Senior Program Manager - TALK Line (Parental Support Line)

Job Description

Position Title: Senior Program Manager - TALK Line (Parental Support Line)

Department: Children & Family Services

Reports to: Associate Director of Children and Family Services

Location: 1757 Waller Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Safe & Sound (formerly the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center) is a children’s advocacy organization working to prevent child abuse and reduce its devastating impact on the child, their family, and our entire community.

We have been a pioneer in the field of child abuse prevention, working within San Francisco for more 40 years. Recently the organization has begun to expand its impact working throughout the state of California.

Child Abuse is a complex problem, but a preventable one. Our data-informed approach leverages three primary strategies: we empower children with knowledge and confidence; we support families providing resources and skills; we activate the community and the changemakers within it to create a thriving social safety net for children and their families.

The organization has an annual operating budget of approximately $8 million and is supported by approximately 60 staff, interns, and more than 80 volunteers. Safe & Sound’s headquarters is located in a historic firehouse in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, with a second office in the Bayview neighborhood.

More information is available at:  www.safeandsound.org.

OVERALL SUMMARY

The TALK (Telephone Aid in Living with Kids) Line/24-hour parental stress line provides early interventions, support, and referrals when appropriate to every parent and caregiver who calls. The TALK Line is primarily staffed by trained and supervised volunteers who provide support on many topics of concern including, but not limited to, childcare challenges, anger management, family conflicts, housing/economic issues, calming a baby, anxiety about parenting, depression, isolation, domestic violence, and general childcare questions.

This position is responsible for maintaining, implementing, and evolving systems on the TALK Line in collaboration with a team of TALK Line Supervisors and others to ensure high quality, effective, and accessible support for families. This includes the ensuring coverage of a 24 hour/day service, coordination of volunteer recruitment and training, and maintaining the technological solutions to provide telephone support to callers.

This position supervises a team of TALK Line Supervisors who provide regular supervision and support to volunteers and may also provide direct supervision to a small number of volunteer counselors. This position sometimes requires a flexible work schedule to help manage volunteer coverage for the 24-hour parental stress line, and to assure uninterrupted supervision of the volunteer counselors.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PROGRAM AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

• Work in conjunction with program and organizational leadership to develop services, policies, and protocols consistent with the needs of families in our service population.
• Stay current and informed about the needs of families in our service population, and represent these needs in agency meetings.
• Model and promote ideal, trauma-informed client/volunteer interactions for supervisors, staff, and volunteers.
• In collaboration with leadership, participate in the development and implementation of Safe & Sound’s strategic plan with a focus on TALK Line.
• Collaborate with the AD of CFS and the Chief Program Officer (CPO) to develop and implement evaluation plans for TALK Line.
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Program Managers (SPMs) at Safe & Sound to ensure integration of all services. Facilitate or co-facilitate cross-program and cross-departmental meetings as appropriate.
• Represent Safe & Sound at meetings in the community (e.g., child welfare, SFDPH, other CBO partners).

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Provide operational oversight of 24-hour parental stress line for parents and caregivers.
• Provide direct supervision of a team of up to four (4) TALK Line Supervisors.
• Collaborate with clinical staff to provide clinical support and direction to TALK Line Supervisors and volunteers to ensure high quality services.
• Collaborate with other program leads to ensure TALK Line services are coordinated and integrated with other organizational services
• Facilitate team meetings within the program area.
• Collaborate with the organization's data team to manage data collection and internal/external reporting requirements.
• Collaborate with the organization's operations team to ensure technological systems are responsive to program functioning.
• Build referral partnerships and collaborative relationships with other community-based organizations to ensure access to quality services for TALK Line clients.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT

• Collaborate with TALK Line Supervisors to ensure 24/7 coverage of the TALK Line by volunteers, staff, or substitutes.
• Collaborate with Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager to ensure effective volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention to cover TALK Line shifts.
• Work with TALK Line Supervisors and Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager to schedule and conduct screenings and interviews with prospective volunteers.
• Collaborate with TALK Line Supervisors to implement volunteer trainings and ensure regular supervision and support for all volunteer counselors.
• Manage and coordinate the schedule for weekend and after-hours supervisors and provide coverage for gaps within the schedule.
• Provide supervision to TALK Line volunteer counselors on a weekly basis as necessary.
• Develop and improve program systems and protocols as well as support TALK Line Supervisors.
• Create and implement an ongoing outreach plan to promote TALK Line services

CLIENT SERVICES AND SUPPORT

• Ensure TALK Line services are effective at building family protective factors and maintain a warm, welcoming, and accepting tone for all client families.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Children & Family Services to ensure that the TALK Line is accessible and responsive to the changing needs of families.
• Collaborate with other internal program teams to ensure coordination and alignment of services across all program areas.
• Work with TALK Line clients to connect them with additional community services as necessary.
• Conduct ongoing research of best practices in the delivery of supportive services to families.
• Execute skillful strategies to de-escalate crises and provide clinical interventions, when appropriate.

Undertake other duties as assigned.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of three (3) years of progressive experience within the nonprofit sector
• Solid organization skills, ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain overall direction; Experience working in the areas of violence prevention/response and/or family support
• attention to detail; professionalism, punctuality, flexibility and reliability are imperative
• Project management experience, including demonstrated experience with program planning and/or implementation and coordination of collaborative projects
• Proficiency with use of data to inform program strategy as well as indicate programmatic impact
• Solid written and verbal communication skills; must be able to communicate well at all levels, internal and external to the organization
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bilingual English and Spanish
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public health, or social work
• Knowledge of San Francisco’s diverse communities
• Support or crisis line experience
• Demonstrated experience in field work and direct service delivery, including leading groups, team meetings and/or trainings

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS

• Full-time, flexible schedule; may require evening and weekend hours
• Exempt
• Position will be reference-checked and fingerprinted

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Typical Working Conditions:
  • Standard office conditions.
• Equipment Used:
  • Computer, phone, fax, copier.
• Essential Physical Tasks:
  • Ability to travel within San Francisco and occasional travel throughout the Bay Area

The base salary for this position is $78,200.16 annually. This position is eligible for the language premium and agency-sponsored benefits.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Safe & Sound is committed to workforce diversity. Qualified applicants will receive full consideration without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume and a detailed cover letter to Human Resources at employment@safeandsound.org.

**During Shelter-In-Place orders for the city and county of San Francisco, most of the work may be done remotely.  There may be times that would require coming into the office and all safety protocols will be in place if that is the case (wearing masks, social distancing, cleaning protocols, etc.).  Meetings will be attended via Zoom unless otherwise specified.