INTERNAL ONLY - License Exempt Supervisor (SHPC4)

State of Washington; Tacoma (WA); Hybrid; USD 79,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in Washington state seeks a License Exempt Supervisor to lead a unit of licensing staff and support prospective child care providers in meeting requirements and accessing supports. You will assign, prioritize, and review work, supervise staff, and ensure timely, accurate service delivery.

The role emphasizes collaboration, staff development, and upholding safety standards for children and families.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising a team of licensed or licensing-exempt staff.
• Knowledge of child care licensing requirements and related laws.
• Ability to train staff on policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Assigns, delegates, prioritizes, and reviews work assignments.
• Provides consultation and direction to staff regarding customer services.
• Recruits and interviews new staff and recommends hiring.
• Develops training plans and trains staff on laws, policies and systems.
• Ensures staff read and follow DCYF policies and procedures.
• Coordinates training and career development for staff.
• Communicates with Administrator on personnel and license-exempt issues.
• Records policy and procedure updates.
• Monitors accuracy and timeliness of applications, visits, and follow-up.
• Reviews waivers per DCYF policy and procedures.
• Ensures annual monitoring of license-exempt providers.
• Reviews risk levels in abuse/neglect cases and ensures reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Staff supervision

Policy interpretation

Training

Communication

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Our vision is to ensure that “Washington state’s children and youth grow up safe and healthy, thriving physically, emotionally, and educationally, nurtured by family and community.”

Attention: INTERNAL ONLY: This position is open to current DCYF employees only

Job Title: License Exempt Supervisor (SHPC4)

Location: Tacoma, WA - This position is flexible/hybrid and can be done remotely; however, you will need to be in person as needed to support business needs.

Closes: Friday, October 23rd, 2026

Salary: $78,504 - $105,610 Annually

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is seeking a dedicated and organized leader to serve as a License Exempt Supervisor within our Licensing Division. In this role, you will provide supervision to the team responsible for offering technical assistance and support to individuals interested in becoming licensed child care providers. This position plays a key part in ensuring high-quality service delivery and advancing our mission to strengthen opportunities, connections, and community for Washington’s children, youth, and families.

We are looking for an individual who excels at prioritizing work, meeting deadlines, and guiding a team in a dynamic environment. The schedule for this position is flexible, and the selected candidate will join a highly motivated group committed to supporting the license-exempt providers they serve.

The Opportunity:

As the first-line supervisor for a unit of license-exempt staff, you will lead a team that helps prospective child care providers navigate requirements and understand the supports available to them. In this role, you will assign, prioritize, and review work assignments; provide consultation and direction on case handling; and delegate responsibilities appropriately to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. You will also coordinate staffing schedules to maximize support to customers while balancing the needs of your team.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in a collaborative environment, values community impact, and is eager to support both staff and providers in creating safe, stable, and enriching environments for Washington’s children and families.

Some of what you'll do:

• Assigns, delegates, prioritizes, and reviews work assignments.
• Provides consultation and direction to staff regarding customer services.
• Recruits and interviews new staff and recommend hiring to the Administrator.
• Develops training plans for staff and trains new and existing staff in the laws, regulations, policies, and procedures governing their job assignment including the use of online tools and other applicable computer systems.
• Informs unit of new agency policy and procedures and ensures that the unit reads, acknowledges and follows all DCYF policies and procedures.
• Arranges for training and specific job assignments and career development for staff and ensures all staff completes required trainings.
• Communicates with the Administrator regarding necessary personnel and license exempt issues within the unit. Ensures the unit complies with DCYF’s Public.
• Records policy and procedure.
• Monitors accuracy and timeliness of completion of the process for applications, technical assistance, visits, and follow-up.
• Reviews and processes waivers in accordance with DCYF’s policy and procedures.
• Ensures that specialists monitor license exempt providers every year in accordance with DCYFs policy and procedure.
• Reviews level of risk in cases alleging abuse and/or neglect of children and ensures appropriate reporting has taken place.
• Consults with the Administrator on issues of imminent risk to children, chronic violations, complex cases, LD/CPS, media matters and other cases as directed by the Administrator.
• Reviews violations of license exempt requirements to assure the health and safety of children and appropriate corrective action has been taken.

Required Qualifications

• One (1) year of experience as a Social and Health Program Consultant 3.
• OR
• Two (2) years of experience as a Social and Health Program Consultant 2.
• OR
• Four (4) years of experience in professional level child care or early childhood education in a licensed child care setting or formal early childhood setting; planning, administering, developing, or delivering social, financial, educational, health or chemical dependency treatment services programs.
• OR
• A Bachelor's degree in early childhood education, social work, a health or social science, public administration or a related field; AND five (5) years of professional experience in planning, administering, developing, or delivering social, financial, health, or chemical dependency treatment services programs.
• OR
• A Master's degree or higher in early childhood education, social work, a health or social science, public administration or a related field, AND four(4) years of professional experience in planning, administering, developing, or delivering social, financial, health or chemical dependency treatment services programs.
• AND
• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Note(s):

A degree in Social Work must be from an educational program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:

• Demonstrated knowledge of child development; risk assessment and decision making; research and applying law and regulations; interviewing techniques; role of expert representative in both court proceedings and multi-disciplinary team service delivery; concepts of group work and group dynamics; current literature on early care and education practices; concepts of community organization as applied to the development of community resources.
• Demonstrated ability to teach and train staff; manage a large volume of work; supervise staff communicate with other agencies and community groups; communicate up and down the chain of command and develop and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of level of staff; evaluate job performance; interview job applicants; make professional judgments. Type documents, correspondence and narratives and access web-based applications.

Supplemental Information:

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is committed to Washington’s children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving. We invite all candidates to join us in our goal to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the communities we serve. If you are excited about this role but you believe that your education and/or experience might not align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

This position requires a valid driver's license.

The incumbent must successfully complete formal training courses as required by law, policy, and regional requirements within one (1) year of their appointment.

Degrees must be obtained from an accredited college or university whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or a foreign equivalent verified by a NACES-approved organization at naces.org. Foreign Equivalency certification must be attached to the application for degrees obtained outside the U.S.

This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE). For more information: https://wfse.org/

Benefits eligibility for this position may be different than what's listed in the benefits tab of this recruitment announcement. For more information on employee benefits eligibility, visit Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB).

If you would like to request an accommodation throughout the application/interview process, contact DCYF Recruiter. If you're experiencing technical difficulties creating, accessing or completing your application, call NEOGOV toll-free at [phone] or email [e-mail]. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may call the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 360-664-1960.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications and wish to claim Veteran's Preference MUST attach a copy of their DD214, NGB Form 22, or Predischarge Certification (issued not more than 120 days prior to End of Term of Service (ETS) by date of submission). If claiming preference based on Predischarge Certification, the individual will be required to provide their official discharge documentation, such as a DD Form 214, NGB Form 22, or equivalent, within 30 days after the date of discharge. Please blackout the social security number before attaching any documents. For additional information on Veterans’ Preference and guidance on how to determine if you are eligible.

DCYF participates in the federal E-Verify program. The selected candidate must provide proof of identity and authorization to work in the United States, consistent with E-Verify requirements, on their first day of employment.

2026-08284