Overview
Director of Staff Training & Development
Salary Range: $85K-$115K
Reports To: Chief Strategy Officer
About WSFSSH:
The West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, Inc. (WSFSSH) is a community‐based organization whose mission is to provide safe, affordable housing with supportive services within a residential setting which enhances the independence and dignity of each person. WSFSSH develops and manages housing and provides social services for low‐income older persons, many of whom live with mental illness and/or have experienced homelessness. Our 440 staff members serve more than 2600 residents in 30 buildings located throughout Manhattan and the Bronx.
About WSFSSH’s Staff Training Department:
WSFSSH’s ability to achieve our mission is fundamentally predicated on how committed, capable, and supported our staff are in being able to understand the needs of our residents and to offer appropriate housing stability services to them. The intentionality and effectiveness with which we train and grow our staff’s skills and abilities is also strongly tied to the principals of social justice and equity that motivate our operational purpose. The overarching objectives of the Department are 1) to provide training, coaching, and professional development for all staff to understand and adopt WSFSSH’s organizational norms, 2) to support staff in successfully obtaining the skills required by their current roles, and 3) to help staff further develop the skills necessary to advance to higher level roles within WSFSSH.
Position Overview
The Director is supervised by WSFSSH’s Chief Strategy Officer. The role will receive administrative support from a Staff Development Coordinator and will partner with staff in WSFSSH’s Communications and Data departments for support on the marketing and evaluation functions of the job. The position is expected to work cross-functionally in close collaboration with WSFSSH’s Managing Directors of HR and DEI, with departmental leaders, and with WSFSSH’s CEO and COO. The Director will also lead WSFSSH’s Training and Staff Development Committee comprised of staff representing diverse departments and positions.
This role is charged with synthesizing and building out an organization-wide framework for providing required and elective staff training and development opportunities and the ideal candidate will approach this work with a systems design lens. The role requires a self-starter who can capably manage multiple priorities simultaneously, with proven experience coordinating and providing trainings, and who is comfortable working with a diverse range of staff stakeholders — from entry level building staff (maintenance, front desk, personal care, kitchen) to clinical case workers, building-level managers and senior leaders.
Candidates reaching the final phase of the interview will be expected to conduct a demonstration training.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Program Design
· Meet regularly with a diverse variety of internal stakeholders to develop priorities for a multi-year, agency-wide plan for required and elective trainings offered both in-person &/or remotely
· Design and develop in-house trainings and materials, e.g. a required “Welcome to WSFSSH” core training series for all staff providing essential background on our organizational culture, the needs of our residents, etc.
· Research, evaluate, and implement trainings by external providers, e.g. a series on effective management or clinical supervision
· Lead intra-agency efforts to design “career ladder” programs for internal staff advancement
· Research and adopt a Learning Management System (LMS) to serve as the primary clearinghouse for all training-related offerings at WSFSSH
· Regularly update/upgrade trainings based on new field knowledge, offerings, and staff feedback
Coordination & Implementation
· Lead in-house trainings and staff development retreats
· Coordinate the roll out of a variety of 3rd party trainings
· Deploy a “train the trainer” strategy to create a larger cohort of staff to onboard/train colleagues
· Facilitate the adoption of a “training culture” among all WSFSSH staff, in which professional feedback and professional growth is valued by all
· Partner with WSFSSH’s Communications staff to create and deploy training-related marketing materials in a variety of mediums (print & electronic)
· Collaborate with WSFSSH’s Human Resources Department and Managing Director of DEI to:
o Expand the new employee onboarding process through inclusion of a larger and more standardized set of required staff trainings and peer mentorship opportunities
o Create a package of training and development opportunities (checklists and written training materials, in-person and/or online courses, peer mentors, etc) for skill attainment to happen as a routine part of the WSFSSH onboarding process for each role
o Develop and oversee protocols for tracking/reporting of staff participation in training
Assessment
- Partner with WSFSSH’s Communications and Data staff to:
- Create and distribute training-related staff feedback forms
- Analyze staff feedback to improve effectiveness of the training program
- Create periodic training-related reports for internal and external stakeholders
- Participate in agency-wide and department-wide efforts to:
- Identify key job performance metrics for each staff role
- Develop regular means of providing staff with performance-oriented feedback
- “Map” relevant training and professional development opportunities for staff to build the skills needed to excel in meeting job performance metrics
- Analyze the impact of training and development initiatives with respect to staff retention and advancement
Qualifications:
· Master’s degree (or experiential equivalent) in Human Services, Public Health, Social Work, Education, Counseling or a related area is required
- Relationship building skills and ability to collaborate with staff who are not direct reports
- Engaging approach to public speaking, including facilitation and role-playing skills, with ability to communicate using accessible language
- Experience creating curricular content based on adult learning theory and instructional design
- Project management skills – ability to coordinate multiple and/or multi-phased initiatives, to operate at both strategic and tactical levels, and to plan new programs in an organized fashion
- Verbal and written communication skills, including visual presentation skills (i.e. use of PowerPoint or other programs to create and present content)
· Demonstrable experience in the coordination and direct provision of staff training is required; training experience within an organization providing direct human services is strongly preferred
· Topical knowledge of the following is strongly preferred:
o Supervisory principles, practices and techniques within a human-services setting
o Homelessness, aging, mental illness, and substance abuse
o Crisis de-escalation and violence prevention, trauma, & grief
o Confidentiality, active listening, & motivational interviewing
· The following attributes are a plus:
o Bilingual language ability
o Prior experience developing and/or leading online trainings
o Digital training and Learning Management System (LMS) experience
Equal Opportunity Employer:
WSFSSH is committed to principles of Diversity, Inclusion & Equity. Individuals with life experiences as a person of color; being LGBTQIA+; having a disability; &/or having a family background which can contribute different views to the workplace – such as experiences of poverty or housing insecurity — are strongly encouraged to apply.
WSFSSH is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer (EEO); employment is based upon employees’ qualifications without discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, citizenship status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.