JJEMS Regional Administrator, Northeast Region

Job Description

The Department of Youth Services (DYS) is the juvenile justice agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We work with young people who are detained or committed and provide detention, custody, diagnosis, education and support to young people ages 7-21. Most of the youth served are between the ages 14 and 18. The Department promotes positive change for the youth committed to our care, and has been on the forefront of de‑institutionalization, in part, by providing adolescent‑focused rehabilitation to youth in residential treatment.

Our mission is to make communities safer by improving the life outcomes for youth in our care. We achieve our mission through investing in highly qualified staff and a service continuum that engages youth, families and communities in strategies that support positive youth development.

The Juvenile Justice Enterprise Management System (JJEMS) is the client information system that holds critical demographic, clinical, educational and other data on each DYS client. JJEMS facilitates the execution of the Department’s mission by providing a means to maintain and update client information in real time, including court history, family information, physical and mental health records, educational achievements, placement history, previous contacts with other public agencies and a host of other pertinent information.

JJEMS also features reporting capabilities that help inform service delivery to the client population, as well as strategic decision making by agency leadership. JJEMS is used by all DYS state and provider staff.

The JRA is the JJEMS subject matter expert for the DYS Northeast region. S/he must be able to work independently, prioritize multiple tasks and communicate effectively with a broad set of stakeholders.

The JRA will provide technical guidance, support and training to the DYS programs and service providers throughout the Northeast region. Direct contact with state and provider staff, departmental officials and contracted entities is a significant aspect of the work.

S/he will collaborate with the JRAs from the other 4 DYS regions (West, Central, Southeast, and Metro) to develop consistent and transparent practices and quality assurance efforts. The JRA will report to the DYS Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance.

Duties of the JRA include, but may not be limited to:

• Provision of resources and support to regional leadership and program staff on a regular basis.
• Coordination with central office (Boston) subject matter experts on various JJEMS projects that fall in the expert’s area by participating extensively in the needs assessment and system requirements process of the business and/or clinical applications development and implementation.
• Ensure accuracy of application and systems documentation.
• Thoughtful and thorough analysis of systems issues.
• Motivating and training staff to engage with ongoing system enhancements and reporting requirements.
• Analysis of difficult situations and corrective actions that reflect sound judgment.
• Establishment of a rapport with persons from different ethnic, cultural and/or economic backgrounds.
• Management of all aspects of JJEMS in the Northeast region.
• Collaborate with EHS IT staff in the testing and implementation of new applications, new modules and software upgrades.
• Project management of JJEMS projects including establishing priorities, objectives and goals to meet deadlines, including the key DYS stakeholders and produce quality work.
• Provide in‑person and/or remote support for DYS staff of varied levels of experience in enterprise management systems.
• Work under time constraints to meet unanticipated demands.
• Develop effective working relationships to best share information and work collaboratively to solve problems and make decisions.
• Participate in staff meetings and training sessions.
• Able to follow up and finish all tasks assigned by supervisor or administration.
• Other related duties as assigned.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Knowledge of JJEMS and operations of the DYS service continuum.
• MS Word and MS Excel, Outlook, Access.
• Ability to motivate and train…