by viewing the federal "EEO is the Law" poster at EEOPost.pdf.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.