Assistant Division Director (463-26)

Job Title: Assistant Division Director

Job Posting #463-26

SALARY: $140,000.00-$159,000.00 (Commensurate with education and experience)

The Department of Children and Families (DCF), Office of Data Management and Reporting, is seeking a qualified individual to fill the Assistant Division Director position located in Trenton. This position may be eligible to work remotely for up to two days in a calendar week.

DEFINITION: Under the direction of a Division Director, Deputy Director, or other senior official in a state department or agency, directs the staff and activities of an operational unit responsible for providing general administrative and/or fiscal management, program policy and planning services, or delivering a variety of social, medical, assistance, health care, and other services to a specific client population; does other related duties as required.

ROLE SUMMARY: Under the leadership of the Director of Data Management & Reporting, the incumbent will lead NJ DCF’s enterprise data platform, governance, and analytics enablement so DCF staff, providers, and partners can rely on well-governed, secure, and timely data to improve outcomes for children and families. The Assistant Director implements the cloud data strategy (Azure and/or AWS), supports pragmatic data governance, and manages a multidisciplinary technical team while partnering closely with program leadership to deliver high-value data products, reporting, and research support. This leader is expected to be hands-on when needed—capable of prototyping, reviewing code, troubleshooting pipelines, and guiding engineers through complex incidents while maintaining high standards for security, privacy, and compliance.

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES:

Strategic & Roadmap Leadership

• Play an active role in implementing NJ DCF’s Information Management Strategy Roadmap.
• Translate business needs into technical roadmaps and manage intake and prioritization.
• Advise leadership on the impact of federal/state statutory changes.
• Develop and implement business‑first processes for program management and data management capabilities.

Platform Architecture, Operations & Reliability

• 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 facilitate seamless data flow between systems and applications.
• Establish data privacy policies and implement disaster recovery and business continuity strategies to ensure organizational data protection.

Governance, Quality, Compliance & Security

• Participate in governance committees, support implementation of data policies, steward roles, and compliance standards.
• Implement and maintain an enterprise data catalog and a data quality program with clear SLA.
• Facilitate implementation of data governance policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and security of data across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with federal/state mandates and internal policies.
• Leverage reporting tools to track data quality, usage trends, and KPIs for data products, ensuring actionable insights for stakeholders.

Data Products, Analytics & AI Enablement

• Design reusable data products for reporting, dashboards, statutory submissions, and research partnerships.
• Guide responsible use of AI and automation with applicable safeguards.

Leadership, Team Management & Stakeholder Engagement

• 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, contract oversight, and delivery standards.
• Represent DMR and DCF in meetings, conferences, and stakeholder engagements.

General Responsibilities

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, computer science, engineering, or 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…