Position Summary: The Director of Community Support and Engagement of the Impartial Hearing Order Implementation Unit will ensure that timely communication and problem-solving are in place ensuring the timely and efficient implementation of impartial hearing orders. The key responsibilities will include managing the office helpdesk, tracking, and resolving common issues, connecting escalations to the appropriate Team Leads, Directors and/or Senior Directors of Compliance and Account Management, and supporting the review and submission process for field-facing communications. The Director of Community Support and Engagement will be responsible for the supervision of the Community Support and Engagement Team, including correspondence with attorneys/advocates representing parents, and pro se parents. The Director of Community Support and Engagement will manage all escalations forwarded internally by DOE leadership and other DOE offices, as well as escalations from external entities. In collaboration with the Senior Directors of Compliance and Account Management, will lead the expansion and centralization of public facing communications including but not limited to information for the DOE website and publications including creation of informational materials clarifying office protocols for successful implementation of orders. Performs related work.
Reports to: Senior Directors of Compliance and Account Management
Direct Reports: Team leads, Community Support and Engagement Team
Key Relationships: Office of the Auditor General (OAG), Office of General Counsel(OGC), Impartial Hearing Office (IHO), Committees on Special Education (CSEs), Central Support Teams, Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP), Special Education Office (SEO), Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA), Division of Financial Operations (DFO),Division of Teaching and Learning (DT&L), Office of Related and Contractual Services (ORCS), Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT), Office of Student Enrollment (OSE), and the Division of School Leadership (DSL).
- Serves as the direct point of contact on implementation issues escalated to DOE offices, public advocacy groups and other key stakeholders.
- Manages a helpdesk team for questions and escalations from external community members related to implementation of impartial hearing order queries.
- Assigns queues of escalations to the appropriate director and team leads for review and resolution.
- Tracks common escalations and develops processes for more efficient resolutions for customer support and engagement team agents and end users.
- Creates training materials around the community support and engagement work of implementation.
- Develops and maintains expertise in all aspects of LV-IU workstreams in order to expedite resolution for inquiries and escalations.
- Provides supervision and training for the community support and engagement team.
- Conduct regular performance reviews of the community support and engagement workflow/team to identify areas that require support and development.
- Assists the Senior Directors of Compliance and Account Management in the planning and implementation of the daily activities of the unit.
- Monitors escalated order/decision compliance obstacles and direct the necessary actions through the appropriate team lead and staff members.
- Arranges and attends meetings with leadership within the Department of Education, compile relevant information to demonstrate problem situations, and prepare proposed recommendations to resolve problems, ensuring compliance with the Department’s regulations and policy and Court Ordered implementation.
- Prepares standard scripts that will be used by staff when responding to inquiries in order to ensure uniform responses to frequently asked questions.
- Conducts research to determine the status of outstanding claims, including cases pending settlement or appeal, in order to respond to leadership inquiries concerning deliverability problems and concerns raised by parents and providers.
- Conducts analysis of day-to-day activities of the Office; provide leadership with essential support to reorganize, streamline and enhance office workflows.
- Reviews Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs), Special Education Student Information System (SESIS) and other DOE legacy systems to determine pending entitlements and other required actions.
- Identity trends in community support and engagement and the Unit’s performance. Gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to make recommendations for improvement.
- Develops stakeholder information guides tailored to various stakeholder groups and ensure they remain up to date.
- Facilitate ongoing meetings, workshops or trainings as needed for external stakeholders.
- Reviews and analyzes information entered in FAMIS and DAITS regarding services rendered and/or tuition awarded pursuant to impartial hearing orders.
- Oversees quality control process for help desk.
- Supports users to utilize self-service functionalities of community support and engagement system.
- Maintains process or ongoing community feedback such as surveys, focus groups, and user tests.
- Liaise with other offices of the DOE and outside agencies regarding the implementation of impartial hearing orders.
Qualification Requirements:
Minimum
- Graduation from an accredited college with a baccalaureate degree and four (4) years of full-time paid supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial or executive experience of a nature appropriate to the duties of the position, such as budgeting, personnel, public relations, education or equivalent, or four (4) years of full-time paid experience as assistant to an executive in one of the fields described above, or a satisfactory equivalent; or
- High school graduation or equivalent and eight (8) years of full-time, paid experience as described in “1” above; or
- A satisfactory equivalent combination of post baccalaureate education and experience. However, all candidates must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent as described in “2” above.
- Ability to supervise and coordinate staff in a customer service call center environment.
- Ability to make effective telephone assessments.
- Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
- Excellent verbal, listening, problem solving and customer service skills.
- Attention to detail and follow-through.
- Strong organizational and time management skills.
Salary: $121,000 - $125,500
(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.
NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.
* New York City Residency is NOT Required *
We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply.