Lean Coach

DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY

The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) is a social and human services agency whose mission is to successfully partner with families, caregivers, and the community to strengthen families, ensure safety, and achieve permanency for all Arizona’s children through prevention, services, and support.

Job Location:

OFFICE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, 3003 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012

Salary: $33.6084 HRLY/$69,904.85 Salary;
Grade: 23;
Closing Date:
March 11, 2026

This position reports to the Office of Continuous Improvement (OCI) Administrator. This position is a leader within the agency that is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a lean management system that is embedded within the culture of the business, fosters a continuous improvement mindset, and practices psychological safety. The Lean Practitioner plays a critical role in advancing the mission of our social welfare organization by leading initiatives that enhance service delivery, operational efficiency, and client outcomes.

Furthermore, this role partners with cross‑functional teams to identify, design, and implement sustainable improvements using Lean, Six Sigma, and human‑centered design principles. The ideal candidate is a collaborative, innovative self‑starter who thrives in a mission‑driven environment.

• Supports deployment and maintenance of the Arizona Management System (AMS) and lean methodologies. Facilitates initiatives that reduce case backlog, improve response times, and enhance service coordination. Applies trauma‑informed and equity‑centered improvement practices. Promotes front line engagement in identifying and solving systemic issues.

• Standardizes project planning and execution across child welfare programs. Ensures alignment with federal, state, and agency mandates (e.g., CAPTA, FFPSA). Monitors project outcomes related to safety, permanency, and well‑being. Portfolio Management.
• Develops, maintains, and publishes project status reports to communicate project progress, status, and risks. Uploads project documentation and submits status reports as required. Serves as the central point of contact for project communications or questions. Develops and delivers presentations as requested regarding project progress and updates.

• Assists leaders and employees in examining current processes to identify opportunities for process improvement, and leads teams through a collaborative process to improve service and productivity while reducing redundancy, time, and excess resources. Assists in identifying, developing, and sustaining metrics to measure success. Provides coaching on Lean practices and tools such as Kan Ban charts, A3, root cause analysis, process mapping and change management.
  
  May require driving for the job.

• Delivers and assists other units in the creation of huddle/dashboards in the areas of people, quality, service level and cost metrics. Provides insights to leadership, QA teams, and external oversight bodies.

Other duties as assigned to the position.

• Lean tools and principles (Value stream mapping, SIPOC, Plan/Do/Check/Act cycle)
• Kaizen Improvement (facilitated problem solving and rapid implementation)
• Business operations and management systems
• Strategic Planning
• Analytical concepts (conceptualize and organize the project planning process)
• Performance improvement methodologies and practices
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), SharePoint, and other project management applications

• Building long‑term professional, sustainable relationships
• Core skills in driving effective team discussions
• Mentoring and training employees
• Project and time management
• Excellent communication (verbal and written)
• Critical, innovative and creative thinking
• Strong leadership, including group facilitation and problem resolution techniques
• Coaching process and behaviors
• Creating psychologically safe environments
• Understanding how actions affect organizational goals, customers, and long‑term outcomes – recognizing…