Working Title: Director of Innovation / State Prog Admin Manager Prin
Job Class: State Program Administrator, Manager Principal
Agency: Children Youth & Families Dept
Job ID : 89307
Location : St. Paul
Telework Eligible : Yes
Full/Part Time : Full-Time
Regular/Temporary : Unlimited
Who May Apply : Open to all qualified job seekers.
Date Posted : 10/01/2025
Closing Date : 10/22/2025
Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit : Children Youth & Families Dept / DeptChildYth&Fam-Managerial
Division/Unit : DCYF/Innovation Office
Work Shift: Day Shift
Work Hours : 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Days of Work : Monday - Friday
Travel Required : Yes, 10%
Salary Range: $48.45 - $69.48 / hourly; $101,163 - $145,074 / annually
Classified Status : Classified
Bargaining Unit/Union : 220 - Manager/Unrep
FLSA Status : Exempt - Executive
Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities (https://mn.gov/mmb/careers/diverse-workforce/people-with-disabilities/connect700/) : Yes
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families is unable to provide sponsorship for work visas. Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States at the start of employment. DCYF does not participate in E-Verify.
The work you'll do is more than just a job.
At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.
Telework (https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/policies/1422-telework.pdf) Within Minnesota and flexible hours options are available. Employees that live 50 miles or less from their primary/principal work location and live within the State may telework more than 50% with approval. ** Employees may telework outside the state of Minnesota if they live in a state bordering Minnesota and live 50 miles or less from the primary/principal work location. See policy for additional information.
*Statewide travel is possible 10 percentage of the time.
The Director of Innovation leads strategic efforts to transform and modernize policies, programs, practices and tools to improve outcomes for children, youth, families, and communities. The Director oversees the DCYF Innovation Office, working collaboratively across administrations, divisions including agency Tribal and County Relations, state agencies including the Governor's Office Tribal Relations Director, Tribal Nations, counties, and communities to embed innovation into every aspect of service delivery. This position ensures that the department works to increase opportunity and remove barriers in response to family- and community-centered voice, designing cross-agency efforts and alignment, using data-driven decision-making while fostering a culture of learning, risk-taking, and continuous improvement.
Responsibilities include:
Establish the Office of Innovation and provide strategic leadership and direction to a high-performing Innovation Office team, overseeing its operations, fostering professional growth, and ensuring strong collaboration and execution across project management, community engagement, equity, data analytics, and human-centered design functions.
Lead the development, coordination and management of a department-wide innovation project portfolio by establishing collaborative transparent, data-informed project management systems that align initiatives and funding with agency goals, support equitable outcomes, and drive continuous learning, evaluation, and strategic decision-making.
Drive inclusive constituent engagement by building strong partnerships and feedback loops with communities, Tribal Nations, and cross-sector partners to co-design equitable solutions, foster collaboration, and ensure agency innovations are responsive to the voices and needs of children, youth, and families.
Work closely with Chief Transformation Officer and other leaders within DCYF to support agency and division priorities.
Minimum Qualifications
To facilitate proper crediting, please ensure that your resume clearly describes your experience in the areas listed and indicates the beginning and ending month, day and year for each job held.
Five (5) years of professional experience working directly with policy development, consultation, engagement social services or public sector collaboration
AND
Three (3) years of leadership or supervisory experience, including experience leading cross-functional or cross-agency teams or initiatives. Experience must include the following:
Program development - seeing projects through from beginning to end
Project management and coordination experience, including strategic planning and budgeting
Experience with continuous improvement
Ability to provide strategic direction, manage performance, mentor staff, and foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and accountability.
Experience in developing data-informed tracking systems and flexible funding strategies
Exceptional interpersonal and facilitation skills to build strong relationships with internal divisions and external partners, including Tribal Nations, community organizations, and local governments.
Proficiency in interpreting and applying data to inform decision-making, evaluate outcomes, and improve services is critical.
Strong collaboration skills and experiences working effectively with others from different backgrounds and cultures.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience working in public sector, preferably large size
Experience of progression within an organization from front line worker to senior leadership
Advanced level interpersonal skills necessary to facilitate conversations and decisions that have significant operating and policy implications and may involve competing priorities among executive leadership.
Training or certification in project management, change management, or strategic planning.
Experience developing and implementing enterprise level projects, or projects with a statewide impact.
Experience using performance metrics, results-based accountability, or other data-driven methodologies to evaluate, implement, and monitor project and program success
Additional Requirements
It is the policy of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families that the individual selected for this position successfully complete a background investigation prior to employment, that may include the following components:
Reference check
Criminal Background check
Fingerprinting check (MNJIS/CJIS)
Personnel File Review: current and former public sector employees.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is an Equal Opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status.
Reasonable accommodations will be made to all qualified applicants with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability who needs assistance or cannot access the online job application system, please contact the job information line at 651-259-3637 or email careers@state.mn.us . Please indicate what assistance is needed.
