Staff Development Specialist

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

THE POSITION

Positions of Staff Development Specialist are found in various Alameda County agencies/departments. This classification is distinguished from other classes in that these positions require knowledge of needs assessment, curriculum design, classroom delivery, program evaluation, and group facilitation. Staff Development Specialists report to and serve as staff to a supervisor who has day-to-day responsibilities related to supervising a training or staff development unit within the agency/department.

Please CLICK HERE for full job description.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:  

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and oral, and the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences and in a variety of contexts.
• Excellent classroom delivery skills, curriculum design, and demonstrated work experience planning and coordinating training programs.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct needs assessments, program evaluation, and group facilitation.
• Consistent adherence to established standards, completion of projects within stringent time schedules; handling multiple tasks at once, prioritizing, and demonstrating excellent follow-through on each task assigned, and performing well under pressure.
• The operation and application of automated systems and software programs (Microsoft Office Suite).
• Principles of adult learning concepts/adult learning theory.
• Experience working with grants, including interpretation and implementation.
• Experience working with a learning management system (LMS).

 In certain positions the ideal candidate will have a proven successful track record:

• Working with the State with certification, the Board of State and Community correction.

• Working with the Board of State and Community Corrections and the Standards & Training for Corrections. (STC)

VACANCIES

The current vacancies are within the Alameda County Social Services Agency and the Alameda County Child Support Services.  However, the eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be used by any department needing to fill a vacancy.

Applicants who only meet the general minimum qualifications will not be impacted by the additional experience required for the designated positions. At least one of the current vacant positions has the specialty designation of Child Welfare Experience which must be met, in addition to the minimum qualifications below. To qualify for appointment into a designated position, candidates eligible for referral must also possess experience as defined by the specialty designation criteria.                                  

The specific specialty designations, and qualifying criteria are detailed in the supplemental questionnaire.

ALAMEDA COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY

The Alameda County Social Services Agency (SSA) is comprised of 2,400 men and women working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the community. Services are provided through four departments: Administration and Finance, Adult and Aging Services, Children and Family Services, and Workforce and Benefits Administration. To learn more about the Alameda County Social Services Agency, please visit the website at https://www.alamedasocialservices.org/.  

ALAMEDA COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES (ACCSS)

Alameda County Child Support Services believes that all parents should be fully engaged in supporting the wellbeing of their children. To meet this Vision, the Department is committed to serving the children and families of Alameda County in ways that are innovative, responsive, efficient, compassionate and in tune with the rich diversity of our community. 

Our customers are mothers, fathers, caregivers, children, community partners and residents of Alameda County. The Department’s core business is to help families by establishing parentage and child and medical support orders, and by enforcing child support orders and collecting support.   To carry out this mission, the Department employs dedicated, talented, and creative people with a passion for public service to meet customer needs. Within our Development and Professional Training Team, Staff Development Specialists play an integral role in shaping our culture and developing a dynamic workforce that meets the needs of our customers and partners now and into the future.

HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY (HCSA)

Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and the Office of the Agency Director. The ultimate mission of the Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents.

HCSA PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Alameda County Public Health Department has worked for over 80 years to improve the health and safety of its residents and the neighborhoods they live in. Traditional public health concerns such as disease outbreaks, environmental hazards and access to health care have been joined by contemporary concerns: bioterrorism, crime, violence, and substance abuse. Each of these poses a threat to public health and wellness and calls for short and long-term solutions that lie well outside traditional public health boundaries.  For more information about our Alameda County Public Health Department, visit their website at www.acphd.org.  

ALAMEDA COUNTY LIBRARY

The Alameda County Library provides library services from ten libraries in the cities of Albany, Dublin, Fremont, Newark and Union City and the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley and San Lorenzo. Additional services are provided through Mobile and Outreach Services, Education and Literacy Services, and Social Justice Services.

The County Library was established in 1910 and is governed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The Alameda County Library Advisory Commission advises County Librarian, Cynthia Chadwick, and the Board of Supervisors on library services.

The County Library is funded primarily by local property taxes, with additional revenue from State grants and contracts with cities for additional open hours and services.

The Board of Supervisors allocates a portion of a utility users and business license tax which is collected only in the unincorporated areas of the County to the Library for service to the unincorporated areas. The Alameda County Library Foundation and active Friends of the Library or Library League groups in each community support library programs and services. To learn more about the Alameda County Library, please visit their website at: http://www.aclibrary.org/  

ALAMEDA COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT

The Alameda County Probation Department is an essential element of the County’s system of public protection and human services. The Department’s role is to reduce the impact of crime in the community by providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely information and recommendations to the Courts, providing community-based sanctions and treatment for offenders, and working cooperatively with law enforcement agencies and community organizations with similar objectives. The Department provides a wide range of mandated and discretionary investigative, advisory, and supervisory services to adult and juvenile probationers pursuant to State law and the County Charter.

EITHER I  

Experience:

The equivalent of one (1) year of experience in the classification of Supervising Eligibility Technician or in an equivalent or higher-level classification in the Alameda County classified service. (Completion of one (1) or more courses of study in methods, principles, practices and techniques of Adult Education is desirable).  

Completion of the Alameda County Management Academy “Management & Supervision Certificate Program” may substitute for six (6) months of the required qualifying experience for the internal patterns.  

OR II  

Education:  

Possession of a Bachelor's degree in the field of education, organizational development, business administration, social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other behavioral science.  

AND  

Experience:  

The equivalent of two (2) years of full-time experience as a Social Worker II, Adult Protective Services Worker II, Deputy Public Guardian-Conservator/Investigator or higher-level social worker classification in the Alameda County classified service.  

OR III  

Experience:  

The equivalent of three (3) years full-time experience providing social casework services in a professional capacity in the field of adult and aging or gerontology in a public or private human services agency after receipt of the degree or three (3) years of such experience if obtained prior to the receipt of the master's degree.  

(Note: Possession of an MSW from an accredited school of social work or possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Counseling or Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling may be substituted for a maximum of one (1) year of the required experience.)  

OR IV  

Experience:  

The equivalent of three (3) years of full-time experience which involved planning, developing, conducting, and/or evaluating adult education and training programs.

(A Bachelor's degree in teacher education, psychology, or industrial training or a closely related field may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience.)  

License:  

Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license.  

Special Requirements for positions located at the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services and Probation Department:

• A thorough pre-employment background investigation, including fingerprinting, will be conducted of all candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of employment to ensure suitability for related work.    

NOTE:    The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:  

• Principles of adult education and training.
• Teaching methods and procedures.
• Organization and project management.
• Public and community resources and services.
• Federal, State, and local laws, codes, regulations in the field of public welfare, social services, health care, probation and law enforcement, or closely related programs.
• Operation and application of automated systems and software programs.
• Consultation techniques.  

Ability to:  

• Prepare and present lesson plans.
• Establish and maintain effective and cooperative relationships with other employees.
• Research, review, interpret and synthesize information on a variety of topics.
• Analyze and evaluate training needs and make appropriate recommendations.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training activities.
• Facilitate and lead groups.
• Facilitate and model effective written and oral communication with attention to linguistic preferences and cultural proficiency.
• Operate automated systems and software programs.
• Be flexible with multiple projects and priorities at the same time.
• Provide consultation techniques.
• Incorporate departmental core values and ethical standards of practice into all interactions with individuals, organizations, and communities.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1. A review of applicants' applications and supplemental questionnaires to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the testing.
2. A review of candidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to determine the best qualified. Those candidates considered the best qualified will move on to the final step in the examination process.
3. An oral examination which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this examination.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work. 

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, @acgov.org, Noreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email boxes Noreply@jobaps.com and noreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Montrice Goodman | Human Resources Analyst

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.