Safety & Accessibility Director $93K

The Arc Prince George's County is seeking a Safety & Accessibility Director. The Safety & Accessibility Director will report to the Chief Program Officer and will be responsible for performing several coordination duties related to ensuring all organization projects and programs comply with local, state, and federal health and safety guidelines and procedures. The Safety & Accessibility Director will ensure the safety of all employees, individuals supported, families, and other visitors in the agency office sites as well as the programs and residential facilities. The Safety & Accessibility Director makes sure all projects are up to code and provides advice and recommendations for safety improvements resulting in enhanced accessible spaces. It should be noted that this role supports Senior Leadership, Directors, and Managers of all office and residential site locations.

The Arc PG Safety & Accessibility Director will promote accessibility and the removal of barriers for the persons served and other stakeholders. They will implement an ongoing process for the identification of barriers in the following areas: architecture, environment, attitudes, finances, employment, communication, transportation, community integration, and any other barrier identified by the people served; personnel, and other stakeholders. They will develop a plan that meets the accessibility needs which will include a schedule for improvements. In its planning, Arc PG will identify short and long-range actions to be taken.

The Safety & Accessibility Director plays a key role in collaborating with management and various departments within the organization. The Safety & Accessibility Director chairs the Agency-Wide Safety Committee. They also work with departments and employees to ensure that safety measures are integrated into all processes and decisions. They understand that safety and accessibility must be built into the design phase of all physical and environmental projects.

This position will:

• Conduct Annual Accessibility Audits and will provide recommendations that will be presented to senior leadership and/or the Board to determine strategies for broadening safety and accessibility within the organization that outline short- and long-term strategies.
• Ensure all emergency and preparedness procedures are in place and documentation is verifiably present on a monthly basis.
• Provide feedback to all Arc PG site locations on the quality of their required documentation and training to assure safety and accessibility.
• Engage personnel in comprehensive competency-based training, development, and accessibility creating a culture of attitudinal awareness in the area of safety and accessibility.
• Ensure monthly inspections and follow-up on deficiencies pertaining to safety with agency program management.
• Develop and deploy monthly agency-wide safety and transportation tips relevant to data received through research, Safety Committee, and/or based on best practices and seasonal recommendations.
• Assist in acquiring licensing certifications based on mandated standards related to new programs and/or physical plants based on safety standards identified as best practices and regulations.
• Coordinate with Facilities Management to ensure all facilities meet current fire inspection standards
• Responsible for ensuring all facilities are conducting and accurately documenting alternative emergency procedures, inclusive but not limited to: fires, bomb threats, natural disasters, utility failures, medical emergencies, violent or other threatening situations.
• Ensure all community living locations are equipped with emergency and safety supplies.
• Assist Directors & Program Managers in ensuring emergency evacuation plans, COOP plans, and other required emergency preparedness protocols are in place.
• Ensure timely responses and compliance with OHCQ, DOH, DDA, and internal plans of correction as it relates to Safety and Accessibility.
• Prepare the organization to participate in annual National and local Emergency activities such as the Great Shake Out Earthquake drills,
• Routinely inspect and document the condition and assessment of all buildings and facilities to document their current condition and compliance with health, life safety, building codes, licensure, DDA, OHCQ, CDBG, CARF, and CQL; Makes recommendations for corrective actions in the short-term and long-term plans.

The ideal candidate acts with a sense of urgency in the majority of tasks, is highly self-motivated, independent, professional, has a high level of integrity, and is self-directed. This person is capable of managing their workload and prioritizing tasks in a fast-paced environment.

REQUIREMENTS:

• This job requires routine travel to all Arc PG community sites.
• This job also requires occasional travel to various sites within Prince George’s County and to conferences and events as scheduled.
• The position requires familiarity with the agency-wide management of programs and services for persons who may have medically fragile needs, intellectual disability and rehabilitation issues, and/or other complex healthcare needs; experience.
• Additional skills required are budget management and vendor relations, including above-average verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• The employee must have a valid driver’s license from the state in which they reside and be privileged to drive in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Guidelines as established by the company. Successful candidates must also meet criminal background check and drug testing requirements and maintain certification in First Aid and CPR.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES (Qualities that will help the incumbent be more successful in the position):

• Ability to develop and recommend policies and procedures not covered by existing policies and procedures related to health, safety, and accessibility.
• Ability to identify, amend, and modify existing policies to improve issues of agency-wide health, safety, and accessibility.
• Ability to guide and motivate employees to meet work expectations as it relates to safety
• Ability to troubleshoot and act swiftly when emergencies are identified.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Ability to self-direct and communicate regarding all activities and services needed for the safe, effective, and efficient operations of sites under the auspices of the Arc PG. Responsible for the review and establishment of appropriate policies and procedures that promote strong safety practices and accessibility for our customers, staff, families, and partners.
• Provides feedback and monitoring of safety issues identified through the electronic work order system to ensure recommended projects are prioritized according to level of importance.
• Routinely inspects and documents the condition assessment of all buildings and facilities to document their current condition and compliance with health, life safety, building codes, licensure, DDA, OHCQ, and CDBG; Makes recommendations for corrective actions in the short-term and long-term plans.
• Maintains comprehensive records related to all safety and accessibility activities.

SPECIFIC JOB TASKS:

Program Compliance:

• Sends reports to all locations of missed fire drills on the 25th day of each month; Ensures all logs are recorded in iCare; this includes Monthly Water Temperature logs, Fire Drill reports, and Emergency drills for each Arc PG site which can be monitored through Power Business Intelligence (BI).
• Through monthly documented inspections, conduct a first aid kit assessment on every home and vehicle kit; Work with the Department of Transportation to ensure first aid kits and vehicle kits are monitored and refilled at least twice per year. Document all activity of inspections and follow up on deficiencies.
• Coordinates sprinkler inspections/Contacts local fire chiefs/stations if any other inspections are needed. Notifies the program of all inspections; Ensure all Arc homes/buildings fire extinguishers are tested, charged, and currently tagged each year.
• Works with Facilities Management to procure a snow removal company (there can be more than one to service all areas of our houses) to remove snow from our home's driveways and sidewalks.
• Researches excessive cost utility bills for all locations; Coordinates an onsite visit from the utility company to determine if leaks, etc. exist.
• Coordinates with HR Worker’s Compensation, Transportation, Facilities, and Operations to determine safety trends as they relate to proactive strategies needed to ensure safety and accessibility agency-wide and report based on documentable evidence provided by approved sources accordingly.

Emergency Preparedness:

• Participates as a member of the Emergency Crisis Management Team.
• Ensures during the winter months that all locations have ample amounts (50 lb. bags) of ice melt delivered to the front of the headquarters building, under the canopy for distribution.
• Ensures during winter months that all Day Program sites have 50 lb. bags of ice melt, if they need, as well; if so, order it to be delivered to their buildings.
• Through monthly inspections, confirms that each location has an adequate amount of emergency supplies including 4 day’s worth of supplies for each person living in the home. Please refer to the most recent version of the Emergency Preparedness policy for details.
• Routinely inspects and documents the condition assessment of all buildings and facilities to document their current condition and compliance with health, life safety, building codes, licensure, DDA, OHCQ, and CDBG; Makes recommendations for corrective actions in the short-term and long-term plans.

EFFECT ON END RESULT

• Arc PG will operate in compliance with all agency-wide safety and accessibility policies and regulatory, state, and contractual requirements with effective management and operations within proposed budgets.
• Continued positive and effective local and professional community relationships are developed and maintained, including with contractual and funding sources and regulatory agencies.
• Effective oversight, guidance, support, and training are provided to all Arc PG and other related services programs ensuring safety, accessibility, and quality services.

Mental Physical and Visual Demands

A current driver’s license and the ability to drive is a requirement of the position, due to the nature of fieldwork involved such as visiting sites for meetings, training, or other business.

Ability to take initiative, act independently, and direct one’s work. While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to visit multiple locations, walk and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to finger, handle, feel, or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; and lift up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; read and interpret data, information, and documents; analyze and solve non-routine and complex problems; use math and mathematical reasoning; observe and interpret situations; learn and apply new information or skills; perform highly detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks; work under intensive deadlines with frequent

interruptions; and interact with the community stakeholders including elected and appointed officials, staff, people served, the public and others encountered in the course of work. Must have the visual acuity to read the paperwork, view a computer screen, and the dexterity to operate a keyboard.

Working Conditions:

• Normal office environment. Requires frequent travel to various programmatic locations in the assigned county
• Must be familiar with basic office equipment (e.g. computer, facsimile, copier, scanner, postage machines, etc.)

• Bachelor’s degree required with five years of direct experience in a role involving coordination with a variety of staff roles and vendors.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience and exposure in facilities management and/or facilities-related services.
• Sufficient technical knowledge to provide effective guidance to field staff.
• Five or more years in assisting Human Service program compliance.
• Strong sense of accountability, integrity, and ability to handle highly visible responsibilities.
• Must be guided by honesty, common sense, maturity, discretion, and the ability to maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive information.
• Creative and critical thinking with some analytical ability is required in order to gather and summarize data for reports, find solutions to various administrative problems, and prioritize work.