Social Services Associate Petersburg

This position is open to Alaska Residents only.
Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

The Department of Family and Community Services,
Office of Children's Services (OCS) is
recruiting for full-time Social Services Associate located in
Petersburg, Alaska.

What you will be doing
As a Social Services Associate you will work closely with families and children involved with child protective services. You will be directly working with parents and children helping to provide services that will enhance families' capacities to give their children a healthy start, to provide them with safe and permanent homes, to maintain cultural connections, and to help them realize their potential. You will be supporting professional staff by providing information for assessments, case planning and evaluation, while performing duties that can include providing parenting support during family contact to enable parents to practice parenting skills in a safe environment, accessing electronic databases, and providing necessary referrals for families to other agencies.

Our organization, mission and culture

The Office of Children's Services strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and wellbeing 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 (Download PDF reader).

Benefits of joining our team

Social Services Associates have a very challenging job that can be stressful at times, but there are few occupations that offer more opportunities to learn new things about families, your communities, and yourself. 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.

Your first 6 months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal and on-the-job training with your supervisor and your colleagues.

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.

Working environment you can expect
The incumbent’s office is located in Petersburg, a beautiful Nordic fishing village in Southeast Alaska. Petersburg is known for its fishing, hunting, and outdoor activities which include hiking, boating, and camping.

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

The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services works on evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime and on-call work are expectations of our workers. Travel may be frequent or minimal. Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft and overnight stays.

We are seeking a candidate with the following competencies:

• 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.
• Customer/Quality Focus: Anticipates, monitors, and meets the needs of customers and responds to them in an effective, appropriate manner. Demonstrates commitment to identifying customers’ apparent and underlying needs and continually seeks to provide the highest quality service and product to all customers.
• Adaptability: Adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment.
• Computer Skills: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.
• Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

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.
• 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

One year of any combination of postsecondary or vocational education and/or experience in assisting clients, customers, the public, or other staff in the explanation and application of guidelines, policies, or services.

Special Note:
Some positions require a valid Alaska driver's license, a background check, and fingerprinting. These requirements will be indicated at the time of recruitment.

Additional Required Information

At time of interview applicant is requested to submit:

• Submit your college transcripts with your application if you will be using education to meet the minimum qualifications and/or competencies desired for the position. (Unofficial are okay, please ensure that the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts) Please provide them at the time of interview if they are not included with your application.
• Names and phone numbers of three (3) references, (1) one of which must be a past or current supervisor.

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

COVER LETTER:

A cover letter is not required for this position. Your complete application, including supplemental questions, will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process.

EDUCATION:

To verify education being used to meet the required minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials being used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position and are required with each application. (Unofficial are okay, please ensure that the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts). Transcripts can be attached at the time of application, provided at the time of interview or if not provided, transcripts will be required prior to appointment.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION:
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Omission of required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application and you will not receive further consideration.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
When using work experience not already documented in your application, please provide the employer’s name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported, and minimum qualifications are clearly met. Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application. If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment. A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position in which you are applying.

If you are currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level. Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position. This is required as there are minimum qualifications that require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered. If this information is not accurately reflected in your application this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

RECRUITMENT SCOPE:
This position is open Alaska Residents only. Please be sure to check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

LEGAL EMPLOYMENT:
The State’s online recruitment system, Workplace Alaska, requires applicants to certify that they have a legal right to accept employment in the United States. It is the responsibility of the employee to maintain the appropriate documentation to accept or continue legal employment. The State of Alaska does not function in the role of an employer sponsor.

Contact Information

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE:

Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.

For applicant password assistance please visit: https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

Name: Laureen Pfau – Talent Acquisition

Phone: 907-334-2457

Email: laureen.pfau@alaska.gov

• Health insurance, which includes employer contributions toward medical/vision/dental
  • The following employee groups are under AlaskaCare Benefits administered by the State: See https://drb.alaska.gov/help/plans.html for additional information.
    • AVTEC
    • Confidential
    • Correctional Officers
    • Marine Engineers
    • Mt. Edgecumbe Teachers
    • Supervisory
    • Unlicensed Vessel Personnel/Inland Boatman's Union
    • Exempt employees (not covered by collective bargaining)
  • The following employee groups are covered by Union health trusts. Contact the appropriate Union for additional information.
    • General Government
    • Labor, Trades and Crafts
    • Public Safety Employees Association
    • Masters, Mates & Pilots
• Employer paid Basic Life insurance with additional coverage available (amount depends on Bargaining Unit)

• Group-based insurance premiums for
  • Term life (employee, spouse or qualified same sex partner, and dependents)
  • Long-term and short-term disability
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment
  • Long-term care (self and eligible family members)
  • Supplemental Survivor Benefits
• Employee-funded flexible spending accounts for tax savings on eligible health care or dependent care expenses

• Membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)/Teachers' Retirement System (TRS)
• Matching employer contribution into a defined contribution program (new employees)
• Employer contribution into a defined benefit or defined contribution program (current employees)
• Contributions to the Alaska Supplemental Annuity Plan in lieu of contributions to Social Security
• Option to enroll in the Alaska Deferred Compensation Program
• Note: The Defined Contribution Plan, Supplemental Annuity Plan and Deferred Compensation Program offer a variety of investment options

• Personal leave with an accrual rate increase based on time served
• Twelve (12) paid holidays a year