Associate Commissioner

Nyc-Administration-For-Children; New York (NY); On-site; USD 176,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

Administration for Children’s Services in New York City seeks an Administrative Director of Social Services to lead the Office of Social Services and oversee the Family Home Care and Referral Management efforts. The role requires strong administrative leadership, cross‑agency collaboration, and a commitment to child welfare and family support.

The selected candidate will supervise senior staff, drive policy alignment, and ensure effective service matching across the continuum of services.

Qualifications

• Baccalaureate degree with four years of progressively responsible social services experience.
• Graduate education may substitute for up to two years of experience.
• A licensed social worker may substitute for up to three years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the office.
• Supervise 2–3 Assistant Commissioners and Executive Directors toward timely, effective service matching.
• Serve as a senior liaison across internal divisions, external agencies, and contracted providers.
• Represent the Deputy Commissioner at high‑level meetings with officials.
• Establish and maintain consistent practices across teams to support service delivery.
• Ensure alignment between service matching practices and policy mandates and best practices.
• Drive a data‑informed culture and use data to guide decisions and improve operations.
• Partner with IT and data teams to strengthen tracking systems and reporting tools.
• Participate in contract development, renewal, and performance evaluation processes.
• Support culturally responsive and family‑centered approaches.
• Collaborate with providers to adapt to changing needs and priorities.
• Support division and agency‑wide strategic priorities, including prevention initiatives.
• Provide executive oversight for high‑risk or complex cases requiring urgent coordination.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and supportive work environment.
• Latitude to perform other duties and special projects as needed.

Skills

Administrative leadership

Education

Baccalaureate degree with 4 years of social services administration experience

Master’s degree may substitute for up to two years of experience

LCSW/LMSW license may substitute for up to three years of experience

Job description

THE SELECTED CANDIDATE WILL BE OFFERED A SALARY OF $195,000.00

THIS POSITION IS ONLY OPEN TO CANDIDATES WHO ARE PERMANENT (NOT PROVISIONAL) IN THE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES.

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of children and families through child welfare and juvenile justice services and community supports. ACS manages community-based supports and foster care services and provides subsidized childcare vouchers. ACS child protection staff respond to allegations of child maltreatment. In juvenile justice, ACS oversees detention, placement, and programs for youth in the community.

The Family Services Division (FSD) and its network of Non- for Profit providers deliver one of the largest and most diverse continuums of community-based child welfare prevention services in the nation to improve the safety, well-being, and permanency for thousands of families and children each year. FSD focuses on systems improvement, innovation, and strategic initiatives that require collaboration with major community partners to address urgent or emerging provider and family needs, city or state mandates, and high-priority strategic goals of ACS leadership. FSD is committed to learning new approaches to meet the needs of families, and nurture stronger connections with the communities we serve.

The Office of Service Matching (OSM) is focused on ensuring that families are connected to services in the community. The office currently consists of 2 units - Referral Management and Family Home Care The Family Home Care team works to provide homemaking, house attendant, and housekeeping, services to assist parents in enhancing family functioning and promoting positive outcomes for children in their communities. The Referral Management team is charged with timely matching families with the most appropriate service and processes approximately 10,000 referrals a year. The Associate Commissioner’s strategic leadership and vision will play a major role overseeing Referral Management and the Family Home Care team.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the office.
• Supervision of 2 to 3 Assistant Commissioners and Executive Directors staff charged with ensuring timely, effective matching of families with the most appropriate service across the continuum of services including homemaking, house attendant, and housekeeping services are provided timely and effectively.
• Serve as a senior liaison across internal divisions, external agencies, and contracted prevention providers. Foster partnerships that support integrated service delivery.
• Represent the Deputy Commissioner at high-level meetings with federal, state, city officials and non-for – profit executive directors.
• Establish and maintain clear, consistent practices across teams to support effect service delivery.
• Ensure alignment between service matching practices and evolving ACS policy, legal mandates, and best practices in child welfare.
• Drive a data-informed culture and use data to guide decision-making, improve operations, and address service gaps.
• Partner with IT and data teams to strengthen tracking systems and reporting tools.
• Participate in contract development, renewal, and performance evaluation processes.
• Support the integration of culturally responsive and family-centered approaches.
• Collaborate with providers to adapt to the changing needs and systems priorities.
• Support division and agency-wide strategic priorities, including prevention-focused initiatives
• Provide executive oversight for high-risk or complex cases requiring urgent service coordination.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and supportive work environment.
• Latitude to perform other duties and special projects as needed to support the overall mission, vision, and strategic priorities of the division.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Section 424-A of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a candidate for employment with child-caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and maltreatment report.

The Administration for Children’s Services is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing access to all individuals. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact Simone Campbell at [e-mail] or 212-676-6955.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR OF SOC - 10056

Minimum Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and four years of progressively responsible experience, in a large governmental agency, business firm, civic or community organization operating in the area of social services, including one year at the administrative or managerial level; or

2. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" above. Graduate education or a license may substitute for up to a maximum of three years of experience in the area of social services, but not for the one year of experience at the administrative or managerial level as described in "1" above, as follows:

(A) A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in accounting, business, child welfare, counseling, economics, education, finance, human resources, labor relations, management, management science, nursing, operations research, organizational behavior, personnel or public administration, political science, psychology, sociology, social work, statistics, and/or urban studies may substitute for two years of experience; and/or

(B) Graduate education beyond the baccalaureate degree may be substituted at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college or university in the area(s) listed in “2(A)” above for each year of experience up to a maximum of three years; or

(C) A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) may substitute for three years of experience.

However, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and one year of experience at the administrative or management level as described in "1" above.

55a Program

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.