Protective Services Specialist 4 (PCN 063192)

State of Alaska; Ketchikan (AK); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance Benefits

Retirement Benefits

Paid Leave

12 paid holidays per year

Job summary

State of Alaska in Ketchikan, AK seeks a Protective Services Specialist 4 to lead a dedicated team in protecting children and strengthening families. The role involves supervising staff, guiding complex casework, and coordinating with community partners to ensure safety, permanency and well‑being, while representing the agency in court and public education settings.

The position requires strong judgment, collaboration with Tribal partners, and the ability to prepare critical records and reports.

Qualifications

• Uses logical, systematic approaches to address problems or opportunities.
• Exhibits honesty, fairness, and ethical behavior in all actions.
• Builds effective relationships and navigates diverse audiences.
• Delivers clear, persuasive verbal communications to varied stakeholders.
• Writes clearly and accurately for reports, policies, and records.
• Understands and applies relevant rules, policies, and procedures.
• Mentors others and provides constructive feedback and development.
• Persuades and builds consensus to achieve departmental goals.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and support a team of Protective Services staff, including hiring decisions, performance evaluations, training, and disciplinary actions.
• Oversee and coordinate social service programs, ensure quality casework, and handle complex or high-need cases directly.
• Develop resources, collaborate with community and state partners, and represent the agency in court and public education settings.
• Recommend policies and procedures, maintain effective working relationships, and prepare required records and reports.

Skills

Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving

Integrity/Honesty

Interpersonal Skills

Oral Communication

Writing

Technical Credibility

Developing Others

Influencing/Negotiating

Education

Equivalent to training in social/science/health fields

Job description

Job Description

Protective Services Specialist 4 (PCN 063192) in Ketchikan, AK. This position is open to Alaska Residents only. The Department of Family and Community Services, Office of Children's Services (OCS) is recruiting for a full‑time Protective Service Specialist 4 located in Ketchikan, Alaska.

What You Will Be Doing

• Supervise and support a team of Protective Services staff, including hiring decisions, performance evaluations, training, and disciplinary actions.
• Oversee and coordinate social service programs, ensure quality casework, and handle complex or high-need cases directly.
• Develop resources, collaborate with community and state partners, and represent the agency in court and public education settings.
• Recommend policies and procedures, maintain effective working relationships, and prepare required records and reports.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The Office of Children's Services strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and well‑being are paramount and employees at all levels promote a culture where everyone is valued, treated equitably, and treated respectfully.

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is: Ensuring the safety, permanency and well‑being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

Everything we do is underpinned by our Core Values.

Benefits of Joining Our Team

• Full‑time benefits of this position include but are not limited to: Insurance Benefits; Retirement Benefits; Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year. Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information.
• We work as a team through collaboration towards common goals to serve positive outcomes for families. We strive for a tight knit group, offering support to one another and contributing to a positive atmosphere. The Office of Children's Services has great potential for career advancement.

Working Environment You Can Expect

The Office of Children’s Services Ketchikan Field Office is located in the downtown State Office Building across the street from the Ketchikan Police Department. We are conveniently located near shops, restaurants, as well as the bus line. We serve the City of Ketchikan along with residents in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough; the combined population is approximately 14,000. Ketchikan is the hub community for lower Southeast Alaska, located in the most southern end of the State of Alaska. The Ketchikan Office also provides backup to the Craig Field Office which is located on Prince of Wales Island.

For information on the Ketchikan community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the Alaska Community Profiles.

Candidate Competencies

• Decision Making | Makes sound, well‑informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Managing Performance | Takes responsibility for employees' performance by setting and communicating expectations and goals that are specific and measurable, tracking progress against the goals, supporting employees' efforts to achieve job goals (by providing resources, removing obstacles, acting as a buffer, etc.), ensuring feedback, and addressing performance problems and issues promptly.
• Resilience | Deals effectively with pressure; remains optimistic and persistent, even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks.

Special Note

• This position requires a valid Alaska driver's license.
• Additionally, while the Division does have vehicles assigned to it, they may not always be available for staff use. Mileage reimbursement is available when a personal vehicle is used for work‑related matters. Current automotive insurance must be in place prior to use of a personal vehicle while conducting business on behalf of the State.
• For positions in this job class, a child protective history check will be performed per AS 12.62.160 and/or 13 AAC 68.315 including a background and fingerprint check.
• The successful candidate may be required to attend multiple training courses normally located in Anchorage.

Minimum Qualifications

• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: Uses a logical, systematic, and sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Integrity/Honesty: Behaves in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. Shows consistency in words and actions. Models high standards of ethics.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
• Oral Communication: Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed.
• Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.
• Technical Credibility: Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.
• Developing Others: Develops the ability of others to perform and contribute to the organization by providing ongoing feedback and by providing opportunities to learn through formal and informal methods.
• Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others; builds consensus through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.

Equivalent to those typically gained by Training in a social science, behavioral science, health science, guidance and counseling, or a closely related field and/or progressively responsible professional experience providing assistance, information or referrals to the general public related to social services, health care, or legal services; in child, adult, family, or group case management, licensing, or probation services; or providing care or services to delinquent juveniles.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on‑line, self‑study, and on‑the‑job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long‑duration (such as a post‑secondary degree) and short‑duration (such as a seminar) programs.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one’s own judgment.

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P. O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.