Title: Senior Program Manager for Guardianship Diversion

Pay Grade: Senior Management 1

Starting Pay: $109,034.12

Departmental Mission Statement: To deliver timely justice to the public by providing equal access to a fair, equitable and efficient forum to resolve family and probate legal matters and to and to assist and protect all individuals, families and children in an impartial and respectful manner.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/probateandfamilycourt/index.html

Notes: THIS POSTING IS FOR CURRENT PROBATE & FAMILY COURT DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES ONLY

This is a full-time, grant funded position funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through August 31, 2027. This position is benefit eligible.

Position Summary: The Senior Program Manager works closely with the Deputy Court Administrator / Project Director, the Grants Unit within the Administrative Office of the Trial Court/Office of Court Management, and external stakeholders and organizations in the planning, implementation, and coordination of a grant project entitled: Guideianship: Helping Vulnerable Adults Explore Alternatives to Traditional Guardianship. The goal of this project is to develop a guardianship diversion program to help older adults and adults with disabilities, who may be the subject of a guardianship petition, explore less restrictive alternatives to guardianship such as decision-making tools, services, and/or alternative court processes that are limited in scope and time. The program’s design will take a multi-disciplinary approach in collaboration with schools, adult protective services, healthcare, aging and disability service providers, the legal community, and other entities.

Supervision Received: Receives direction from the Deputy Court Administrator / Project Director and works closely with the Chief Justice and Deputy Court Administrator. Performs duties requiring considerable judgment, analysis, initiative and professionalism in order to make decisions, obtain information and solve problems.

Duties:

• Responsible for the planning, implementation, and management of all aspects of the guardian diversion project working in an independent and timely manner to meet established deadlines.
• Works closely with the Project Director, the Grants Unit within the Office of Court Management, other Trial Court Departments, and external stakeholders and organizations in the planning, implementation, and coordination of project activities.
• Oversees and manages the project budget, including expenditures.
• Assists in the development of a collaboration model to conduct mapping.
• Oversees the planning and development of a two-day Stakeholder Summit.
• Monitors project goals and prepares reports for the Project Director, as necessary.
• Oversees data collection and grant reporting and updates to internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintains communication with all project stakeholders.
• Oversees and monitors the performance of external service providers.
• Develops and implements innovations to address issues with current guardianship policy.
• Attends and manages meetings with the State Planning Team.
• Meets with the ACL Project Officer at least once a month to improve effectiveness of activities positioned under the grant agreement.
• Develops training, outreach, and policy materials to promote guardianship diversion.
• Conducts surveys, focus groups and other forms of inquiry to assess the experience of court users and to identify areas for intervention and initiatives to improve the experience of using the Probate and Family Court.
• Monitors, evaluates, and reports on the progress of the project, including preparation of presentations for leadership meetings as needed.
• Reviews project deliverables for completeness, quality, and compliance with established standards.
• Effectively conducts small-to-medium cross-functional meetings.
• Works to establish collaboration and consensus with internal and external stakeholders to further project goals and objectives.
• Assists in the implementation of new practices and procedures related to guardianship diversion and maintains outreach and communication with stakeholders, including federal and state agencies as appropriate.
• Performs other duties as required.

Job Competencies:  All applicants must be able, through the interview process, to prove efficiency in the following areas:

Ethics and Values Communicates and demonstrates the ethical standards and values of the Probate and Family Court Department and the Trial Court.

Mission Understands, upholds, and communicates the mission of the Probate and Family Court Department and the Trial Court.

Applied Knowledge Skillfully applies knowledge and skills to successfully perform complex legal analysis, research, preparing legal memoranda and other documents.

Problem Solving Accurately identifies and addresses legal issues arising within the Probate and Family Court Department initiating corrective action.

Leadership Demonstrates an ability to supervise, manage, and drive employee performance and professional development.

Commitment to Diversity Promotes diversity through understanding and respect, using and effective communication with persons of varied racial, ethnic, economic, and cultural backgrounds.

Customer Service Consistently demonstrates courtesy and professionalism in interacting with other Probate and Family Court Department and the Trial Court employees and the public.

Collaboration Works with others cooperatively, and promotes teamwork, contributing to a work environment that focuses on shared Probate and Family Court Department goals.

Minimum Requirements: These are the minimum requirements necessary to apply for the position of Senior Program Manager for Guardianship Diversion in the Probate and Family Court:
• Minimum requirement of a B.A. or B.S. in a relevant subject area (preferably social work, public administration, human services or a related field) and six (6) years of full-time, professional related work experience advancing some combination of business operations and project management, program development and implementation, or an equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience assisting older adults or adults with disabilities and/or knowledge of community resources to assist older adults or adults with disabilities is preferred.
• Understanding of the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code as it relates to guardianship of adults.
• Experience in program evaluation and development of performance measures.
• Ability to organize, direct and coordinate administrative and program activities.
• Strong degree of flexibility and ability to manage multiple projects and complex situations. • Ability to produce professional written memorandum, correspondence, proposals, and reports that are drafted concisely, clearly, and logically.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Proven ability to build consensus and work effectively with cross-divisional teams.
• Proven ability to prioritize multiple tasks and manage changing priorities.
• Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with a diverse population.
• Demonstrated ability to identify problems and to develop creative solutions to those problems.
• Ability and experience using personal computers, including word processing software such as MS Word. Experience with spreadsheet software such as MS Excel is preferred.
• Ability to analyze problems and develop practical solutions; to work independently, establish reasonable and practical parameters to the scope of assignments and take appropriate initiatives in order to produce complete work;
• Ability and willingness to travel to Probate and Family Court courthouses throughout the Commonwealth.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Ability to serve the public and others with business before the court in a courteous and professional manner.