Family services specialist
Location
Oakland, CA | United States
Job description
The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.
Why doing the City of Oakland Human Services Department? The City of Oakland's Human Services Department, Head Start Division, is seeking highly skilled individuals to fill several Family Services Specialist vacancies. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience coordinating or implementing health, social or educational services to low-income families as well as providing support and referral services to Head Start families, preferably in a bilingual and diverse community.
We are looking for someone who is: - Passionate and self-driven. You have a strong desire to make a positive difference in the lives of Oakland residents and families and to work in a fast-paced environment.
- An effective communicator, motivator, and relationship builder. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with Head Start line, management, and program staff and interact in a culturally diverse workplace with residents, families, and community members.
- A difference maker. You will have the opportunity to facilitate achievement of Head Start program goals and the delivery of effective, high-quality program services.
- A connector. You will be supporting Head Start families and connecting them to community resources.
What you will typically be responsible for: - Implementing and carrying out a family partnership process that includes a family partnership agreement and identifying and implementing activities to support family well-being.
- Performing outreach and recruitment to ensure sufficient enrollment of eligible children, pregnant individuals, and expectant families in the programs.
- Providing services and support for children with disabilities. Fostering parental confidence and skills that promote the early learning and development of their children.
- Implementing and carrying out intake and family assessment procedures to identify family strengths and needs related to the family engagement outcomes as described in the HeadStart Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework.
- Coordinating and making home visits to families, as needed; assisting parents in developing skills for participation on the Policy Council and attending meetings to provide ongoing support.
- Acquiring and utilizing a working knowledge of community resources and making recommendations about improvements to meet diverse, community needs.
- Inputing accurate data, detailed case notes, referrals, follow-up, and other required information in to automated database systems in a timely manner in accordance with department policies and procedures.
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Working for the City of Oakland .
A few reasons you might love this job: - Impactful work. Our work matters to the people we serve. What you do every day will have a direct and tangible impact on the people who live and work in Oakland - on their health, well-being, access to services, and safety.
- Sense of community . You will have great colleagues. City employees are fiercely passionate about public service and community, and proud to uplift Oakland as a dynamic, innovative, vibrant city that is always on the forefront of social, economic, and environmental justice.
- Thought-provoking. This is a stimulating job with great pay and benefits.
A few challenges you might face on this job: - Complex and fast-paced work. You will be expected to expertly and professionally manage multiple, competing priorities.
- Limited resources. The community’s needs exceed the staffing resources to meet them as swiftly and effectively as we would like.
Competencies required: - Action & Results Focused (Taking Initiative) –Initiating tasks and focusing on accomplishment
- Adaptability – Responding positively to change and modifying behavior as the situation requires
- Attention to Detail – Focusing on the details of work content, work steps, and final work products
- Critical Thinking – A nalytically and logically evaluating information, policies, and procedures
- Customer Focus – Attending to the needs and expectations of customers
- Delivering Results – Meeting organizational goals and customer expectations and making decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks
- Innovative Problem Solving – Identifying and analyzing problems in order to propose resolutions and/or recommendations
- Learning Agility – Seeking learning opportunities and applying lessons to one's work
- Political & Organizational Savvy – Working skillfully with politics, procedures, and protocols across organizational levels and boundaries
- Professional Integrity & Ethics – Displaying honesty, adherence to principles, and personal accountability
- Strategic Thinking & Perspective –Evaluating immediate actions in the context of achieving long-range objectives
- Teamwork – Building and maintaining professional relationships, collaborating with others to achieve shared goals
- Valuing Diversity –Appreciating the benefits of varied backgrounds and cultures in the workplace
This recruitment will produce two eligible lists. The restricted list will be for full-time, permanent part-time, or part-time City and Port of Oakland employees who meet the minimum qualifications. The open list will be for all other applicants who meet the minimum qualifications.
Any combination of education and experience that is equivalent to the following minimum qualifications may be acceptable.
Education: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in early childhood education, elementary education, social work, human services, counseling, public health, a health profession or a related field with a minimum of twelve (12) Early Childhood Education units.
Experience: One (1) year of experience in coordinating or implementing health, social or education services to low-income families. Previous experience providing support and referral services to Head Start/Early Head Start families in bilingual communities is highly desirable.
LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE / OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
A Family Development Credential is required within twelve (12) months of hire. A Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, elementary education, social work, counseling, nursing or a closely related field can be substituted for the Credential.
Individuals who are appointed to this position will be required to maintain a valid California Driver's License throughout the tenure of employment OR demonstrate the ability to travel to various locations in a timely manner as required in the performance of duties.
Must obtain First Aid and CPR certifications within sixty (60) days of employment and maintain throughout tenure of employment.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Depending on nature of assignment, candidates who receive offers of employment will be required to submit fingerprints, undergo a criminal record clearance, and have a physical examination including a TB screening, obtain immunizations related to being in a classroom, and provide up to date immunization records (annually or when expired) as required by Child Care Licensing.
Ability to work evening and weekend schedules, which may include occasional travel.
Proficiency in a foreign language may be required.
The Recruitment Process: The City of Oakland works with a Civil Service system. Applicants apply online, and HR staff reviews their experience, education, and training listed on the application against the “minimum qualifications” listed for each position.
Candidates who demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements are then invited to participate in an assessment process (or testing) to measure their knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas.
Please make sure to scan and attach your college transcripts (required documents) to your on-line application. Applicants who do not submit the required documents at the time of application will be screened out from further consideration. Candidates who do not demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements will have an opportunity to request a final review. Candidates must request a final review within 5 business days of being notified that they did not meet the minimum qualifications.
In the final review, candidates may clarify information already provided on their application. No additional work history, education, or certifications will be accepted. Any decisions made during this review process will be final.
For this recruitment, all qualified applicants will be sent a writing exercise, which will then be evaluated and rated by subject matter experts. The tentative date that the writing exercise will be sent to you for completion is the week of March 18, 2024.
For some recruitments, more than one type of assessment may be used. Depending on the number of candidates who pass the first assessment (multiple-choice test, structured interview, writing exercise, performance exam) you may be asked to complete a secondary assessment before the recruitment is finalized. If a secondary assessment is scheduled, you will be notified by email with specific details. If a secondary assessment is not scheduled, department hiring interviews will occur during this time frame.
Candidates who pass each stage in the process will be placed on an eligible list. Some candidates may receive extra points, for example, if you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge, or if you are a current City of Oakland resident. If you’re applying to a “restricted” posting and you are eligible as a current City employee, you may also receive additional points for your City service. Extra points are only applied to passing scores, so if you do not pass every element of the testing process, you cannot use extra points to pass.
The City of Oakland reserves the right to modify the selection process and date of examination as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change and does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.
What's in it for you?- 15 paid holidays
- Vacation – 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service
- Retirement – CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre-tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security
- Health – The City of Oakland pays the full cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care, and other HMO and PPO plans
- Dental – Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents
- Vision – VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents
- Sick leave – Employees accrue 12 days per year
- Deferred Compensation – 457(b) pre-tax plan and an after-tax ROTH 401(k)plan
- Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement, Life Insurance up to $200k & Employee Training.
Applicants are required to submit criminal history information upon request after receiving a conditional offer of employment. If the requested information is not furnished in a timely manner, applicants will not qualify for further consideration and will be removed from the eligible list.
Disaster Service Workers
All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.
How to Apply
Apply prior to the closing time of the job announcement and allow at least two to three hours to submit your application if you are a new user of the system. APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED ONLINE ONLY. You may apply and view current openings by visiting our employment opportunities webpage at:
If you do not have access to a computer, there are computer stations available at any City of Oakland Public Library. There are also workstations at the Human Resources Management Department, 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Workstations are available during regular business hours (normally 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
Our online application system is provided by GovernmentJobs. If you have problems while applying online, please contact GovernmentJobs Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday. You may also call the City of Oakland Human Resources Management Department during regular business hours at (510) 238-3112 for information; however, we are unable to provide technical support for the online application system. For recruitment-specific questions, please contact Melissa Davis at [email protected] .
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