HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM SPECIALIST chez Washoe County, NV
Washoe County, NV · Reno, États-Unis d'Amérique · Onsite
- Professional
- Bureau à Reno
About the Department
Under direction, performs high level administrative duties to promote positive outcomes for the child welfare, indigent, and vulnerable populations to include comprehensive research and analysis to develop policy and departmental programs; and performs related duties as required.
This is an Open Competitive/Countywide Promotional recruitment being conducted to fill a current full-time vacancy in the Office of the County Manager. The list established from this recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies throughout the County as they occur.
Area of Assignment
This recruitment has been initiated to fill a Human Services Program Specialist vacancy in the County Manager’s Office as part of a small team of individuals focused on behavioral health initiatives designed to improve behavioral health outcomes in Washoe County. This position will serve in the capacity of a Regional Behavioral Health Coordinator (RBHC) for the Washoe County region and is funded primarily by two behavioral health related grants from the State of Nevada. This position will support the Washoe Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board established by NRS 433.429 and will facilitate collaborative efforts with community partners and the State on specific behavioral health related initiatives. Examples include the Sequential Intercept Model initiative designed to divert and deflect individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges from the justice system to behavioral health care, anti-stigma campaigns, workforce development efforts and other initiatives.
The list created by this recruitment will be used to fill future Human Services Program Specialist vacancies in the Washoe County Human Services Agency. The Human Services Agency is responsible for safeguarding and enhancing the well being of vulnerable children, adults, seniors, and those experiencing homelessness. Human Services Program Specialist positions within HSA may provide direct and specialized programmatic support, or may serve in a cross-departmental role to support a variety of human services programs within the agency. Individuals who are interested in future Human Services Program Specialists roles serving vulnerable children, adults, seniors and those experiencing homelessness are encouraged to apply to be considered for future openings.
For more information on this position, please see the Job Specification at https://www.washoecounty.gov/humanresources/Careers/jobspecs.php
Position Duties
Four years of full time experience working in indigent, child welfare, and/or vulnerable population programs including three years supervising cases and/or program implementation related to supporting social services programs AND a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in social work, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, public health, education, public policy, or a closely related field; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.
License Or Certificate
A valid driver's license is required at the time of appointment and must be maintained for continued employment in this classification.
Ideal Candidate Will:
- Have a strong desire to work collaboratively to address pressing human services related challenges to benefit vulnerable populations in Washoe County.
- Have a desire to work with and/or on behalf of individuals with serious mental illness, chronic substance use, experiencing homelessness, and/or complex trauma.
- Have the ability to identify solutions to address complex needs and problems.
- Have an understanding of community-based resources and gaps in our community’s continuum of care.
- Have extensive understanding of program and policy development, implementation, and evaluation.
- Have advanced policy writing skills and ability to incorporate cross-system feedback.
- Have an understanding of legislative and regulatory processes affecting human services programs.
- Have the ability to develop and maintain good relationships with service providers and work toward a common goal.
- Have the ability to facilitate complicated processes, taking into account feedback from many different players while still making progress on complex initiatives.
- Have ability to facilitate workgroups to develop and implement multifaceted agency policy.
- Be able to actively engage and work within a multidisciplinary team to fulfill program operations and meet the needs of the children, parents, seniors and others we serve.
- Have experience planning, developing and administering program budgets.
- Be open to and willing to supervise staff.
- Be organized, and task oriented to bring projects to completion in a timely manner and meet agreed upon agreed upon deadlines.
Minimum Qualifications
The Washoe County Employees Association (WCEA) Supervisory Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) covers the Human Services Program Specialist position.
Background checks will be conducted on selected applicants through the State of Nevada and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Per the Washoe County Background and Reference Checks Policy, new and rehired employees are required to submit to a fingerprint based background investigation. Effective January 1, 2025, the $39.00 fee associated with this background investigation will be paid by the employee (if applicable) and deducted automatically from the first paycheck. Employment is contingent upon the results of the background check, although a record of conviction will not necessarily bar an applicant from employment.
Certain positions in the Human Services Agency have access to criminal justice agency systems including NCIC and CJIS. All felony convictions, gross misdemeanor and certain misdemeanors will prohibit that employee from working with NCIC and CJIS criminal justice systems. Additionally, the Human Services Agency will run a background check via the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry.
Human Services Agency employees will be required to have a tuberculosis test. The cost of the test will be borne by the selected applicant(s).
Washoe County requires its employees to reside in the state of Nevada or neighboring California communities such as Truckee, South Lake Tahoe or Susanville as of their first day of work.
Washoe County hires all new employees at the minimum rate of the salary range and eligible employees may receive an annual merit increase of 5% until they reach the maximum salary for the classification. Upon promotion, current Washoe County employees are placed at the minimum rate of the salary range for the higher classification of the new position OR a promotional calculation, whichever is greater.
Other Qualifications
1. After your application is screened, you will be notified via the email you provided whether you have met the minimum requirements for the position. Those applicants who do not meet the qualifications have one (1) business day to file an appeal and request a review of their qualifications.
2. Applicants who meet the minimum requirements will receive an email invitation to take the Supervisory Level online exam administered remotely; notices will be delivered within 1 week from the closing of the recruitment.
This exam link will tentatively be delivered via email the week of December 1, 2025 and qualified candidates will have a time limit to complete the exam, within 4 calendar days. **You will be notified if you are eligible to transfer an exam score within 1 week following the closing date of the recruitment.
The exam will evaluate your expertise, knowledge, skills and abilities in the following areas:
- General Supervisory Concepts
- Performance Management
- Employee Relations
- Analytical Skills
- Communication Skills
3. After the exam is completed, you will receive an additional email notifying you of the results. If you pass the examination, you will receive your score and rank. This rank will be used to determine which candidates will be interviewed by departments trying to fill a vacancy.
4. Hiring departments schedule interviews from a list of top scoring candidates. If your name is not sent to the hiring department, it will remain on the list for future opportunities as they become available.
5. Please be advised you can log in to your NeoGov account and select:
- “Applications” to view a list of the recruitments which you have applied for, your submitted application for each recruitment, a copy of the job listing, and your applicant history for each recruitment.
- “Inbox” to view the notices which have been sent to you for each recruitment
- “Account” to update your contact information. Please note to update your phone number on previously submitted applications you must contact [email protected].
If you have any questions regarding the Online Application Process you can find additional information at the following link: https://www.washoecounty.gov/humanresources/faq/online/index.php
Questions: Indu Moore
[email protected]
775-328-2095
Veteran Point
Eligible veterans who were honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces shall receive one (1) bonus point upon passing Open Competitive examinations only. In order to be given a bonus point, applicants must attach proof of Honorable Discharge (DD-214 with Classification of Discharge) to the Online Application at time of submission.