San Mateo County

Life in San Mateo County provides a picturesque setting, combined with an incredible array of activities which truly represent the California lifestyle at its finest. Bordered on the west by the majestic Pacific Ocean, to the north by San Francisco, to the east by the scenic San Francisco Bay, and to the south by the world famous Silicon Valley, San Mateo County offers a wide range of recreational pursuits, economic opportunities and numerous attractions. The 700,000 residents of the County enjoy a diverse, multi-cultural citizenry, cosmopolitan ambiance, temperate climate, clean air, rural open space, and a geographic location in the heart of the San Francisco Peninsula. San Mateo County government provides a full range of services with a workforce of approximately 5500 employees in 22 agencies and departments, and a budget of $1.8 billion including $286 million in contingencies and reserves.

Human Services Agency

The Human Services Agency’s mission is to assist individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency, promote community and family strength, and work to ensure child safety and well-being.

The mission is accomplished through the Agency’s values, which are CLEAR:

• Collaborations and partnerships that are community based and client focused
• Learning practices throughout the organization, including continuous quality improvement, development and innovation
• Excellence in providing quality human services that value and support our clients, community partners, and employees for their skills, knowledge and commitment
• Accountability that encourages the highest standards of ethical conduct and honesty
• Respect and honoring the diversity, rights, and dignity of each other and those we serve

Self-Sufficiency Division  

The Agency’s Self-Sufficiency programs along with community partners promote economic self-sufficiency for individuals and families by providing assistance to those in need. The goal and commitment of the program is to promote greater self-sufficiency among San Mateo County residents who are in need of health care through our Medi-Cal program, and contributing to our community’s efforts to increase food security. With a budget of $100 million dollars, we aid families by providing access to assistance programs that emphasize independence.

Within Economic Self-Sufficiency are, CalWORKs, Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, General Assistance, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants and other health insurance programs. Approximately 300 Agency Self-Sufficiency staff join with community partners in the provision of these services.

The Position

The Director of Economic Self-Sufficiency (ESS) is responsible for the administration of the economic self-sufficiency programs within the Human Services Agency including General Assistance, CalWORKs, Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, Office of Homelessness, Safety Net, and the Children’s Fund.

The goal of ESS is to enhance the well-being of San Mateo County’s neediest children, families and adults by increased enrollment and retention in programs and services.  The Director works closely with staff, county, state and federal partners to ensure that all mandates and programs are met.

The Director of Economic Self-Sufficiency will have the opportunity to:

• Be on the cutting edge of the Human Services Agency’s commitment to promote self-sufficiency services in an era of tightly constrained state/federal fiscal resources;
• Work in community-based integrated services and apply knowledge/experience in a geographical region that has a variety of social service programs;
• Recognize, serve and support San Mateo County residents’ unique needs and successes;
• Achieve success in self-sufficiency programs within a context of changing state/federal policies and mandates; and
• Work within the Board of Supervisor’s Shared Vision 2025 to promote the well-being of individuals, families and communities.

The ideal candidate will be:

• A passionate, approachable, politically astute leader with a management style that quickly fosters trust, respect, commitment and partnership from the community, other organizations, elected officials, executives, managers and employees;
• A proven leader with a track record of successfully managing a complex human services organization who can effectively promote and develop programs to achieve economic self-sufficiency for the residents of San Mateo County;
• Knowledgeable and have an understanding of the self-sufficiency needs of diverse communities and a commitment to meeting those needs through collaborative partnerships;
• Committed to the integrated services model of promoting services to those in need;
• A results-oriented risk taker who has exceptional problem-solving skills and abilities; and
• A great communicator and listener with the ability to speak and articulate effectively to diverse audiences including professional, business, industry and citizen groups.

Qualifications

Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:

• Education: Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in psychology, public administration, business administration, social work or a related discipline.  Master’s degree is preferred.
• Experience: Four years of increasingly responsible experience in a multi-disciplinary social services or human services program, including at least two years of significant administrative experience working in a large public agency.
• Other Requirements: An offer of employment for this position is contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation.

Supplemental Questions:

1. Changes in California’s budget may result in reductions to the County’s allocation for self-sufficiency programs.  Describe your strategies for meeting mandated performance standards in an environment of shrinking resources.
2. When state and federal performance targets are not met, counties face the risk of receiving sanctions. How do you plan to monitor ongoing performance and what specific tracking methods would you utilize?
3. The economic downturn has affected families across all economic and social groups resulting in changing demographics of the low-income population.  What issues and challenges do you foresee in meeting the needs of this changing demographic?

How to Apply

Anyone may apply. San Mateo County and San Mateo County Court employees who have worked with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous services in a permanent or probationary position prior to the final filing date will have 5 points added to their final passing score on this examination. To apply for this outstanding career opportunity, the following materials must be electronically submitted by Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. PST:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Answers to the Supplemental Questions above

Please forward your application materials electronically to:

San Mateo County
Human Resources Department
Michelle Kuka,
Recruitment Analyst
mkuka@co.sanmateo.ca.us
Telephone: (650) 363-4338
www.co.sanmateo.ca.us

Salary & Benefits

The maximum annual salary is $148,304. The County offers an excellent benefits package that is available to spouses, domestic partners, and other dependents and includes: