Position: Director of Student Support Services
Department: Student Support Services
Division: Student Support and Engagement
Supervisor: Chief of Student Support and Engagement
FLSA Status: Exempt
Regular Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.,
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Purpose of position
The Director of Student Support Services (DSSS) is responsible for coordinating, tracking, and supervising service delivery to students to enhance their mental, social, and emotional well-being as well as improve their academic experience. This individual brings to the director role process an understanding of the psychosocial development of adolescents and young adults and the influences of family, community, and cultural differences as they interact with the educational process. The individual in this role holds decision-making authority and must exercise independent judgment, including matters related to budget, policy implementation, procedures, and staff supervision.
The DSSS operates the program in conformance with institutional and federal regulations while managing departmental facilitation, planning, and coordination. The individual in this role is responsible for performance management, hiring employees, and assuring compliance of all contracting agencies servicing the department.
The DSSS is called upon to supervise, evaluate, support, guide, and assist case managers with barriers that challenge students’ abilities to access their education. These barriers include truancy, trauma, maladaptive behaviors, and the effects of physical, emotional, or economic problems. While working with teachers, service providers, school administrators, parents/guardians, and community-based resources, this individual will oversee interventions and strategies that promote students’ positive school adjustment and academic success.
Further, the DSSS is able to continuously acquire knowledge of current science, research, and evidence-based practices for the purposes of supporting and directing the professional development of team members and providing high-quality support services and training to TNS students, faculty, and staff.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in social work or Master’s degree in clinical counseling
- 2 + years of clinical experience
- 2+ years of supervisory experience
- Valid and current DC Social Work license (LICSW) or DC Counseling license (LPC). Consideration will be given to someone who holds a DC LGSW or LGPC.
- Ability to provide after-hours services as needed
- Fluency in English; speak, read, and write
- Bilingual English/Spanish (Preferred)
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrate strong leadership, management, training, and communication skills
- Ability to evaluate the best course of action and make decisions at an appropriate speed
- Contextualize and assess community resources specific to mental health and psychosocial needs
- Demonstrate an ability to think and act systemically; recognize the “bigger picture” and how the school’s parts function together
- Maintain a standard of ethical conduct regarding confidentiality, dual relationships, and professional performance
- Apply knowledge of principles of adolescent growth and development as it relates to independence and self-sufficiency
- Possess knowledge of theories of human behavior and development
- Demonstrate a strong understanding of the most common disorders and co-morbidity as related to the diagnosis and the impact on education
- Demonstrate knowledge of crisis assessment, intervention, de-escalation, and suicide assessment
- Knowledge of the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education
- (OSSE) compliance with IDEA (20 U.S. Code § 1400, et seq.)
- Leadership skills in working with individuals and groups (i.e., initiating individual or group discussion, listening, clarifying and facilitating interactions, problem-solving, and sharing of ideas)
- Possess robust case reporting and writing skills; ability to counsel students, parents, staff and lay persons individually and in groups
- Uphold a division culture that centers on strength-based service delivery, the student as the agent of their personal, academic, and career goals and acknowledgment of the Identities—as specified by the student—that intersect with their ability to access their education and career aspirations
- Ability to be flexible and able to adapt quickly to programming shifts that may occur based on informal and formal feedback
- Model effective communication across groups and levels
- Demonstrate the ability to work ethically according to professional and organizational values; use positional and personal power with care and restraint
- Ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds; skill in guiding and motivating social work interns
- Seek out, work closely and collaborate with equal and higher-level school personnel around matters impacting childcare, development, and training
- Use thorough analysis and thoughtful planning to achieve program outcomes
- Foster a sense of community by encouraging interaction, empathy, connectedness, responsibility and independence
- Demonstrate the ability to actively seek feedback to assist with continuous self-development; take responsibility for setting up opportunities for own learning; accurately identify own development needs
- Seek out opportunities to learn and grow professionally
Responsibilities
- Serves as supervisor of case managers for the day and evening programs
- Facilitate monthly individual and group supervision to support and monitor effective ethical provision and standards
- Maintains a caseload of 3-5 students
- Serves as the Title IX Coordinator
- Serves as the school foster care liaison/point of contact for the Child and Family Services Agency
- Provides input to the Chief of Student Support and Engagement on matters that may inform institutional, local, and federal policies and regulations
- Works with data analysts to gather, track, and evaluate the effectiveness of services, programs, initiatives, events, etc.
- Collaborates with the principal and instructional leadership team to plan and implement ongoing school-wide professional development consistent with social, emotional, and environmental factors impacting student learning
- Collaborates with school staff and other school personnel to support and assist in implementing strategies and initiatives to promote student learning and wellness
- Participates as a member of the IEP team and other school-based teams to develop interventions for promoting students’ academic success
- Guides and assists service providers in conducting classroom meetings, psycho-educational groups and classroom presentations on identified areas of concern for the students, as needs are identified
- Identifies and resolves ethical issues with guidance from student support and engagement
- Serves as liaison with mental health-based community partnerships
- Seeks out guidance and recommendations from the chief of student support and engagement on service providers’ performance
Major Areas of Accountability
- Ensures that required clinical records and documentation are submitted appropriately for statistical reports with adherence to standards in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or other license-specific standards and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Adheres to, implements, and performs within appropriate clinical and therapeutic treatment, assessments, and strategies specific to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)
- Adheres to, implements, and performs within the values, principles and standards set forth by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics or otherappropriate ethical codes
- Adheres to, implements, and performs within federal legislation that mandates child protective services and the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect
- Understands and maintains the continuing education requirements per the Health and Professional Licensing Administration (HPLA), and keeps up to date on any changes that could potentially impact licensure status
- Adheres to, implements, and performs within standards set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
General responsibilities of all staff members
As a member of The Next Step staff, this position involves the following:
● Fully embrace and promote The Next Step’s mission, vision, and core values of Community, Collaboration, Courage, Trust, Equity and Excellence.
● Develop and maintain positive and supportive relationships with all students.
● Consistently implement school-wide expectations in classrooms and common areas
● Participate actively in regular meetings, including staff meetings, step meetings, and the Student Support Team.
● Participate actively in special events, including field trips, community days, college tours, graduations, etc.
● Participate actively in school responsibilities such as hallway and lunch supervision.
● Work cooperatively with colleagues to develop and implement effective and relevant policies
● Adhere to school policies as described in the personnel manual and/or staff handbook.
● Reflect upon performance, set goals for improvement, and take advantage of training and opportunities to learn and implement effective strategies.
● Maintain an organized, clean, and inviting work area
● Complete other duties as assigned
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $76,000.00 - $82,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Ability to Relocate:
- Washington, DC 20009: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person
