NEOGOV · 3 hours ago
Director of Tribal Relations (Exempt) Olympia
Thurston County – Olympia, WA
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$82K/yr - $147K/yr
5+ years expNEOGOV is seeking an experienced leader to serve as the Director of Tribal Relations for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). This role involves providing strategic advice and oversight for government-to-government relations with Tribal Nations, ensuring compliance with tribal sovereignty and supporting culturally responsive services for children and families.
GovTechHuman ResourcesInformation TechnologySoftware
Responsibilities
The Director of Tribal Relations serves as the agency’s principal authority on tribal relations and government-to-government consultation across DCYF’s core program areas, including early learning, child welfare, licensing, and juvenile rehabilitation
This role provides executive-level leadership to ensure meaningful, consistent, and legally sound engagement with Tribal Nations
The Director frequently represents the Secretary at high-level meetings, conferences, and roundtables, and serves as a trusted advisor on issues affecting tribal relations
This position provides strategic guidance and analysis on legislation with tribal implications, prepares policy and fiscal impact statements, and assesses potential impacts to tribal relations, programs, funding, and agency operations
The Director of Tribal Relations leads and facilitates consultation related to DCYF operational changes, policy development, funding opportunities, rulemaking, and system reform, ensuring compliance with consultation requirements and respect for tribal sovereignty
This role oversees the strategic and tactical management of tribal relations through policy development, contract management, effective communication, workgroup leadership, risk mitigation, and coordination across the agency
In addition, the Director leads agency-wide strategic planning related to tribal relations, ensuring alignment with DCYF’s long-term goals, budget priorities, and legislative agenda while strengthening partnerships with Tribal Nations
Serves as the agency's principal expert on tribal relations, providing the highest level of counsel, coordination and problem resolution on the most complex and unprecedented matters relating to tribes for the agency's 100+ programs
This position:
Serves on the Leadership Team for the agency
Travels statewide and meets, as the primary agency representative, with tribal governments on an ongoing basis
Maintains deep knowledge of all operations and programs at the agency to understand and advise on the nuances, intertwining laws, policies and procedures, Supreme Court rulings and state and federal requirements
Provides effective leadership, management, and supervision of Office of Tribal Relations (approx. 25) staff
Ensures that government to government relationships are ongoing and meaningful between DCYF, tribal governments, and Recognized American Indian Organizations to plan, direct, develop, and implement the delivery of services, resources to the tribes, and tribal members
Drafts and delivers Dear Tribal letters from the Secretary and Assistant Secretaries
Serves as expert on the Indian Child Welfare committee and ensures follow-up and follow-through of issues
Monitors policy and compliance with the Washington Indian Child Welfare Act
Serves as the agency's senior policy advisor to the Secretary and provides regular and emergent advice and counsel to the Secretary on matters related to the Indian Child Welfare Act, regulations, consultation, relationship management and other areas related to tribal relations
Ensures policies of the agency are upheld as they relate to tribal and state relations
Plans, develops and executes on a strategy to improve agency services to and collaboration with tribes
Qualification
Required
Demonstrated expertise in Tribal issues through professional or community-based experience
Deep knowledge of at least one of the issues of child welfare, early learning and juvenile justice
Bachelor's degree in public administration, social work, human services, education, public policy, Native American or Indigenous Studies, or a closely related field
Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in evaluation, strategic planning and management of programs in state and/or tribal government
Three (3) years of experience managing complex projects
Ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in evaluation, strategic planning and management of programs in state and/or tribal government and Five (5) years of experience managing complex projects
Strong analytic skills and demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret complex data
Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a variety of audiences, including strong oral and written presentation skills
Highly skilled in facilitating and negotiating in times of conflict
Ability to create space for all voices to be heard
Strong management skills
Able to create an environment of trust and inclusion for all people
Knowledge of state, federal, and tribal governments
Ability to work in a fast-paced, complex environment
The ability to take action to learn and grow
The ability to take action to meet the needs of others
Preferred
Direct professional experience working with or within tribal communities and governments
Leadership experience in a political environment
Ability to research, form, build, and sustain relationships with tribal governments following government to government sovereignty protocols
Demonstrated commitment and effectiveness in culturally relevant institutional change and promoting culturally and linguistically responsive skills and practices
Three (3) years of supervision experience
Action-oriented work style focused on results, excellent judgement and the ability to see 'big picture'
Benefits
Employees and their families are covered by medical (including vision), dental and basic life insurance.
Staff are eligible to enroll each year in a medical flexible spending account which enables them to use tax-deferred dollars toward their health care expenses.
Employees are also covered by basic life and long-term disability insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage amounts.
Dependent care assistance allows the employee to save pre-tax dollars for a child or elder care expenses.
Other insurance coverage for auto, boat, home, and renter insurance is available through payroll deduction.
The Washington State Employee Assistance Program promotes the health and well-being of employees.
State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS).
Employees also have the ability to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP).
All state employees are covered by the federal Social Security and Medicare systems.
If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, and meet the qualifying criteria, you may be eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.
Full-time employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month.
Full-time employees accrue vacation leave at the rates specified in WAC 357-31-165 or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Washington State supports members of the armed forces with 21 days paid military leave per year.
Most employees whose family member or household member dies, or for loss of pregnancy, are entitled to five (5) days of paid bereavement leave.
Company
NEOGOV
NEOGOV is the leading provider of workforce management software uniquely designed for the public sector, education, and public safety.
501-1000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$700MKey Investors
Warburg Pincus
2025-07-28Secondary Market· $700M
2025-07-28Acquired
2021-06-02Private Equity
Leadership Team
Shane Evangelist
CEO
Brandon McDonald
Head Of Marketing
Recent News
Canada NewsWire
2025-11-14
2025-11-14
Government Technology US
2025-10-31
Company data provided by crunchbase