Protective Services Specialist 1/2/3 Juneau or Craig (PCN 069399) - Full-time

About the Department

**THE RECRUITMENT PERIOD FOR THIS VACANCY HAS BEEN EXTENDED**

Come join the State of Alaska!

This job class uses Competency Based minimum qualifications (MQs). Please read the Competency Based MQ instructions below to learn more.

The Department of Family and Community Services,
Office of Children's Services (OCS) is
recruiting for full-time Protective Services Specialist 1/2/3

in Craig, Alaska or Juneau, Alaska

This position is open to Alaska Residents.

What You Will Be Doing: As a Protective Services Specialist (PSS), responsible for Child Protection Services in the Family Services unit, the Investigations & Assessment unit, or as Generalist covering both. This position is based out of the Craig Field Office or Juneau Field Office.

The Southeast Regional Field Offices consist of Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, and Craig. If working in the Craig Field Office, incumbents would only travel as needed for coverage primarily to Craig and other communities throughout Southeast Alaska and to the Southeast Regional Field Office locations. If working in the Juneau Field Office, incumbents in this position will typically work two weeks in the office (50%) and spend two weeks traveling (50%) each month. Travel from Craig or Juneau could range from a day trip to a full week or longer and may involve small aircraft or other forms of transportation.

Successful applicants will start at a level 1, 2 or 3 depending on experience and qualifications. This case carrying position has a wide range of duties, including investigating reports of child abuse and/or neglect, preparing plans for intervention by soliciting the cooperation of the family and others, and gathering information about family dynamics/functionality. The Protective Services Specialist will develop plans to ensure child safety while assisting parents in addressing their diminished protective factors, place children out of the home with a relative or licensed foster home when necessary, provide ongoing and/or in-home services to families, write and submit reports to the Court, work closely with Tribal/Community Partners, frequent face-to-face and telephonic contact with parents and caregivers of children in custody and make referrals to other service providers and agencies.

 For more information:

Mission and Values/Culture:

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is: Ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

The  strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and wellbeing are paramount and employees at all levels promote a culture where everyone is valued, treated equitably, and treated respectfully. 
  
Everything we do is underpinned by our Hope, Integrity, Respect and Empathy.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:
The Office of Children's Services is committed to an organizational culture that values each team member. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We celebrate and value the diversity of our employees, partners, and families we serve.

Your first twelve months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal virtual training, on-the-job training with your supervisor, and with other colleagues.

While this is a field-based position that involves working in the community, part-time telework within the duty station may be an option upon eligibility.

Full-time benefits of this position include but are not limited to: Insurance Benefits; Retirement Benefits; Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year. Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information.

The Working Environment You Can Expect:

This position is region-wide and covers Family Services and Initial Investigations or Generalist as needed, typical in remote Southeast Alaska locations. The Southeast Regional Field Offices consist of Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, and Craig.

This position is based out of the Craig Field Office or Juneau Field Office. Please select location preference in the supplemental questions of this job posting.

The Craig Field Office is located on beautiful Prince of Wales Island in the village of Craig, Alaska. Prince of Wales is a world class hunting and fishing location, with hundreds of miles of roads through stunning scenery where wildlife abounds. A vibrant culture adds to the richness of life on Prince of Wales. If working in the Craig Field Office, the incumbent in this position would only travel as needed for coverage primarily to Craig and other communities throughout Southeast Alaska and to the Southeast Regional Field Office locations. Travel to be expected is day trips and occasional overnights, 0-2 times a month or 0-2 times a year.

The Juneau Field Office is located in the heart of the Mendenhall Valley, conveniently located near shops, restaurants and the bus line. If working in the Juneau Field Office, the incumbent in this position will typically work two weeks in the office (50%) and spend two weeks traveling (50%) each month with occasional day trips and some overnights to other southeast communities.

Child protection work requires working in small villages, often located significant distances apart in isolated communities. Protective Services Specialists need to be adept at engagement in both Initial Assessment and Family Services work with families served.

The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services (OCS) requires staff to work after hours and on-call, work in the evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime is also an expectation when deemed necessary. OCS staff are considered essential, so are expected to work during pandemic and other natural disasters. Travel may be frequent or minimal. Travel varies and is based on regional needs. Travel to villages or cities for placement or visitation varies based on regional needs. Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft or other forms of transportation and overnight stays.

The typical workweek may include some caseworker visits at school or in resource family homes, virtual and in-person court attendance, and mostly working independently in an office setting.

Our teams are based around having a strong work ethic and high ethical standards, believing in treating all people with dignity and respect, as well as being self-motivated, organized and honest. We are all about getting the job done while still contributing to a positive, upbeat work environment.

For information on the Craig or Juneau community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the .

Who We Are Looking For:

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

• Stress Tolerance: Deals calmly and effectively with high stress situations (for example, tight deadlines, hostile individuals, emergency situations, dangerous situations). (Level 1)
• Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior. (Level 1)
• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change. (Level 2)
• Advocacy: Develops and presents the client’s, patient’s, and/or customer’s interests in all matters. (Level 2)
• Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals. (Level 3)
   

Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer work, training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports/demonstrates how you possess the minimum required competencies for this position and be sure to thoroughly document it in your application.

Please read the information below carefully. This applies to your application submission.

To view the general description and example of duties for this position please visit following link:   

If you can imagine yourself in this role, we encourage you to apply!

Position Duties

Competency Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions
This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description
 The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in: 

• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: Uses a logical, systematic, and sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Customer Service: Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside State government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• Integrity/Honesty: Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
• Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.
• Technical Credibility: Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.

equivalent to those typically gained by

Training in a social science, behavioral science, health science, guidance and counseling, or a closely related field and/or experience providing assistance, information or referrals to the general public related to social services, health care, or legal services; in child, adult, family, or group case management, licensing, or probation services; or providing care or services to delinquent juveniles.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.
 
“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

equivalent to those typically gained by

Training in a social science, behavioral science, health science, guidance and counseling, or a closely related field and/or progressively responsible professional experience providing assistance, information or referrals to the general public related to social services, health care, or legal services; in child, adult, family, or group case management, licensing, or probation services; or providing care or services to delinquent juveniles.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

“Professional