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Working Title: Deputy Chief Legal Counsel

Job Class: General Counsel 1

Agency: Human Services Dept

• Job ID : 76927

• 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 : 05/21/2024

• Closing Date : 06/10/2024

• Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit : Human Services Dept / DHS Manager

• Division/Unit : Department of Human Services (DHS) / Office of Inspector General (OIG) Legal Counsel

• Work Shift/Work Hours : Day Shift / 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• Days of Work : Monday - Friday

• Travel Required : Yes

• Salary Range: $48.09 - $68.85 / hourly; $100,411 - $143,758 / 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 Human Services is unable to provide sponsorship for work visas. Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States at the start of employment.

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.

*The position has a flexible work arrangement that may allow for Telework or a mixture of working in our office and Telework. Currently, the team is in office once a week on a voluntary basis.

*Minimum travel, up to approximately 5%.

Serves as the deputy chief legal counsel for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Legal Division – Children, Youth, and Families team. Under the leadership of the deputy chief legal counsel, this team will bring together OIG’s legal expertise in the areas of child care centers, family child care, child foster care, and the child care assistance program (CCAP) to manage litigation, legal advising, and legal strategy for the related OIG programs.

The OIG Legal – Children, Youth, and Families team, along with this position, is expected to transition to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in July of 2025, consistent with 2023 Minnesota Session Law, Chapter 70, and 2024 Minnesota Session Law, Chapter 80. A key function for this role will be to create a cohesive, independent, high functioning, creative team within OIG Legal that can adapt the current structure, work distribution, and legal strategies to fit the unique needs of the OIG programs transitioning to DCYF in 2025. The deputy chief legal counsel will work closely with OIG’s chief legal counsel to ensure knowledge transfer sufficient that this team can seamlessly transition to DCYF and support its regulatory and program integrity work. This position will also work closely with the DHS general counsel and, after transition, with the DCYF general counsel, to ensure necessary alignment of legal strategies between agency policy and program integrity divisions.

The team under this position will include four assistant deputy chief legal counsel that report directly to this position and a staff attorney supervisor that will report directly to this position. The staff attorney supervisor will have direct reports include at least four staff attorneys and two legal process coordinators.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

· Legal advice and counsel to Department leadership.

· Strategic management of litigation to support the Department’s mission.

· Oversee and continually improve the Children, Youth, and Families (CYF’s) legal policies, including compliance and training.

· Strategic management of legal resources to ensure that Department legal needs are met.

· Oversee data practices and contract management, including negotiating, drafting, and enforcement related to contracts, related to CYF programs.

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 and year for each job held.

· Juris Doctor (JD) from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school;

· Current license to practice law in the State of MN; and

· At least seven (7) years' experience practicing law. The seven (7) years must include a combination of experience in litigation and experience in law relevant to regulatory oversight and enforcement in human services programs such as licensing, Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) enforcement, or other body of administrative law;

· Knowledge and experience with state and federal data privacy laws as they relate to human services programs; and

· Demonstrated experience building and maintaining good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Experience must include:

· At least 1 year experience as a supervisor or in a leadership role in an area of law related to the position;

· Providing legal advice to executive level leadership on complex legal issues with broad impact;

· Strong legal research, analysis, writing, and advising skills; and

· Supervision of legal staff including mentoring and fostering professional development.

Preferred Qualifications

· Recognized as a subject matter expert in administrative law related to the work of Children, Youth, and Families (CYF), and other areas of law related to CYF programs such as the Adam Walsh Act, Child Care & Development Block Grant, Human Services and Children Youth and Families Licensing Acts, Limit on Receiving Public Funds, and government data practices law.

· Demonstrated ability to provide leadership through change and leadership in high profile matters.

· Demonstrated ability to adapt the provision of legal services, including organizational structure of legal teams, to meet client needs.

· Demonstrated strong emotional intelligence, strategic leadership, change management, and diversity equity and inclusion skills.

· Demonstrated ability to analyze business and performance data to identify redundancies, gaps, and inefficiencies, and introduce and implement business process changes that will streamline and improve the business.

· Demonstrated ability to identify common ground for parties with varied interests and build consensus toward solutions.

· Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a large and varied constituency, including legislators and legislative staff, the Attorney General’s Office, state local and federal agencies, professional and advocacy groups, as well as the general public.

· Demonstrated ability to maintain composure and convey competency, equanimity, and collaboration in stressful situations.

· Variety of experiences working effectively with others from different backgrounds and cultures.

Additional Requirements

To facilitate proper crediting, please ensure that your resume clearly describes your experience in the areas listed and indicates the beginning and ending month and year for each job held.

REFERENCE/BACKGROUND CHECKS - The Department of Human Services will conduct reference checks to verify job-related credentials and criminal background check prior to appointment.

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.