Requisition No: 848700
Agency: Children and Families
Working Title: DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY Statewide Operations - ESS Program - 60000110
Pay Plan: SMS
Position Number: 60000110
Salary: $115,000 - $130,000 annually
Posting Closing Date: 04/20/2025
Total Compensation Estimator Tool
Open competitive opportunity.
FL Department of Children and Families
DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY - ESS - Statewide Operations
Office location: 2415 N. Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303
If selected for hire, current DCF employees will be compensated in accordance with the DCF salary policy.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) isthe state of Florida’s social services agency. The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and public assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency. To learn more about DCF please visit https://www.myflfamilies.com/.
Within DCF, the Economic Self Sufficiency (ESS) Program helps to promote strong and economically self-sufficient communities by determining eligibility for food, cash and medical assistance for individuals and families on the road to economic recovery.
REQUIRED Minimum Qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university AND minimum four (4) years of relevant, professional experience;
- Professional or non-professional experience as described below can substitute on a year-for-year basis for the required college degree.
- Note: Be prepared to provide a copy of your degree/diploma or request official transcripts from your school in a sealed envelope. All documents must be in English, clear, and legible, showing all signatures and pertinent details. Foreign degrees must be validated by a third party to meet the US equivalency requirements. All costs are the responsibility of the applicant.
- Experience managing large teams and at least three (3) years of experience serving in an executive management role.
- Experience providing operational leadership through the formulation of operational plans and procedures.
- Ability to travel overnight to conduct official business.
How you will make an impact:
Provides leadership and statewide operational oversight of the ESS Program. ESS is responsible for eligibility determination for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid. This position manages budget, implements program policy, quality assurance, quality control, and technology for the Regional Operations which include six Regional Directors and the Statewide Customer Contact Center (Call Center) Director. Directors ensure their teams deliver a customer-centered experience for government assistance applicants and recipients by processing applications efficiently and accurately. They also facilitate access to benefits through the Customer Contact Center and Family Resource Centers across the state, ensuring a seamless support system.
This is a highly professional position that includes the management and directing of employees. Duties include communicating with, motivating, training, and evaluating employees, planning and directing their work; and having the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline subordinate employees to effectively recommend such actions. Evaluates employees against established standards and takes any necessary steps for corrective action.
This position will be required to travel to locations throughout the state of Florida and to meetings, conferences, or events as appropriate within the United States.
Additionally, this position serves in a leadership role for DCF on the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) Response team and, in that capacity, may be required on short notice to perform duties and travel in support of disaster relief. During such events, incumbent may be required to work more than 8 hours a day.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities include:
- Represents the interests of the State of Florida with federal agencies in terms of negotiating, reporting and monitoring responsibilities related to federal funds and policies.
- Directs ongoing research, studies, client needs assessment and the conduct of internal program coordination in support of short- and long-range program planning to improve client services, promote efficiency in service delivery and program administration and to maximize federal funding and other revenues.
- Actively works with other state agencies to provide effective and coordinated services to eligible Floridians.
- Provides leadership and program expertise in legal matters and litigation pertaining to the above programs in conjunction with the Assistant Secretary for Economic Self Sufficiency, the Department Executive Leadership, and legal counsel.
- Responsible for the development of a system of accountability that includes comprehensive outcome measures, performance-based budgeting, performance standards and quality improvement.
- Represents the State of Florida in national policy implementation in partnership with other states and organizations.
- Acts as the department’s spokesperson regarding the above programs through speaking engagements, and interaction with the news media, concerned clients and client advocacy groups, legislators, legislative committee staff directors and analysts, congressmen, legal aid organizations.
- Directs the development of the department’s Legislative Budget Request for the above programs where statewide issues exist.
- Responsible for working with the department, statewide public interest organizations and the legislature to formulate legislation, policy and appropriations.
- Reviews and implements the policy direction for Economic Self Sufficiency programs relating to the standards for customer service delivery and verifies that any problem-solving efforts are coordinated and implemented in accordance with the governing federal and state statutes and Department policies and operating procedures.
- Monitors and oversees contracts and grants with the Office of Economic Self Sufficiency, including support and execution in the planning, coordination, participation in and approval of procurements and contracts. Supports document preparation and the development of organizational process improvement initiatives.
- Other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required for the position:
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Weighing the relative costs and benefits of a potential action.
- Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Writing - Communicating effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Active Listening - Listening to what other people are saying and asking questions as appropriate.
- Information Gathering - Knowing how to find information and identifying essential information.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
- Identifying Downstream Consequences - Determining the long-term outcomes of a change in operations.
- Implementation Planning – Developing approaches for implementing an idea.
- Identification of Key Causes - Identifying the things that must be changed to achieve a goal.
- Visioning - Developing an image of how a system should work under ideal conditions.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of principles and processes involved in business and organizational planning, coordination, and execution. This may include strategic planning, resource allocation, manpower modeling, leadership techniques, and production methods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services, including needs assessment techniques, quality service standards, alternative delivery systems, and customer satisfaction evaluation techniques.
- Computer - Knowledge of computer software including applications.
Growth Opportunities:
With 12,000 employees across the state DCF promotes opportunities and training for all. Our jobs are among the most challenging, complex, and difficult in State government. They are also among the most rewarding. All employees are encouraged to take advantage of available Department opportunities for advancement and professional development.
Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:
Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits.
For a more complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.
Your People First Candidate Profile (application) must be completed in its entirety.
- Include supervisor names and phone numbers for all periods of employment.
- Account for and explain any gaps in employment so that the hiring process is not delayed.
- Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications.
- It is unacceptable to use the statement “See Resume” in place of entering work history.
The position will perform all job tasks in accordance with laws, rules, regulations, policies, and requirements applicable to state and federal laws or procedures.
EMPLOYMENT DISCLOSURES
- US CITIZEN REQUIREMENT Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.
- SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire. For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.
- RETIREE NOTICE If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.
- BACKGROUND SCREENING It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and, if applicable, also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and Chapter 408, F.S. No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency. Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.
- BENEFIT RECOVERY SCREENING Candidates applying to positions in the Economic Self-Sufficiency Program will have a Benefit Recovery check completed to validate current or former public assistance case information and check for outstanding overpayments before completing the hiring process.
If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at (877) 562-7287.
The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.
Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.
The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.
