Opportunity Center Director

State of Connecticut - Department of Social Services; Hartford (CT); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Connecticut Department of Social Services seeks an Opportunity Center Director to lead the new integrated service delivery model across state and community hubs. You will align agencies, build partnerships, and drive outcomes for Connecticut's highest-need communities.

This role blends operations and systems change, requiring strategic leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to navigate a complex government environment while delivering measurable improvements.

Qualifications

• Ten years of professional experience in delivering social or human services.
• Two years of managerial experience.
• Experience with Connecticut's human services landscape preferred.
• Experience with collective impact initiatives or collaborative community models.

Responsibilities

• Design and operationalize the Opportunity Center across state and community hubs.
• Develop integrated intake, navigation, and follow-through protocols linking residents to DSS programs.
• Build and manage a multidisciplinary team of navigators, eligibility specialists, and community liaisons.
• Support participant-centered case coordination across state and partner agencies.
• Lead cross-agency integration with sister agencies to align service delivery.
• Establish formal referral, data-sharing, and co-location agreements for seamless handoffs.
• Represent DSS in interagency groups, Governor's Office, and multi-sector coalitions.
• Cultivate a network of community-based organizations and partners as trusted co-navigators.
• Convene partner meetings to improve communication and accountability.
• Design authentic community input structures to inform service design.

Skills

Strategic systems thinking

Relationship building

Data-driven decision making

Ambiguity management

Equity focus

Strategic planning

Facilitation

Education

Graduate degree in public administration or related field

Job description

Introduction

Are you a current Department of Social Services employee seeking your next opportunity?

The State of Connecticut, Department of Social Services (DSS) is accepting applications for an anticipated Opportunity Center Director (Social Services Program Division Director).

Connecticut is reimagining how government meets people where they are. The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) is building the Opportunity Center — a new model of integrated, community-anchored service delivery designed to remove the barriers that keep eligible residents from accessing the benefits and supports they need to thrive.

The Opportunity Center Director will lead this initiative from functional pilot and scale towards the integrated service delivery model. This is both an operating role and a systems-change role: you will manage state and community based physical hubs, a programmatic model, forge deep partnerships with sister agencies and community-based organizations, and hold accountability for measurable outcomes across some of Connecticut's highest-need communities.

Inspired by integrated service delivery models nationwide — including the Arkansas 100 Families initiative and the Community Resource Centers in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina — Connecticut's Opportunity Center is built on the belief that people navigating complex life circumstances deserve coordinated, dignified, and proactive government. This is your chance to build it.

Position Highlights

LOCATION: Hartford, CT

SHIFT: First (full time | 40 hours per week) | Hybrid

SCHEDULE: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday - Friday

NOTE: You must be a current DSS employee to be considered. Please see selection plan for additional details.

What We Can Offer You

• Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page!
• Professional growth and development opportunities.
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees.
• The State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. Click here for more information.

What You Will Do

• Design and operationalize the Opportunity Center as both state and community based physical service hubs and a replicable programmatic model across the state.
• Develop integrated intake, navigation, and follow-through protocols that connect residents to DSS programs — including HUSKY Health, SNAP, TANF, and wraparound services — through a single, coordinated experience.
• Build and manage a multidisciplinary team of benefit navigators, eligibility specialists, and community liaisons embedded within the Center.
• Support and ensure participant-centered case coordination across state and partner agencies.
• Serve as DSS's primary cross-agency integration lead, partnering with sister agencies including DCF, DOL, OHA, and DMHAS to align service delivery and reduce fragmentation for shared clients.
• Establish formal referral, data-sharing, and co-location agreements that create seamless handoffs across agency lines.
• Represent DSS in interagency working groups, Governor's Office convenings, and multi-sector coalitions focused on integrated human services.
• Cultivate and manage a network of community-based organizations (CBOs), faith institutions, legal aid providers, and health partners serving as trusted co-navigators within the Opportunity Center model.
• Convene regular partner meetings to improve communication, coordination and shared accountability.
• Design structures for authentic community voice in service design — ensuring lived experience informs operations without creating performative engagement.
• Lead community outreach strategy to reach populations who have historically disengaged from public benefit systems.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Opportunity Center, including staffing, facilities coordination, partner contracts, and budget management.
• Provide strategic leadership for all Opportunity Center operations.
• Develop and implement policies that have a collective impact on the coordinated network of state and community partners to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.
• Establish a performance framework with clear metrics across enrollment outcomes, service touchpoints, case resolution, and community trust indicators.
• Support evaluation efforts demonstrating improvements.
• Produce regular reports for DSS leadership, the Governor's Office, and external stakeholders on model performance and replication readiness.
• We are not looking for a traditional program manager. We are looking for a builder — someone who can hold complexity, navigate bureaucracy without being captured by it, and bring communities and agencies together around shared outcomes.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic systems thinker who can connect program design, operational delivery, and community trust-building into a coherent model.
• Skilled communicator and relationship-builder — equally fluent with government executives, frontline workers, and community members.
• Analytically grounded: able to define metrics, interpret data, and translate insights into operational decisions.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and energized by the challenge of building something new within a large public institution. Visionary leadership.
• Deep commitment to equity, dignity, and the belief that government can — and must — do better for the people it serves.
• Strategic planning and organizational development experience.
• Strong facilitation and conflict resolution skills.

Why This Role, Why Now?

You will have direct access to and support from the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner to move with speed and seriousness.

Connecticut is actively investing in Medicaid innovation, eligibility modernization, and community-centered design — this role sits at the center of that agenda.

You will build something with a real mandate, real resources, and real accountability — not a pilot with no path to scale.

This is a visible, high-impact role within a Governor's administration that has made integrated service delivery a strategic priority.

More About Us

DSS delivers and funds a wide range of programs and services as Connecticut’s multi-faceted health and human services agency. DSS serves about 1 million residents of all ages in all 169 Connecticut cities and towns. We support the basic needs of children, families, older and other adults, including persons with disabilities. Services are delivered through 12 field offices, central administration, and online and phone access options.

Additional Information

Please note that DSS takes part in the E-Verify system, which is a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.

START WITH US. STAY WITH US. GROW WITH US.

Purpose of Job Class (Nature of Work)

In the Department of Social Services this class is accountable for directing the design, development and implementation of multiple state and federal programs.

Examples of Duties

• Directs staff and operations of division;
• Coordinates, plans and manages program development and all other division activities;
• Formulates program goals and objectives;
• Coordinates development of related policy and regulations;
• Interprets and administers pertinent laws;
• Evaluates staff;
• Participates in preparation of division budget;
• Maintains contacts with individuals within and outside of division who might impact on program activities;
• Oversees development of state and federal plans and preparation of state and federal reports;
• Ensures consistency in delivery of related services throughout agency;
• Monitors program activities and development of related corrective action plans;
• Ensures technical assistance to agency offices for pertinent programs;
• Leads the recruitment and hiring of staff, including outreach, interview and selection;
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skill and Ability

• Considerable knowledge of and ability to apply management principles and practices; and ability to interpret and apply relevant state and federal laws, statutes, regulations and statistical reporting data; programs administered through department; principles and methods of social services administration; legislative process;
• Considerable interpersonal skills; oral and written communication skills.

Minimum Qualifications - General Experience

Ten (10) years of professional experience in the delivery of social or human services programs.

Minimum Qualifications - Special Experience

Two (2) years of the General Experience must have been in a managerial capacity.

Minimum Qualifications - Substitutions Allowed

• College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
• A Master's degree in social work, public administration or a closely related field may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in public administration, public health, social work, public policy, or a related field.
• Experience with Connecticut's human services landscape, including DSS programs, Medicaid policy, or SNAP administration.
• Experience with collective impact initiatives or collaborative community models.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Acknowledgement

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.