Assistant Division Director - Office of Data Management and Reporting

Assistant Division Director - Office of Data Management and Reporting

Job Posting #188-26

SALARY: $‑$ (Commensurate with education and experience)

Position Summary: The Department of Children and Families (DCF), Office of Data Management and Reporting, seeks an Assistant Division Director in Trenton. The role may be eligible for up to two days of remote work per week. Under the direction of the Director of Data Management & Reporting, the incumbent will lead NJ DCF’s enterprise data platform, governance, and analytics enablement to support DCF staff, providers, and partners with well‑governed, secure, and timely data.

The position requires implementation of the cloud data strategy (Azure and/or AWS), pragmatic data governance, and management of a multidisciplinary technical team while partnering with program leadership to deliver high‑value data products, reporting, and research support. The Assistant Director will often be hands‑on—prototyping, reviewing code, troubleshooting pipelines, and guiding engineers through complex incidents—while maintaining high standards for security, privacy, and compliance.

• Lead strategic implementation of NJ DCF’s Information Management Strategy and translate business needs into technical roadmaps.
• Manage intake and prioritization of data projects and advise leadership on the impact of federal and state statutory changes.
• Develop and implement business‑first processes for program management and data capabilities.
• Own the architecture, delivery, and optimization of DCF’s cloud data lake/warehouse, including orchestration, CI/CD, monitoring, security, and cost management.
• Champion observability, documentation, and change management across the data ecosystem.
• Oversee data integration processes to enable seamless data flow between systems and applications.
• Establish data privacy policies and implement disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
• Participate in governance committees, support data policy implementation, steward roles and compliance standards, and maintain an enterprise data catalog and data quality program.
• Design reusable data products for reporting, dashboards, statutory submissions, and research partnerships, guiding responsible use of AI and automation.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a technical team of engineers, data modelers, and stewards; manage performance evaluations and operational functions for assigned staff.
• Build and maintain a positive, inclusive work environment, support vendor selection and contract oversight, and represent DMR and DCF in meetings and conferences.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Bachelor’s degree in information systems, computer science, engineering, or a related field (master’s preferred). 10+ years in data engineering/analytics/platform roles, including 5+ years managing technical teams. Hands‑on experience with Azure/AWS cloud data platforms; strong SQL and Python skills. Experience with CI/CD and infrastructure‑as‑code. Knowledge of AI/ML concepts and responsible AI practices. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills. Experience in data management, business intelligence, and analytics environments required;

product lifecycle experience preferred.

Familiarity with regulatory reporting processes and experience in a highly regulated environment. Demonstrated governance experience including catalog/lineage and data quality. Knowledge of open data programs and API‑based data exchange. Experience with modern data stack components (Databricks, Spark, dbt, Terraform, Docker/Kubernetes). Software development experience and understanding of programming concepts ideal.

Applicants must meet one of the following or a combination of education and experience:

• 10 years of professional experience in a public or private organization providing services to a specific client population, with 3 years in a supervisory capacity.

• 10 years of professional experience as an administrator responsible for planning, budgets, and program administration, with 3 years in a supervisory capacity.

• Bachelor’s degree with 6 years of related experience, 3 years in supervisory capacity.

• Master’s degree in a relevant field with 5 years of related experience, 3 years in supervisory capacity.

The Department of Children and Families is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment reflecting the diversity of the state we serve.