Director, Office of Equity and Engagement

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: $149,000-$163,000/annually

At the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), our mission is to improve the well-being of the Countys most vulnerable residents. DHSoperates, influences, and funds essential services worth more than $1 billion annually, supporting over 200,000 residents each year across child welfare, family strengthening and youth programs, behavioral health, homelessness, intellectual disability services, and aging programs.

DHS is seeking a mission-driven leader who willconvenecommunity stakeholders and DHS leadership toidentifyinequities, co-design solutions, and publicly track progress. The role blends relationship building, systems change, and data-informed practice to move DHS toward a more responsive, accountable, andequitableservice ecosystem. This position reports to the Director of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and oversees ateam of7staff.

The Director willelevate authentic engagement and co-governance with residents, providers, andpartners,embedding racial equity in how we listen, design, fund, and deliver services.They willbe responsible forleadingDHSs shift from one-way outreach to two-way partnership, ensuring community voice drives decisions and measurable improvements in disparities in access and outcomes across human services (e.g., child welfare, behavioral health, housing, economic supports).

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate isa leader who iscommitted to advancing a vision of equity that is participatory, measurable, and transformative.They will haveaproventrack recordleading large-scale community engagement/co-governance with measurable equity impacts in complex systems (government, nonprofit, healthcare, or education).

They havelived experience or substantial work with historically marginalized communities stronglypreferred;multilingual a plus.They have adeep understanding of racial equity and anti-oppression frameworks and how they translate into service delivery and organizational change.

The ideal candidatewill bring humility, curiosity, and adaptability to complex, evolving work.They willseekto build trust and bridges across differencesinternally and externally.They will be comfortable navigating institutional constraints while championing bold, equity-centered change.

Job Responsibilities

Community Engagement & Co-Governance

• Design and lead a countywide engagement strategy that centers residents most impacted by inequities, with ongoing listening sessions, community advisory structures, and co-design labs (not one-off events).

• Build durable relationships with grassroots leaders, faith and cultural organizations, immigrant/refugee coalitions, providers, and youth/family advocates; resource community participation (e.g., stipends, childcare, language access, accessibility).

• Establish clear feedback loops (what we heard / whatweredoing) and publish public-facing updates on commitments and progress.

Equity Embedded Through Engagement

• Partner with DHS leadership to translate community priorities into policy and practice changes in contracting, program design, and service delivery.

• Ensure language access, cultural responsiveness, trauma-informed approaches, and disability inclusion are built into every engagement and DHS frontline interaction.

• Coach executives and managers on shared-power practices (co-facilitation, participatory budgeting/input on funding priorities, community review of materials).

Disparities Reduction & Data Partnerships

• Work with analytics/program teams toidentifygaps (access, timeliness, outcomes), set disparity-reduction targets, and monitor progress via dashboards and equity scorecards.

• Conduct root-cause analyses (quant + qual) and incubate pilots; scale what works in partnership with communities and providers.

• Publish regular progress reports connecting engagement to measurable changes (e.g., reduced wait times for LEP households, improved permanency outcomes).

Organizational Culture & Staff Capacity

• Expand equity-informed engagement skills across DHS (e.g., community-led facilitation, plain-language communication, participatory design, data storytelling).

• Strengthen inclusive hiring and advancement with HR (diverse pipelines, community-based recruitment,equitableperformance systems).

• Support ERGs, affinity/cohort learning, and leadership development that aligns internal culture with external engagement.

Accountable Communications

• Oversee clear, multilingual communications (print, digital, social) that meet community information needs; ensure materials are plain-language and accessible.

• Create a community engagement calendar and partner toolkits so information reaches trusted messengers where people live, work, worship, and gather.

Qualifications

Preferred:

• An advanced degree in Community Engagement, Public Administration, or a related discipline ispreferred.

• Additionalcertification or specialized training in:

• Racial equity and anti-oppression frameworks (e.g., Racial Equity Institute, Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond)

• Facilitation and organizational development (e.g., intergroup dialogue, human-centered design, restorative practices)

• Equity-centered data analysis and evaluation (e.g., Results-Based Accountability, equity audits)

• Public engagement and participatory governance

• Demonstrated experience leadinglarge-scale organizational change initiatives, including shifting policies, practices, and resource allocation in complex systems.

• Proven ability to move fromcommunity input to institutional adoption and sustained practice change.

• Demonstrated experience partnering with analytics teams to interpret disparities data, set targets, and tell the story of change.

• Demonstrated experience managing budgets andallocatingresources across complex initiatives.

Minimum:

• A Bachelors in a relevant field such as Public Administration, Social Work, Public Policy, Education, Organizational Development, Sociology, Ethnic Studies, or another closely related discipline.

• Five years of leadership experience in a complex enterprise in racial equity, organizational transformation, or systems change including responsibility for staff management and results delivery.

Allegheny County offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, life insurance, long andshort termdisability, employeeassistanceprogram, vacation and sick leave, tuitionassistance, and the County's retirement program. The compensation range is $149,000 - $163,000.

Applicants are encouraged to apply beforeJune 26, 2026.