Social Services Associate (Family Contact) - Wasilla (PCN 069276)

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify. The Department of Family and Community Services, Office of Children's Services (OCS) is recruiting for full-time Social Services Associate located in Wasilla, Alaska.

What You Will Be Doing The Wasilla Family Contact Social Services Associate positions partner with Beacon Hill and the Mat-Su Health Foundation to provide a “best practices” approach to facilitation of family contact between children in foster care and their families. You can expect to take specified trainings to teach you how to facilitate meaningful, healthy, culturally centered family contact for families involved in the child welfare system in Mat-Su. Your primary responsibilities as a Family Contact Facilitator will be to encourage and coach parents to practice safe parenting skills, complete documentation of family contacts and ensure timely submission, transport children to and from family contact as needed, work with parents and foster care placements for scheduling purposes and other duties as assigned. You will be supporting families and their goals in Family contact by working directly with the PSS to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children during family contact. The successful incumbent will be courteous, professional in language and presentation, calm, motivated, efficient, and have strong critical thinking skills, have the ability to lift children up to 40 lbs. into car seats, flexibly adapt to last-minute changes, work independently or in a team setting, remain calm in stressful situations and de-escalate children and adults, possess experience working with persons with diverse culture and backgrounds, be confident in driving in all weather conditions, have experience in the use of Microsoft office Suite4, Word, and meetings platforms (Zoom, Teams), and have good time management and multi-tasking abilities.. This position may require traveling up to a week at a time. The Office of Children's Services requires staff to work overtime when deemed necessary. OCS Staff are considered essential, so are expected to work during pandemic and other natural disasters. The agency also supports a healthy work/life balance for all staff.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture The Office of Children's Services strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and wellbeing are paramount and employees at all levels promote a culture where everyone is valued, treated equitably, and treated respectfully.

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is: Ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

Everything we do is underpinned by our Core Values.

Benefits of Joining Our Team

The Office of Children's Services is committed to an organizational culture that values each team member. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We celebrate and value the diversity of our employees, partners, and families we serve. Your first 6 months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal and on-the-job training with your supervisor and your colleagues. Full-time benefits of this position include but are not limited to: Insurance Benefits; Retirement Benefits; Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year. Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information. Working Environment You Can Expect This position is in Wasilla OCS Office. The Office of Children's Service's staff are considered essential and are required to work after hours, on-call hours, through pandemics - natural disasters, and all holidays that land on their rotational work week. The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services works on evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime and on-call work are expectations of our workers. Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft and overnight stays.

For information on the Wasilla community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the Alaska Community Profiles.

We Are Seeking a Candidate with the Following Competencies:• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

• Customer/Quality Focus: Anticipates, monitors, and meets the needs of customers and responds to them in an effective, appropriate manner. Demonstrates commitment to identifying customers’ apparent and underlying needs and continually seeks to provide the highest quality service and product to all customers.
• Adaptability: Adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment.
• Computer Skills: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.
• Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Special Note• This position requires a valid Alaska driver's license.

• Additionally, while the Division does have vehicles assigned to it, they may not always be available for staff use. Mileage reimbursement is available when a personal vehicle is used for work-related matters. Current automotive insurance must be in place prior to use of a personal vehicle while conducting business on behalf of the State.
• All OCS employment offers are conditional upon successful completion of a background check investigation.
• A child protective history check will be performed per AS 12.62.160 and/or 13 AAC 68.315 including a background and fingerprint check.
• The successful candidate may be required to attend multiple training courses normally located in Anchorage.

A cover letter is NOT required for this position. Your complete application will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process.

To view the general description and example of duties for a Social Services Associate, please go to the following link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/alaska/classspecs/892009?keywords=social%20services%20associate&pagetype=classSpecifications

One year of any combination of postsecondary or vocational education and/or experience in assisting clients, customers, the general public, or other staff in the explanation and application of guidelines, policies, or services.

Special Note: Some positions require a valid Alaska driver's license, a background check, and fingerprinting. These requirements will be indicated at the time of recruitment. At time of interview applicant is requested to submit:• A copy of academic transcripts (unofficial are acceptable but must include the institution name/URL on documents provided) if required to meet minimum qualifications.

• A list of three (3) professional* references including daytime telephone numbers and email address; at least two (2) of these must be from a current or former supervisor.• Professional is defined as a supervisor or an individual who has direct knowledge of your work performance.

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

EDUCATION To verify education being used to meet the required minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials being used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position and are required with each application. (Unofficial are okay, please ensure that the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts). Transcripts can be attached at the time of application, provided at the time of interview or if not provided, transcripts will be required prior to appointment.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Omission of required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application and you will not receive further consideration.

WORK EXPERIENCE When using work experience not already documented in your application, please provide the employer name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and minimum qualifications are clearly met. Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application. If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment. A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position in which you are applying.

If you are currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level. Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position. This is required as there are minimum qualifications that require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered. If this information is not accurately reflected in your application this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.

LEGAL EMPLOYMENT The State’s online recruitment system, Workplace Alaska, requires applicants to certify that they have a legal right to accept employment in the United States. It is the responsibility of the employee to maintain the appropriate documentation to accept or continue legal employment. The State of Alaska does not function in the role as an employer sponsor.

The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.

RECRUITMENT SCOPE This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

MULTIPLE VACANCIES This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.

APPLICATION NOTICE You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via hardcopy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as AlaskaJobs or any other database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hardcopy application to successfully apply. Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/

NOTICE Questions regarding the application process can be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 800-587-0430 (toll free) or (907) 465- 4095. If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure your email address is correct on your application and that the spam filter will permit email from the 'govermentjobs.com' domains. For information on allowing emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domains, visit the Lost Password Help page located at https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.

EEO STATEMENT The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P. O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are located in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to [email protected].

For applicant password assistance please visit: https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

For specific information in reference to the position please contact the hiring manager at:

Name: Broyline Ligow, Administrative Assistant 2 Phone: (907) 414-7334 Email: [email protected]