State of Maryland

A Social Service Administrator IV is the managerial or executive level of administrative social work in a local Department of Social Services or in the Social Services Administration of the Maryland Department of Human Services.  Employees in this classification direct the activities of a small local department or administer the Bureau of Special Services, Baltimore City Department of Social Services.  Employees in this classification also may administer a major division of the Social Services Administration or act as Regional Supervisors in the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.

Employees in this classification may be responsible for establishing and maintaining procedures and administrative controls and evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services rendered in the local department or assigned areas.  Employees in this classification supervise administrative and supervisory positions and their subordinates.  Employees in this classification receive managerial supervision from a higher level administrator.  The local board of Social Services also acts as an advisory body to the department director.

Position allocation within the Social Service Administrator I-VI series is determined on the basis of relative job evaluation among similarly functioning positions.  The job evaluation factors include: qualifications; nature and purpose of personal contacts; nature of recommendations, commitments, decisions and conclusions; creative thought; responsibility for planning; responsibility for administration; and nature of supervision received.

As a Local Director, is responsible for agency operations in the areas of social and income maintenance services, child support enforcement, financial operations and other assigned programs;

As a Director of a small department, acts as a County department head as well as a State official;

Reviews the development of programs, policies and procedures and reports regarding social services for children and adults;

Deploys staff as necessary to attain maximum efficiency and effectiveness;

Provides consultative social work services to other Social Service Administrators and supervisors;

Acts as an advocate for assigned social service programs;

Provides supervision and administrative direction to subordinate administrators and supervisors;

Coordinates the delivery of services in the assigned areas;

Meets with local, State and federal representatives and officials;

May be responsible for developing and negotiating local department budgets;

May be required to represent the department with local boards of Social Services’ planning, advisory, advocacy and issue-oriented groups as well as the general public and community groups;

May administer the programs of the Bureau of Special Services for Children of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services;

May act as appointing authority for a local department;

May administer a major division at the Social Services Administration;

May act as a Regional Supervisor in the Baltimore City Department of Social Services’ District Operations;

May provide administrative guidelines and procedures to District Managers in one of three city regions;

May follow up on corrective action plans;

May review regular activity reports from district offices;

May participate in planning activities for Baltimore City District Operations;

May establish and maintain systems to monitor and evaluate compliance to policies and procedures;

May plan for the delivery of services projecting staff needs and needs for supplies and equipment, program changes required or desirable and recommend priorities for action;

May be responsible for the management of building services and general administrative aspects of operation;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of social work methodology and practices;

Knowledge of State and federal laws relating to public social service operations;

Knowledge of public administration as related to social service agencies;

Knowledge of rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the Social Service Administration;

Knowledge of the techniques, procedures and problems of public social services administration;

Knowledge of public personnel administration techniques and methodology;

Skill in the development of budget and planning documents in the public sector;

Skill in assessing and evaluating the public information and publicity needs of an agency;

Skill in the direction, supervision and administration of the activities of assigned personnel;

Ability to coordinate child welfare services and other social services;

Ability to design programs to meet the needs of the community;

Ability to coordinate divergent functional areas across program lines in order to resolve problems;

Ability to assimilate a wide variety of administrative detail and analyze information for problem identification and resolution;

Ability to develop, coordinate and integrate social service policies and procedures;

Ability to address public meetings;

Ability to interpret, explain and implement the provisions of State laws pertaining to operations;

Ability to plan and develop programs, policies and procedures in accordance with State, federal and Social Services Administration policies, procedures, laws, rules and regulations;

Ability to establish and maintain professional working relationships with staff, other agencies and the general public;

Ability to evaluate existing services and to plan new services as needed.

Education:   A Master’s degree in social work from an accredited college or university approved by the Council on Social Work Education.

Experience: Seven years of professional experience in a social work capacity in a public or private agency or institution, five years must have been in an administrative supervisory or consultative capacity.

Notes:

1. These requirements are established by the Social Services Administration by authority provided in Human Services        Article 4-204 of the Annotated Code of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Budget and Management, Office of Personnel Services and Benefits, does not have authority to accept substitutions or equivalents.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience at a rank of Corporal/Petty Officer or higher as a commissioned officer in Social Work classifications or Social Work specialty codes in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience and education.

1. Candidates for positions in this classification must be licensed by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners.

2. Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties are required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.

Class Descriptions are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies.  Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

Class Descriptions provide information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work, General Requirements and Acknowledgements.  The Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.

This is a Management Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Management Service positions.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102 Annotated Code of Maryland, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.