Social Planner

**Company Biography**

The County of Lambton is an urban-rural area in southwestern Ontario that is home to over 126,000 residents. The Corporation's seven divisions operate programs and services for the residents of Lambton County such as land ambulance, provincial offences court, three Long-Term Care Homes, 25 library branches, two museums, an art gallery, archives, local roadways, public health services, housing services, social services, building services and planning and development services. Lambton County is a community dedicated to economic growth, environmental stewardship and an enhanced quality of life through the provision of responsive and efficient services and collaborative efforts with its municipal and community partners.

**Position Overview**

The role of the Social Planner is to assist in the research and analysis of social trends, developing social planning policy, including the maintenance and implementation of human services plans, identify outcome indicators and measurement strategies to ensure outcomes align with sector expectation (e.g. Ontario Works Service Planning, Housing and Homelessness Initiatives, Special Needs Service Delivery Model, Youth report, Ontario Works Caseload Trends and Economic Indicators Report).

**Duties and Responsibilities**

Planning and Implementation:

- Assist with planning, implementation and evaluation of designated programs in compliance with various legislation, and community initiatives as they may relate to the Social Services Divisions mandate and Funder/sector expectation
- Initiate and administer Purchase-of-Service agreements and selected grants to community agencies
- Develop and review policies, negotiate agreements, analyze budgets, requisition payments, monitor and process legal agreements, liaison with agencies, and make recommendations to the Manager

Research and Development:

- Conducts research and policy analysis including research tool design, program evaluation, and data collection and analysis to explain or predict activities within and/or related to the Social Services Division
- Conduct primary and secondary research relevant to Divisional needs, analyze data and present findings in written reports to be used at Committee, for program planning and department planning

Administration:

- Prepare media plans and releases for dissemination of information to the public about program and program changes
- Develop and maintain the Division's resource/reference system, including government reports, statistics, policy and procedures manuals, etc.
- Assist in preparation of departmental budgets for approval including proposals related to division staffing needs based on program initiatives and community needs
- Works with other staff monitoring the compliance of all successful grant applicants to ensure compliance with guidelines

Communications:

- Facilitate community forums, stakeholder meetings in specific areas relating to divisional activities
- Represent the Social Services Division on various community committees, task forces, advisory committees and County external working groups addressing social planning, policy development, and new initiatives
- Provide educational and information resources to staff and the public, particularly regarding programs and services administered by the Division
- Act as the liaison with other divisional staff, County staff, Ministry staff, United Way, District Health Council and various social services agencies at a senior level, regarding social planning initiatives
- Department web page content manager-responsible for posting departmental reports and plans on the County of Lambton web page for public access

General:

- Incumbents must keep up-to-date on all relevant legislation, collective bargaining agreements, County Policies and Procedures, etc. ensuring that these are implemented as prescribed
- Incumbents must possess the physical ability to meet the duties and responsibilities of the job description and/or the requirements identified within the position's Physical Demands Analysis

These describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents in this classification. They are not an exhaustive list of all job duties in the classification. Other duties may be assigned.

Supervision Requirements

Direct Supervision: None

Indirect Supervision: None

Functional Authority: None

**Qualifications**

Minimum Formal Education
- A Bachelor degree in Social Sciences, Social Planning or Public Administration with an emphasis on planning and research, or a combination of education and experience in a relevant discipline, related to areas of service provision

Experience
- Three to four years' experience in a related position
- Working knowledge of federal, provincial and municipal social policy
- Advanced knowledge of Word, Excel, Power Point
- Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)
- Must be available to work evenings and weekends as req