WMS Position Description

Washington Management Service (WMS)

Position Description

For assistance completing this form, contact your WMS Coordinator.

Position Information
Position Title:
WMS - 2 Executive Director, Essentials for Childhood / Position Number/Object Abbreviation:
71053397
Incumbent’s Name (If filled position):
Vacant / Agency/Division/Unit:
DOH/PCH/OHC-2 [Office name TBD]
Address Where Position Is Located:
310 Israel Road, SE, 3rd Floor, Tumwater, WA 98501 / Work Schedule:
Part Time Full Time / Overtime Eligible:
Yes No
Supervisor’s Name and Title:
Lacy Fehrenbach, WMS-3, Office Director / Supervisor’s Phone:
360-236-3687

OFM 12-058 (7/1/11) WMS Position Description Page 7

Organizational Structure
Summarize the functions of the position’s division/unit and how this position fits into the agency structure (attach an organizational chart).
The mission of the Department of Health is to protect and improve the health of people in Washington State. The Prevention and Community Health Division supports the agency mission by collaborating with our partners and stakeholders to enhance the health of individuals, families and communities and eliminate health inequities. This position reports to the Director of OHC-2 (name TBD). This office focuses on policies, systems of care, and environmental changes that support healthy children, families, and communities. The position provides leadership and coordination of the Essentials for Childhood Initiative which aims to provide safe, stable, nurturing environments for all children in Washington state. Essentials for Childhood is governed by a steering committee comprised of about 30 executive level leaders in government, philanthropy, and community-based organizations, and supported by a team of professionals within the Department of Health and Department of Early Learning.
Position Objective
Describe the position’s main purpose, include what the position is required to accomplish and major outcomes produced. Summarize the scope of impact, responsibilities, and how the position supports/contributes to the mission of the organization.
The Executive Director is an inspirational, adaptive leader who exercises influence to build consensus across divergent points of view, achieving commitment and cross-sector alignment of efforts to achieve the Essentials for Childhood common agenda.
In 2013, Washington was one of five state health departments funded to implement Essentials for Childhood (EfC), the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) child maltreatment framework. This grant supports cross-sector collaboration to support safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children. It builds on over two decades of pioneering work in our state on understanding and addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences. The Department of Health (DOH) co-leads this initiative with the Department of Early Learning. The state has leveraged the CDC grant with matching Gates Foundation funds, other government funds, as well as private in-kind assistance, to support a robust structure. We envision continuing this effort beyond the term of the CDC grant.
Work to date has laid a solid structural and conceptual foundation for the Washington State Essentials for Childhood Initiative. A cross-sector, executive-level Steering Committee with leaders from government, philanthropy, and community-based organizations provides vision, strategic guidance and champions EfC. The Steering Committee developed a common agenda that includes a strategic vision, strategies and three North Star metrics. Three partner-driven workgroups are exploring ways to implement strategies. A data committee supports metrics development and tracking. Our Backbone Team of staff at the Departments of Health and Early Learning support this structure.
Our current challenge is moving from concept to action. A diverse group of stakeholders is engaged and eager to collaborate on work that will advance our vision, and in particular, move the needle on the metrics: adverse experiences, kindergarten readiness, and child health status. The next step is to move from informal collaboration to true collective impact that leverages and aligns mutually reinforcing activities across partner organizations.
A significant degree of vision and independent decision-making is required for this position to lead the EfC Initiative. The position will support the agency’s mission by using adaptive and influential leadership skills to work with leaders across state government, philanthropy and community sectors to align efforts and resources toward a common goal of safe, stable nurturing relationships and environments for all children in Washington State.
The position, which reports to the OHC-2 office director, is responsible for providing oversight, vision, direction and management for the Essentials for Childhood Initiative.
Assigned Work Activities (Duties and Tasks)
Describe the duties and tasks, and underline the essential functions. Functions listed in this section are primary duties and are fundamental to why the position exists. For more guidance, see Essential Functions Guide.
DUTY: Provide adaptive leadership, vision, and influence to achieve EfC goals
TASKS:
·  Create urgency and commitment to our shared purpose among stakeholders about EfC and use that to accelerate collective action.
·  As a trusted partner, inspire and persuade other senior leaders to voluntarily pursue and achieve common goals and adopt new positions or opinions. Demonstrate alignment of partner organization missions with EfC.
·  Provide strategic direction to workgroups and partner organizations in a manner that aligns their work to implement strategies that move the needle on EfC North Star Metrics (adverse experiences, kindergarten readiness, and child health status).
·  Seek out and incorporate new information, including policy opportunities and innovative or best practices related to early childhood in order to understand and adapt to the environment and generate new options for advancing EfC’s goals.
·  Maintain understanding of current progress toward goals and implementation challenges, and collaboratively develop comprehensive solutions to address them.
DUTY: Manage and Coordinate the Initiative
TASKS:
·  Drawing on the collective impact model, identify options, recommend approaches and lead efforts to adapt initiative structure and processes for maximum effectiveness.
·  Analyze and make recommendations to leadership about opportunities, threats, barriers, concerns and needs related to policies, programs, systems of care, and services that affect young children and their families
·  Support strategic planning and priority setting for the Steering Committee, including meeting planning and facilitation.
·  Work with the EfC Coordinator to assure seamless, coordinated management of the initiative, assure efficient processes to support the work of the EfC initiative, and adapt plans and activities to the emergent landscape as needed.
·  Collaborate with workgroups and EfC Coordinator to identify options for and support the work of the workgroups including meeting planning and facilitation, preparation of meeting materials, plans for follow up activities, and implementation of workgroup strategies.
·  Ensure data, measurement and reporting infrastructure needed to inform decision making and tell the story of EfC.
DUTY: Serve as the Primary Point of Contact and Representative for EfC
TASKS:
·  Strategically cultivate the necessary partnerships and relationships to achieve success of the EfC common agenda, including with Steering Committee and workgroup co-chairs and members, other related initiatives, and other partners. Keep them informed about EFC and be a conduit for their input into EfC.
·  Effectively and clearly communicate the vision, purpose and work of EfC and create an urgency for change among diverse stakeholders, including government and private leaders, community members, advocates, policymakers, and funders.
·  Link EfC to other programs within DOH that focus on young children and/or their families and identify opportunities for synergy. Ensure staff are aware of and can communicate about major EfC activities to key partners.
·  Serve as an EfC ambassador to other state agencies, with non-governmental partners, and at select conferences and events.
·  Recommend improvements to internal and external communications strategies. Provide strategic guidance and input on communications materials.
DUTY: Be responsible and accountable for sustainability of EfC coalition and ongoing work
TASKS
·  Identify opportunities and options for financial through private and public grants and relationship cultivation.
·  As resources are identified and obtained, lead development and monitoring of budgets and any contracts.
·  Identify opportunities and options for in-kind support of aligned partner efforts that contribute to EfC goals and provide support and guidance to partner organizations in aligning resources to support strategic actions in the EfC agenda.
·  Strategize with Steering Committee about how to advance EfC’s work long term.
·  Analyze capacity needed to sustain the work of EfC. Recommend creative approaches to filling gaps.
·  Actively work to sustain EfC momentum and work across partner organizations.
DUTY: Other duties as assigned, including additional initiatives and assisting with emergency response activities during a public health emergency.
Accountability – Scope of Control and Influence
Provide examples of the resources and/or policies that are controlled and influenced.
Facilitates development of annual strategic objectives that support progress towards achievement of the North Star Measures. This may include development of a shared policy agenda among the EfC members, implementation of innovative or evidence based programs, and/or agreement to braid resources or integrate programs to serve more children and families, especially those most at risk for adverse childhood experiences.
Develops strategy for identifying resources to support and sustain the EfC steering committee, workgroups, and their major activities. This may include financial resources (private and public) as well as in kind contributions.
Describe the scope of accountability.
Directly accountable for achieving short term results in EfC.
Shared accountability for achieving the long term outcome goals (North Star Measures) with steering committee members. The position is directly accountable for facilitating EfC strategy, garnering buy-in, and inspiring action among committee members and the workgroups to support achievement of the goals.
Directly accountable for management of the EfC initiative.
Describe the potential impact of error or consequence of error (impacts unit, division, agency, state).
This is a highly visible position and program in the state. Only 5 states were funded to do this work. Washington’s initiative includes executive leaders from five state agencies, several non-profit/community based organizations, local public health, and major foundations. The position is ultimately responsible for coordinating and implementing the EfC common agenda. Any change in strategy will be closely watched by leaders in public health and early childhood within the state and nationally. This is a collective impact approach where implementation and success relies upon contributions of wisdom, work, and wealth from the steering committee members. Failure to successfully engage key stakeholders in the decision-making or implementation of EfC could result in partners withdrawing from the effort and jeopardizing the initiative’s success.
Financial Dimensions
Describe the type and annual amount of all monies that the position directly controls. Identify other revenue sources managed by the position and what type of influence/impact it has over those sources.
Operating budget controlled.
·  Annual budget is $469K/year with funding from CDC and the Gates Foundation (via an interagency agreement with the Department of Early Learning).
Other financial influences/impacts.
·  This position will be responsible for identifying resources to continue the work beyond the completion of the CDC grant (August 2018).
·  In kind contributions are often made by steering committee member organizations and must be tracked.

OFM 12-058 (7/1/11) WMS Position Description Page 7

Supervisory Responsibilities
Supervisory Position: Yes No
If yes, list total full time equivalents (FTE’s) managed and highest position title.

OFM 12-058 (7/1/11) WMS Position Description Page 7

Decision Making and Policy Impact
Explain the position’s policy impact (applying, developing or determining how the agency will implement).
Position is accountable for overseeing the Essentials for Childhood Initiative and for providing professionally sound guidance, consultation and advice at an advanced level of expertise regarding collective impact, private, government and philanthropy sectors working together to achieve common goals for improving relationship health in children, families and communities. Consultation and advice from this position is highly consequential for the effectiveness of several state agencies’ leadership in the cross sector Essentials for Childhood effort. The position serves as a lead for cross agency work, staffing executives in other state agencies as well as providing leadership for managers and staff involved in supporting the Essentials for Childhood work; the position assures quality in the interagency work for this effort.
Is the position responsible for making significant recommendations due to expertise or knowledge? Yes
If yes, provide examples of the types of recommendations made and to whom.
The position could make recommendations to the member organizations, who are represented by executive leaders on the steering committee, related to state or federal policy and budget opportunities or challenges that affect young children and their families or caregivers. The position may also make recommendations for innovative or evidence informed strategies/best practices related to promoting safe, stable, and nurturing environments to all kids or select populations in Washington.
Explain the major decision-making responsibilities this position has full authority to make.
This position has broad latitude and discretion for making decisions; decisions are guided by broad departmental policies and precedents for judgments and actions are based on situational awareness, and often made in situations where departmental guidance will not be immediately available. The position will be in positions working with partners where analysis requires thinking in unknown and unfamiliar areas and where decisions will impact not only the Essentials for Childhood effort, but also will reflect on the department leadership and programs.
Describe whether decisions are of a tactical or strategic nature and how decisions are made. For example, is there known precedent, is it somewhat unfamiliar, or unknown and unexplored?
Decisions are both strategic and tactical. The positions plans, leads, and organizes EfC activities and recommendations. The strategic decisions, in most cases will not have precedent. For tactical decisions, many-most will have precedence or lessons learned from which to build.
What are the risks or consequences of the recommendations or decisions?
Failing to move the members from shared vision to action could destabilize the steering committee and/or result in loss of partners necessary to achieve the North Star Measures.
Failing to achieve short term wins/successes could lead to loss of buy in and reduced resources or participation in the initiative.
Promoting strategies or programs that are not effective would jeopardize resources and successes in the long term.
Qualifications – Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
List the education, experience, licenses, certifications, and competencies.
Required Education, Experience, and Competencies.