Supervisor, Children's Services & EarlyON (County of Lambton)

Job Number: J1121-0871
Position Status: Full Time
Union: Non-Union
Division: Social Services
Facility: Lambton Shared Services Centre
City: Sarnia, ON
Number of Positions: 1
Hours of Work: 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
Wage Rate: $42.27 - $50.32/Hour
Date Posted: November 22, 2021
Closing Date: December 05, 2021
Starting Date: December 20, 2021

The County of Lambton is an urban-rural area in southwestern Ontario that is home to over 126,000 residents. The Corporation's seven divisions operate programs and services for the residents of Lambton County such as land ambulance, provincial offences court, three Long-Term Care Homes, 25 library branches, two museums, an art gallery, archives, local roadways, public health services, housing services, social services, building services and planning and development services. Lambton County is a community dedicated to economic growth, environmental stewardship and an enhanced quality of life through the provision of responsive and efficient services and collaborative efforts with its municipal and community partners.

Position Overview

The Supervisor, Children’s Services and EarlyON Systems provides program leadership, operational oversight, and financial administration of the child care and early years’ system. The position supervises a multi-disciplinary team to deliver service planning, contract management, auditing, capital planning, reporting, oversight of child care and early years funding grants, community engagement, partnership development, and special projects. The Supervisor assists with developing local policies from the Child Care and Early Years Act and ensures compliance and fiscal responsibility. The Supervisor is responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of the child care and early years’ system, and the overall management of the EarlyON Child and Family Centre initiative mandated by the Ministry of Education.

Duties & Responsibilities

Childcare Administration/Technology:

• Make, monitor, and audit eligibility decisions under the Child Care and Early Years Act 2014 and provincial guidelines;
• Maintain strong knowledge base of relevant regulations and policies and applicability;
• Ensure County and childcare agency users are trained on Ontario Child Care Management System (OCCMS) software; recommend changes to data requirements and processes; secure updates as required;
• Monitor expenditures for forecast and budget preparation; monitor service levels; manage wait list for subsidies;
• Use provincial wide database to administer child care fee subsidy program;
• Liaise with RBB Innovations to troubleshoot and monitor functionality of OneHSN registry and online fee subsidy application module.

Child Care Agencies:

• Prepare service contracts for Children’s Services providers, monitor and ensure compliance with terms, standards, and approved budget;
• Develop and facilitate training to childcare providers on guidelines and policies;
• Maintain liaison with provincial, municipal, and childcare agency staff to ensure optimum integration and coordination of services in the children’s services delivery system;
• Negotiate fee subsidy rates with childcare providers;
• Approve of special funding requests, i.e. health and safety, equipment and playgrounds;
• Responsibilities for fee subsidies, wage enhancement grants, EarlyON Child and Family Centres, and special needs resources contracts.

Planning and Implementation:

• Responsible for the oversight and monitoring of the Child Care and Early Years’ Service System Plan and monitoring progress;
• Assist with planning, administration, and implementation of the Children's Services EarlyON Child and Family Centres Initiative and Provincial Early Learning Framework and Funding Model;
• Lead and monitor Workforce Development strategy for Early Childhood Educators;
• Identify emerging issues, conduct research, propose system changes;
• Assist in negotiating contracts with other agencies, as required, providing additional services for clients;
• Ensure broad community engagement, detailed analysis and collaboration with multiple partners, regular planning to ensure an integrated system of supports for all programs funded by the Ministry of Education for families and children age 0-12 years old.

Budget, Financial Management, and Capital Planning:

• Review annual operating budgets and audited financial statements for Children Services
Providers;
• Determine annual subsidy for providers and make recommendations to Manager if adjustments to funding formulas are required;
• Review and reconcile annual service provider audited statements;
• Approve payments to providers based on service contracts;
• Monitor expenditures to ensure alignment with approved budget and request reconciliation;
• Provide input to annual budget development of the Children Services and EarlyON budgets;
• Consult with school boards and early years’ partners, conduct data analysis to make decisions on capital projects related to child care expansion;
• Recommends where to prioritize capital spending;
• Ensures Service Providers follow approved financial practice related to procurement, approves the final tender, monitors the progress of capital projects, and determines when funding increments should be released;
• Responsible for the oversight of auditing and subsequent Ministry reporting related to Capital allocations;
• Assess changing needs and pressures in the system. Multiple factors are considered to determine which projects are prioritized and selected;
• Approve staff expense claims and overtime compensation.

Liaison with Community Partners:

• Interact with provincial staff, social services agencies, elected officials, lawyers, community agencies, children’s services agencies, private sector employers, and client groups to promote solutions to issues, and ensure optimum integration and coordination of services in the Children’s Services delivery system;
• Establish partnership councils comprised of a diverse range of representatives from the community to support the work of Children’s Services and EarlyON;
• Co-ordinate the application of policies and procedures in the Children’s Services system;
• Monitor and identify government funding required for the services provided.

Manage and Supervise Staff:

• Assist in hiring, training, supervision, evaluation and discipline;
• Prepare and deliver probationary and annual performance appraisals;
• Monitor staff attendance and schedule workload;
• Assist with the interpretation of union contracts and handling of grievances;
• Act as a resource to staff in implementation of all aspects of programming including individual client/file management and program issues;
• Provide supervision to another team in their supervisor’s absence

General:

• Incumbents must keep up-to-date on all relevant legislation, collective bargaining agreements, County Policies and Procedures, etc. ensuring that these are implemented as prescribed
• Incumbents must possess the physical ability to meet the duties and responsibilities of the job description and/or the requirements identified within the position's Physical Demands Analysis

These describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent in this classification. They are not an exhaustive list of all job duties in the classification. Other duties may be assigned.

Supervision Requirements

Direct Supervision: Supervises employees - 4 FTE’s: Assistant Supervisor, Child Care (1), Program Compliance and Audit Officer (1), EarlyON Program and Data Analyst (1), Social Planner – Workforce Development (1)
Indirect Supervision: Responsible for oversight and quality assurance of 58 licensed child care sites and 17 EarlyON Child and Family Centres
Functional Authority: None

Qualifications

Minimum Formal Education:
• A University degree from an accredited post-secondary school institution in Business, Social Sciences, related field or a combination of education and experience in a relevant discipline.

Experience:

• Three to four years' experience in the administration of a child care center and related children’s programming, and/or delivery of social and/or community services;
• Previous supervisory experience required;
• Effective communication and time management skills;
• Ability to lead, supervise, motivate, and delegate;
• Working knowledge of government and community agencies;
• Respect for client confidentiality;
• Knowledge of Child Care and Early Years Act 2014, Health Protection and Promotion Act, Ontario Works Act, local policies and procedures.

A valid Ontario driver’s license and use of a vehicle.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted online until 11:59pm on Sunday, December 05, 2021. Please visit www.lambtononline.ca/jobs and select job posting J1121-0871 Supervisor, Children’s Services & EarlyON to apply.