Job Description

Job Description and Duties

The State Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman has responsibility for management and leadership of the LTC Ombudsman Program through the direction of the Office and 35 local LTC Ombudsman programs to ensure that a statewide system is in place to effectively receive, investigate, and resolve complaints made by or on behalf of residents of skilled nursing facilities, and residential care facilities for the elderly, and to provide services and information to assist residents in the protection of their health, safety, welfare, and rights. The LTC Ombudsman also serves as CDA's expert on residents' rights and quality care in LTC facilities.  Using a person-centered, data-driven, and equity-focused approach, the LTC Ombudsman recommends new or the modification of existing laws, regulations, and policies, and facilitates public comment on such laws regulations and policies to improve protections, services, and equity for residents in LTC facilities in the state, and their families. The LTC Ombudsman p rovides advocacy and promotion of the program through partnerships with the public, stakeholder associations, the long-term care industry, public agencies, and state and federal agencies to facilitate program visibility and access to LTC Ombudsman services.

The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman serves as a member of the CDA Executive Team. 

The position and office are headquartered in Sacramento, CA. The department currently requires employees to come into the office two days a week and this will change to four days a week effective July 1, 2025.

This is an exempt executive assignment (at-will) position, non-tenured, full time, and is appointed by the  Governor's Office. All applicants must apply on the Governor's website in order to be considered by clicking this link

and selecting and applying for the “Aging, State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Dept of” position in the Appointments Application.

If you have any questions about the appointments process for an Exempt/Governor’s Appointment position please contact Curtis Lang, Jr, Deputy Appointments Secretary at (916) 445-4541, or:  [email protected]

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

The physical work location of the position is designated at the department's headquarters location, a three-story building and standard office modular workspace located in Natomas. The duties of the position require sitting for long periods of time while using a personal computer, reviewing documents, and attending meetings whether they are digital (i.e., Zoom, WebEx, MS Teams, etc.) or in person.

Special Requirements

Special Requirements of Position:

This is an exempt executive assignment (at-will) position, non-tenured, full time, and is appointed by the Governor's Office. All applicants must apply on the Governor's website in order to be considered by clicking this link and selecting and applying for the “Aging, State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Dept of” position in the Appointments Applications.
• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must have expertise and experience in the fields of long-term care and advocacy.

• The State Ombudsman shall possess at least a bachelor's degree, and have a minimum of five years' professional experience that shall include all of the following areas:

(A) Gerontology, long-term care, or other relevant social services or health services programs.

(B) The legal system and the legislative process.

(C) Dispute or problem resolution techniques, including investigation, mediation, and negotiation.

(D) Organizational management and program administration.

The required experience is an aggregate of five years in these areas. It is not required that candidates have five years of experience in each of these areas.

• The State Ombudsman must be located in Sacramento, California.

• The State Ombudsman may not have been employed by any long-term care facility within the three-year period immediately preceding his or her appointment.

• Neither the State Ombudsman nor any member of his or her immediate family may have, or have had within the past three years, any pecuniary interest in long-term care facilities.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must maintain consistent and regular attendance; communicate effectively and professionally (both orally and in writing) in dealing with the public, local Ombudsman program, stakeholders, and/or other employees; develop and maintain knowledge and skill related to specific tasks, methodologies, materials, tools and equipment; complete assignments in a timely and efficient manner; and adhere to all departmental policies and procedures.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must be able to work within tight deadlines and respond quickly to requests from CalHHS, the Governor’s Office and the stakeholders.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must have the ability to deal with adverse situations that arise during the course of the day, such as residents and stakeholders with difficult and/or sensitive issues.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of current, relevant, issues facing residents of long-term care facilities. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman must have experience working to resolve the issues of long-term care facility residents within the past five years.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman exercises good judgment in making decisions affecting all aspects of the Office's functions and is responsible for the maintenance of policies and procedures, and organizational structure and staffing. Poor judgment and decisions can adversely impact the Governor's Office and CalHHS and jeopardize the health and safety of residents in California’s long-term care facilities.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman has frequent contact with CalHHS, stakeholders, other state agencies, internal staff and management within the department, as well as local Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs, federal oversight agencies and the residents of long-term care facilities.

• The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman is responsible for performing some of the administrative functions of the Office including the maintenance of effective policies and procedures.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

Mandated Position Qualifications – per California Welfare and Institutions Code ( WIC 9712, Article 2, 9712)  and the federal Older Americans Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq) the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman must:

• Possess, at least, a bachelor’s degree.
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience, in any combination of the following areas: 
  • Gerontology, long-term care, or other relevant social services or health services programs
  • The legal system and the legislative process
  • Dispute or problem resolution techniques, including investigation, mediation, and negotiation 
  • Organizational management and program administration

Desirable Position Qualifications – in addition to the qualifications above, the department is looking for a candidate who has:

• Demonstrated ability to act independently, open-mindedness, flexibility, and tact. Must exercise good judgment in making decisions affecting all aspects of the Office's operations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are essential, as well as the ability to build consensus and facilitate teamwork.

Benefits

Our employees enjoy meaningful and interesting work that supports access to programs and services that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout California.

To learn more about benefits, visit the  Exempt Benefits page on the CalHR website.

CDA is located close to downtown and is easily accessible from various main thoroughfares (i.e. Interstate-5 and Inerstate-80). Employees enjoy a great team environment with amenities including: FREE PARKING  and close to various dining and shopping choices in the Natomas area.

General State Employment Benefits and Protections

to view more information about the outstanding benefits offered to State employees.

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

Statement of Qualifications and Instructions

The Statement of Qualifications’ (SOQ) purpose is to introduce questions that require a narrative response on how an applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities meet the qualifications for the position. The SOQ serves as a documentation of each candidate's ability to present information clearly and concisely in writing.

PLEASE NOTE: Resumes, letters, and other materials will not be evaluated or considered as responses to the Statement of Qualifications.

DISCLAIMER:

Applicants who fail to submit a SOQ as required may be screened out from the selection process.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Must include applicant’s full name (Last, First)

• The original SOQ questions must be listed in the SOQ document

• Criteria/Question(s) must be answered in numerical order

• Font must be Arial 12-point (not higher or lower)

• Not to exceed three pages

• Single-sided, Single-spaced

QUESTIONS:

1. Program Experience – Please describe your knowledge of and experience with the long-term care facilities, caregivers for older adults and individuals with disabilities, and elder rights issues.

2. Equity/Diversity – Please describe your experience in promoting equity and diversity in the workplace including in the recruitment and hiring process and through training. Describe how you consider and address equity in the development of program policies and delivery of program services.

3. Advocacy - Please describe your experience in acting as a strong program advocate. This includes developing strong relationships with state and local agencies, program advocates and stakeholders, and Legislative staff and actively supporting legislation, policies and initiatives that would benefit the clients served by your program.

4. Program Improvement - Please describe your experience with implementing new policies or programs that improve program services. Include any collaborative work you have done with program clients, stakeholders, and state and local entities to develop such policies and initiatives.

5. Leadership Experience – Describe your leadership skills including: your leadership philosophy and management practices, your experience in developing and leading effective teams and developing a supportive and collaborative culture within a team, supporting peers as part of a management team, and helping an organization attain its strategic goals.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Statement of Qualifications - A Statement of Qualification is REQUIRED and must be submitted with your Employment Application (STD. 678). Applications received without an appropriate Statement of Qualifications based on the instructions below will be rejected for being incomplete and will not be considered. Resumes, cover letters, and other documents will not be considered as a response to the Statement of Qualifications. Please refer to the "Statement of Qualifications Instructions" section below for specific requirements.

Job Tags

Full time, Local area, Immediate start, 2 days per week,

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