Assistant Director, Aging and Adult Services – Protective Services Leadership

Job Description

Assistant Director, Aging and Adult Services | County of Santa Clara

The Tone:
This is a full-time executive leadership role at the County of Santa Clara, located in Santa Clara County, CA. The County of Santa Clara is a premiere public agency with a workforce of more than 24,000 employees across 30+ departments, delivering critical safety-net services to over 1.9 million residents. This role is within the Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS), a core department within the Social Services Agency. This position leads efforts to protect vulnerable adults, support independence, and promote dignity and safety, directly influencing systems that safeguard the rights and well-being of the community’s most vulnerable adults.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Santa Clara County, CA

• Team: Oversees the Protective Services Bureau and reports to the Director of Aging and Adult Services.
• Mission: Lead and elevate a countywide protective-services system grounded in equity, accountability, compassion, and innovation, ensuring safety, dignity, and due process for vulnerable adults.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Strategic Leadership: Guide strategic direction, strengthen operations, and drive performance excellence across a continuum of legally mandated, compliance-heavy services.
• Public Guardian Execution: Execute statutory authority as County Public Guardian in conservatorship and estate administration, overseeing complex matters and ensuring legally compliant, client-centered services.
• Operational Oversight: Direct Adult Protective Services (APS), Public Administrator, and Public Guardian/Conservator operations, strengthening processes, closing service gaps, and optimizing resource utilization.
• Data-Driven Improvement: Use analytics to assess program effectiveness, develop and monitor key performance indicators, and implement data-informed operational improvements.
• Team Development: Lead, mentor, and evaluate subordinate managers and staff, building a culture that values accountability, trauma-informed practice, and high-quality public service.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree in public or business administration, public health, social work, or a related field, and executive-level leadership experience.
• Experience: Four (4) years of recent administrative program management experience within a large public or private human service organization, including at least two (2) years of progressively responsible managerial oversight.
• Skills: Executive leadership in a highly regulated environment such as probate, conservatorship, guardianship, or adult-protective systems; deep understanding of aging and adult-services systems; skill in data analytics, system redesign, and operational improvement; experience building high-trust relationships with courts, legal partners, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and community organizations; strong political acumen, judgment, and communication skills.