Operations Manager
The Operations Manager has primary responsibility for the oversight and implementation of administrative (day-to-day) operations for the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), including the statewide Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA), within the School of Social Work (SSW). Reporting to the Senior Executive Director, this position provides strategic support to leadership, working to align the budget, human resources, data systems, research-related operations, facilities, technology, and other operational areas with the center’s strategic goals, while working within school, college, and University policies and procedures. This position works closely with the SSW and Center’s leadership team to ensure efficient and effective achievement of center mission activities and endeavors. The Operations Manager’s work is integrated within and across the four pillars of the center, including professional education, outreach and policy, research and evaluation, and training partnerships. The level of this position requires knowledge and understanding of complex budgets, multidisciplinary research and practice partnerships, and state agency to state agency cooperated projects. An understanding of University practices and processes, as well as sound judgment, ability to prioritize complex and multi-layered projects, and autonomous decision-making skills, are essential to this position.
Child Welfare Researcher
The Researcher 5 (Child Welfare) role will work collaboratively with CASCW leadership to develop and implement externally funded, child welfare-focused research projects. Currently funded projects include a study to better understand what supported children with complex mental/behavioral health needs and their families on their care journey, despite the ongoing challenges of accessing care in certain longer-term settings, like hospital emergency departments, and an ongoing collaboration to support implementation of a previously developed program evaluation framework. It is expected that the Child Welfare Researcher will carry out their work with attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of the research and evaluation process and while collaborating with others in this work, including University and external stakeholders (e.g., Department of Children, Youth, and Families, non-profit agencies, child welfare agencies, etc.). Primary duties will involve research and evaluation design and implementation (e.g. research design and instrument development, data collection and management, data analysis and writing technical and translational reports). The researcher in this position will also co-author reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, research briefs, and other dissemination products and present findings to a wide stakeholder audience, including researchers, administrators, and policy makers.
Title IV-E Program Evaluation Researcher
The Title IV-E Program Evaluator will work collaboratively with CASCW leadership to: develop and implement research to assess the effectiveness of the Title IV-E MSW Child Welfare Fellowship program, develop and implement evaluation activities to assess the effectiveness of the Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) and Phoenix Learning Xchange Certificate (PLX) programs, and develop and implement research aimed at best practices for supporting graduates of Title IV-E Fellowship programs as they enter the child welfare workforce. It is expected that the Title IV-E Program Evaluator will carry out their work with attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of the evaluation process and while collaborating with others in this work, including University and external stakeholders (e.g., Department of Children, Youth, and Families, non-profit agencies, child welfare agencies, etc.). Primary duties will involve evaluation design and implementation (e.g. evaluation instrument development, data collection and management, data analysis and writing technical and translational reports). The researcher in this position will also co-author reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, research briefs, and other dissemination products and present findings to a wide stakeholder audience, including researchers, administrators, and policy makers.