Senior Consultant – Strategic Planning & Child Welfare

Senior Consultant – Strategic Planning & Child Welfare

Location: Must be able to serve the State of South Dakota (Some onsite collaboration may be required)

Role Overview

The State of South Dakota is seeking aSenior Child Welfare Strategy Consultant to evaluate current child welfare systems and support the development and implementation of a3-year strategic plan. The consultant will identify structural and communication gaps, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and support effective rollout of strategic initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate existingchild welfare systems and programs

• Identify operational, structural, and communication gaps

• Develop a3-year strategic plan with measurable goals and KPIs

• Support implementation planning and performance monitoring

• Facilitate engagement with advisory committees, ministries, and community partners

• Conduct organizational assessments including process evaluation and governance review

• Provide recommendations to improve stakeholder accountability and program outcomes

Required Experience

• Strong expertise inchild welfare systems, including foster care, adoption recruitment, kinship care, and family support programs

• Experience developingmulti-year strategic plans and performance frameworks

• Background inpublic sector or human services consulting

• Experience facilitatingstakeholder engagement and leadership discussions

• Strong skills inorganizational assessment, gap analysis, and policy evaluation

Scope of Work

Phase 1: Assessment & Evaluation

• Assess theStronger Families Together (SFT) initiative

• Review strategic and operational documents including APSR and program reports

• Identify strengths, operational gaps, and implementation challenges

• Gather structured input from steering committees, ministries, and key stakeholders