What is the legal and organizational relationship between the social services board and the social services director?

The social services director is employed by the social services board as the board’s and agency’s chief executive officer. As such, the social services director is directly accountable to the social services board. Conversely, the social services board is the director’s employer and, as such, is responsible for supervising and evaluating the director’s performance.
While the social services board’s authority over the director is not absolute, the social services director has no direct authority over the board and works, primarily at least, for and under the direction of the board of social services (even though he or she may have other professional or legal obligations and responsibilities).