SDSU Research Foundation

Established in 1943, the mission of the SDSU Research Foundation (SDSURF) is to support the research objectives of San Diego State University by helping faculty and staff find, obtain, and administer funding for their research and sponsored programs. SDSU achieved its strategic plan goal of becoming an R1, premier public research university in early 2025 furthering discoveries, interventions, and solutions that improve communities and change the world. SDSURF provides the full life cycle of grants services to faculty and staff to further their important work.

Our vision is to foster a culture of creativity and collaboration with integrity and respect for individuals that results in the delivery of superior service to support the university’s strategic aspirations.

Our core values:

Service: We are a service organization that strives to provide superior support to the university community to achieve SDSU’s goals; we are committed to being professionally competent by setting high standards and working hard to achieve results; and we continually seek to improve our skills and capabilities by valuing education and professional development.

Collaboration: We seek to actively engage with our stakeholders and employees to identify issues and design solutions, build strong relationships grounded in trust, openness, and inclusion and achieve the best results by taking pride in the accomplishments of our colleagues.

Innovation: We work towards inspired solutions to improve and adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges, creative ways to streamline and enhance our delivery of services through resourceful and proactive problem solving and strategic use of technology and reduction of obstacles.

Respect: We promote a culture where every individual is valued and treated with dignity, we honor open-mindedness toward different viewpoints and ideas and have a genuine appreciation for varied backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.

Integrity: We are committed to act with the highest ethical standards, with honesty, integrity, and transparency, provide consistent and accurate information and value and respect all individuals.

FUNCTION OF THE UNIT

Academy for Professional Excellence, a project of San Diego State University School of Social Work, was established in 1996 with the goal of revolutionizing the way people work to ensure the world is a healthier place. Our services integrate culturally responsive and recovery-oriented practices into our daily work to promote healing and healthy relationships. Providing approximately 50,000 learning experiences to health and human service and justice system professionals annually, the Academy provides a variety of workforce development solutions in Southern California and beyond. With seven programs, three divisions and over 100 staff, the Academy’s mission is to provide exceptional learning and development experiences for the transformation of individuals, organizations, and communities. 

As a member of the Academy team you will be engaging in communal development of heart, mind, and practice. You are expected to foster culturally responsive practice behaviors to promote well-being and a culture that focuses on healing, healthy relationships and changed behaviors.

Child Welfare Development Services (CWDS) provides workforce development, organizational support, technical assistance and capacity building for the public child welfare staff of Southern California counties. These services include coaching, simulation, classroom training, eLearning and evaluation services. Workforce development services consist of development opportunities for new social workers, the existing workforce, supervisors, managers and executive level leadership as well as community partners and multi disciplinary partners working closely with child welfare agencies.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

Under the general direction of the Consultant Supervisor, the CWDS Consultant is responsible for working independently and in partnership with counties and external stakeholders to develop specialized training, projects, and capacity for best practices on state and county initiatives. This specific role requires advanced expertise in the Integrated Practice-Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) and Child and Family Team (CFT/CFTM) models. The position involves independent planning of program specialty consultation as it relates to service planning, coaching, and training facilitation.

This position works full time from a home office and requires limited occasional travel throughout southern California. This position involves independent planning and performance of day-to-day program specialty consultation as it relates to service planning, coaching and/or training facilitation. Considerable judgement and discretion is exercised when making recommendations and conclusions as it pertains to the role. It contributes to the completion of broader and more complex program projects or goals, provides project leadership and represents the program outside of the organization. It requires working knowledge of general practices, policies and procedures, program strategy, broad organizational acumen, and extensive consultative skills in working with and interacting with individuals at various staffing levels. Assignments are of high level of responsibility, strategic in nature and require the use of independent judgement to make decisions, following standard operating procedures, and can provide a wide-range of solutions based on precedence and through applying ingenuity as it pertains to the area of specialty.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

This is a 40 hour a week hybrid with remote flexibility, full-time position, typically working M-F from 8:00 to 4:30 p.m. and is based on contract funding subject to annual renewal. The position may be subject to intermittent overnight travel and work shifts outside of normal business hours, including weekends and evenings if needed. 

This position requires that you reside within California throughout the duration of your employment and live within a commutable distance from the worksite your work supports. Positions are typically assigned to either our Riverside or San Diego office for any on-site work and will support the Southern Region including Los Angeles county.

Note: some duties may include working with and/or exposure to sensitive/traumatic topics or material dealing with child abuse, abuse against older adults and adults with disabilities, and/or issues and scenarios related to mental health, substance use, or racism.

The Academy is a project of the San Diego State University Research Foundation, which is grant-funded and serves as an auxiliary to the University. The Academy is based near, but not on campus, and does not have direct responsibilities for working with or teaching college students.

The Academy is currently going through a reclassification process. If this position’s classification changes during this process, it would not change the role, responsibilities, or compensation of the position.

CWDS CONSULTATION (95%)

Specific Duties 

• Proactively assesses and prepares for the impact of new state initiatives and regulations on county operations.
• Consistently stay informed on county-specific issues to ensure responsive and adaptive practices.
• Work with a trainer/coach/subject matter expert to ensure regional workforce development needs are met.
• Must maintain current certification, with a score of 80% percent or higher, on the California Integrated Practice (IP)-CANS certification test.

• Apply knowledge of the four domains of successful implementation to support external partners in adopting and sustaining new and existing initiatives.
• Proactively contribute to contract development by identifying strategies to promote and highlight new services to counties.

• IP-CANS & CFT Leadership: Serve as the primary subject matter expert for the implementation of IP-CANS and CFT/CFTM models within assigned counties.
• Implementation Science Application: Apply deep knowledge of the four domains of successful implementation to support external partners in adopting and sustaining new initiatives.
• Technical Assistance (TA) Delivery: Design and lead TA engagements that bridge the gap between policy and practice, ensuring counties understand how to operationalize state mandates. 
• Attend all county specific and statewide CFT/IP-CANS meetings/workgroups. 
• Attend and facilitate the county's County Practice Improvement Plan (CPIP) annually. 
• Serve as subject matter expert in statewide curriculum workgroup.
• Stakeholder Facilitation: Oversight and facilitation of internal and external meetings to support implementation and collaboration.
• Project Leadership: Contribute to the completion of complex program projects, providing leadership and representing the program outside the organization.
• Data-Informed Practice: Analyze regional training evaluation dashboards and refine technical assistance data tracking systems to inform practice.
• Emerging Initiatives: Monitor, proactively assess, and integrate emerging state initiatives and regulations into county operations.
• Training Delivery: Deliver CFT/IP-CANS training aligning with fiscal year objectives for the region.

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED (5%) 

• Perform other duties as assigned which are in the best interests of the Academy for Professional Excellence.
• Travel to off-site locations for Academy and Program meetings (primarily in Riverside and San Diego).

QUALIFICATIONS & SPECIAL SKILLS

Knowledge and Abilities:

Strategic & Technical Expertise

• Deep expertise in the clinical and technical application of IP-CANS and CFTMs, with the ability to translate practice into scalable systems.
• Advanced knowledge of technical assistance strategies that drive organizational capacity and sustainable change.
• Strong command of adult learning theory and its application to diverse audiences and statewide initiatives.
• Expertise in interpreting complex policies and aligning implementation with programmatic and system-level goals.

Project Leadership & Execution

• Leads multiple complex projects with clarity and accountability, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and timelines.
• Drives project planning, coordination, and execution, while fostering shared ownership and cross-functional collaboration.
• Exercises sound judgment and initiative to navigate ambiguity, solve problems, and advance high-impact solutions.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Communicates with clarity and influence across diverse audiences, demonstrating strong cross-cultural competence.
• Builds and sustains strategic relationships with partners, stakeholders, and teams to advance shared goals.

Data, Fiscal & Operational Acumen

• Leverages data to inform decision-making, measure outcomes, and drive continuous quality improvement.
• Applies advanced budget tracking and financial management skills to guide decision-making and drive strategic resource allocation
• Leverages standard office software to produce clear communication, reports, and data-informed analysis.

Professional Impact

• Operates with a high level of autonomy, accountability, and organizational awareness.
• Demonstrates strong critical thinking, adaptability, and disciplined follow-through in complex, evolving environment
• Contributes to a collaborative, inclusive culture grounded in equity and effective practice.

Additional Knowledge and Abilities:

• Ability to work in a team setting & relate well to others within the Academy for Professional Excellence environment
• Ability to effectively handle interpersonal interactions at all levels of the organization
• Ability to interact effectively with co-workers, partners, and professionals
• Ability to understand and follow posted work rules and procedures
• Ability to display motivation and strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to display organization and meet deadlines 
• Ability to display good judgment and critical thinking skills 
• Ability to demonstrate a high level of cross-cultural sensitivity
• Fundamental written and oral communication skills, including a sound foundation in English grammar, spelling, and punctuation
• Ability to travel within California, particularly in Southern region counties and Sacramento, to support project implementation and stakeholder engagement.

• Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication, with attention to clarity, accuracy, and proper use of grammar and mechanics.

Minimum Qualifications

• Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in appropriate field related to the program/project
  -OR- 
• Additional experience may be substituted for the required education on a year for year basis.
• Six (6) years of experience related to the program/project.
• Three (3) years of experience providing coaching or training.
  (A masters' degree may be substituted for years of experience, up to two years)

Preferred Qualifications

• Implementation Mastery: Strong foundation in Implementation Science principles and their practical application.
• Child Welfare Expertise: Four (4) years of experience in public child welfare with a comprehensive understanding of system-wide challenges.
• Project Leadership: Four (4) years of experience in planning, coordinating projects, and contract oversight.
• Proven experience in developing and delivering child welfare training, with a focus on trauma-informed practices and promoting equity and inclusion.
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of program planning, implementation, coordination, and evaluation, with an emphasis on leveraging data to optimize program performance.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION

• Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU Research Foundation provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin or any other categories protected by federal or state law.  
• Employment decisions are based on an individual’s qualifications as they relate to the job under consideration. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has equal access to resources and support. 
• SDSU Research Foundation complies with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), and other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws including grant or contract terms and conditions related to funded program activities. Further the SDSU Research Foundation maintains a Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all programs, policies, and practices.  
• SDSU Research Foundation makes all employment decisions including, but not limited to, applicant screening, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, and terminations on the basis of merit.