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Director, Preventive Services

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-Time
LOCATION: Citywide (Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx)
REPORTS TO: President & CEO

ABOUT AAFSC:

The Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC) is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization established in 1994 to provide culturally and linguistically competent, trauma-informed social services. Across our eight locations, we empower immigrants and refugees with the tools they need to successfully acclimate to the world around them and become active participants in the community. While we support anyone who walks through our doors, over nearly 25 years, we have developed expertise in serving the Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) immigrant and refugee communities.

AAFSC works across four priority areas—Promote, Get Ready, Prevent, and Communicate—to achieve our ultimate goal of strengthening families. AAFSC promotes mental and physical wellbeing, food security, healthy relationships, and family reunification. We get our families ready to succeed, work, and lead productive lives. We prevent domestic violence, child abuse, and neglect by counseling families, offering case management services to victims of violence, and cultivating healthy relationship skills in young people. Finally, AAFSC communicates the needs of the marginalized, amplifying their voices for increased impact.

JOB SUMMARY: 

The Director of Preventive Services is accountable for providing strategic leadership and supervision to the Preventive Services program and staff, as well as support for related cross-programmatic initiatives. The Director will either support the Family Support (Solutions-Based Casework Model) or the Functional Family Therapy model depending on their catchment area assignment & area of expertise. A successful person in this position has strong administrative and management skills including strategic planning, resource allocation, and coordination of programming & service delivery to meet participant/client needs and funder expectations. He or she will be organized, have high attention to detail and will have the capacity to thrive under pressure while working on multiple projects. A commitment to immigrant, refugee and low-income communities is essential for success in this role.

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy & Planning

• Communicate clearly the mission, vision and goals of the program & the organization, and alignment to the internal objectives as well as funder objectives.
• Develop and implement a strategy and work plans across all levels of the program and among all assigned staff members to achieve program goals.
• Allocate the time and resources needed to carry out activities; coordinate efforts with affected parties; monitor progress and keep parties informed.
• Anticipate obstacles and develop contingency plans to address them; take necessary corrective action when projects go off-track.
• Use experience and expertise to innovate, challenge assumptions and develop new practices when necessary.

Team Leadership

• Identify the key capabilities needed to perform staff roles and use available resources to ensure that the right people are in the right positions.
• Manage and delegate responsibilities involved in day-to-day operations to allow for efficient and streamlined programming; provide ownership of tasks to team members within a culture of accountability.
• Communicate regularly with staff on performance; review and evaluate staff to make recommendation for staff changes as necessary.
• Coach and mentor all assigned staff members while giving constructive feedback as appropriate.
• Be open to and respond appropriately to positive and negative feedback; encourage others to express their ideas and opinions.
• Motivate, develop and retain staff, providing them with opportunities for professional growth.
• Responsible for the direct supervision and coaching of assigned team members.
• Must ensure that all staff training needs are continually met.

Collaboration & Partnerships

• Proactively network and build relationships with community resources (e.g., community groups, employers, institutions) to support the goals of the program and the organization.
• Involve other stakeholders in problem-solving and decision-making to gain buy-in and alignment.
• Represent the program confidently in interactions with funders, community groups, participants and other key stakeholders.

Analysis & Decision-Making

• Review and analyze program and agency data to ask questions, make deci­sions and develop strategies to improve program performance.
• Review the data requirements needed for evaluation purposes, implement processes to facilitate its collection and communicate the importance of evaluation to program stakeholders.
• Identify alternative solutions to problems and select those that most effectively support the program’s goals and strategy.
• Make difficult decisions even in unclear or poorly defined situations and do so in a timely manner.
• Ensure data entry meets contractual and AAFSC program requirements, including attention to detail, responsibility and dependability in data reporting to external and internal database platforms.
• Assist in the administration of surveys, focus groups and other program assessments.
• Ensure all paperwork and documentation is completed in a timely manner.

Program Management

• Know the population being served, external environment, and resources available to the program and its participants.
• Apply knowledge gained from previous work experience in similar areas of service delivery to current position.
• Know best practices available to draw upon and how and when to implement them.
• Demonstrate knowledge of federal/state/city laws, regulations and agency guidelines for programs managed.
• Use knowledge of administrative policies, rules and procedures to oversee processes that ensure program compliance.
• Plan and manage time effectively, acting on competing priorities with an understanding of their importance to accomplishing program goals.
• Communicate frequently, providing relevant details and context, and listen actively.
• Produce clear and concise written communication (reports, emails, etc.) and presentations.

Grants & Contract Management

• Manage program objectives against contractual obligations to ensure programs are in compliance with agreements and expectations of the funders.
• Identify program performance criteria that need to be measured to evaluate quality and opportunities for improvement.
• Translate programmatic objectives, priorities and analysis of current resources into accurate and clear proposals for the Development & Communications team.
• Identify opportunities to use financial resources more effectively to achieve program goals.

Ambassador & Champion

• Every AAFSC team member serves as an ambassador of the organization and champion of AAFSC’s mission, vision and values. This includes the following:
  • Cultivate relationships on behalf of and in support of the organization in partnership with Senior Leadership and the Development & Communications team. This includes being sensitive to and aware of others, providing every client, partner and participant with high-quality service, professional communication, and follow through, and always keeping Senior Leadership and the Development & Communications team aware of any opportunities, challenges, or updates.
  • All team members are expected to support the Development and Communications team with any requests in a timely manner, including, but not limited to: grant applications, reports, attendance at meetings, hearings, or other events, and sharing of AAFSC social media, flyers, and other externally-facing communications.
  • Always act with integrity, positivity, dedication, and professionalism within the office and externally. This includes, but is not limited to, email communication, verbal communication, communication with colleagues and peers, communication with clients, or communication with external partners or agencies.

Other Duties & Responsibilities

• Participate in AAFSC meetings, trainings, and events.
• Perform other duties assigned as necessary.
• Attend external meetings and trainings as scheduled.

BACKGROUND & POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology or related field required.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in creating, implementing and measuring effectiveness of programs preferred.
• Experience working with immigrant, refugee and low-income communities preferred.
• Excellent writing, interpersonal, and organizational skills are required.
• Strong technology skills, including using Microsoft Office products as well as navigating and using government and internal databases.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends to manage crises, attend events, or meetings.
• Job contingent on pre-employment background check and fingerprint clearance.
• U.S. Work Authorization is required.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please submit a resume, cover letter outlining your fit for this position, and a list of three references (not family members) to hiring@aafscny.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. All individuals are encouraged to apply.