Head Start - Assistant Center Director

Catholic Charities Comm•Avondale, AZ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Catholic Charities Community Services is currently seeking a professional, passionate individual who has an engaging supervisory style to work in our Head Start program providing leadership support to our staff and children and their families. The Assistant Center Director demonstrates leadership abilities by creating and maintaining a positive learning environment for all families enrolled. The Assistant Center Director assists the Center Director in day to day operations of the center in accordance with Catholic Charities Westside Head Start policies and procedures, licensing regulations, Health and Safety Standard and service area plans. Assists in providing an educational, nurturing, and safe environment for children, staff and parents. Responsible for all Head Start Center operations and assumes all Center Director responsibilities and duties in the absence of the Center Director. Meets expectations for delivering exceptional customer service to families enrolled at the center.

Requirements

Knowledge of child development theory; specifically early childhood development
Familiarity with Head Start standards, requirements, goals, objectives, policies, and procedures
Understanding of A.R.S. 36-891 pursuant to the operation of a state licensed childcare facility
Experience with Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) forms CCL-114 and CCL-324
Awareness of community resources and available support services for children and families
Leading, directing, managing and supervising employees
Directing individual and group activities of children and families
Effectively motivating others; encouraging their participation and engagement
Managing change and demonstrating adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness to varying needs and situations
Critical thinking and resourcefulness to overcome challenges and solve problems
Understanding, following, and carrying out written and oral instructions
Communicating effectively with staff, parents and children
Proper English grammar and usage
Proficient in Microsoft Office Applications (Word / Outlook)
Identify opportunities for improved effectiveness or efficiency, lead change and employ innovation
Work successfully with socio-economically disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse pre-school age children and their parents in a fast-paced environment
Identify and utilize a variety of materials for use in a pre-school developmental setting
Read, understand, interpret, and apply rules, regulations, and policies
Adhere to a structured schedule, adhere to timelines, and meet deadlines
Maintain confidentiality of personal information and the integrity of the record keeping process
Stand and/or sit for prolonged periods of time
Lift children up to 40 pounds and assist them to the bathroom as necessary
Sit on floor and ambulate over uneven floor surfaces including stairs, steps, and playgrounds
Other significant physical abilities include lifting/carrying/pulling, stooping/kneeling/crouching, reaching/handling/fingering, talking/hearing conversations and other sounds, near/far visual acuity/depth perception/accommodation/field of vision

Nice To Haves

Understanding of Head Start Act and Performance Standards preferred
Bilingual (English/Spanish) skills preferred; may be required for some positions

Responsibilities

Creates a welcoming, safe and developmentally appropriate environment for the purpose of encouraging the cognitive, physical, social/emotional, and language development of the child and family.
Collaborate with the Center Director to maintain day to day operations of the center.
Fill in as Substitute Center Director or Instructional Staff Member as needed. Assists with breaks, food service and other classroom requests as needed.
Knowledge and ability to lead staff in implantation of developmentally appropriate curriculum.
Ensure that appropriate staff to child ratios and act as a teacher in the classroom in emergency situations.
Prepare and submit requests for maintenance of building/classrooms based on observation and site safety checklists.
As assigned collaborate with community partners to educate and encourage parent participation in classroom activities, parent/teacher conferences and meetings.
Ensure instructional team is completing all required record keeping documentation accurately and in a timely manner.
Works with assigned teaching and family service staff and develops, assist in implementation and monitoring service area and center work plans to achieve assigned goals, objectives and educational outcomes.
Participates in developing, implementing and evaluating work programs, plans, processes, systems and procedures to achieve Westside Head Starts goals, objectives and performance measures consistent with division quality and service expectations.
Implements and supervises staff members with company policies and procedures.
Attends and participates in staff meetings, center events, and parent/customer meetings as requested.
Oversees and participates in implementation of daily lesson plans and activities, ensuring they are age appropriate, individualized and culturally sensitive; observes teachers in the classroom and provides feedback; mentors and coaches staff in planning appropriate curriculum and activities; provides technical and problem solving assistance to teachers and other staff; trains staff on curriculum changes and procedures; monitors to ensure timely completion of child observations and assessments; ensures Individual Education Plans are being implemented.
Understands and assists staff members with developmentally appropriate practice in Early Childhood Education.
Assist teachers with utilizing appropriate corrective methods to modify behaviors.
Inspects and monitors center operations to ensure compliance with Head Start Performance Standards, state licensing requirements and health, safety and fire regulations; adjusts staffing to ensure conformance to applicable licensing requirements; performs mandated inspections of classroom and playground facilities and takes necessary corrective action to ensure that housekeeping/cleanliness standards and permit/license requirements are met.
Participates in staff development activities including in-service, training sessions, and meetings as required.
Trains new and returning team members as necessary to meet the needs of the employee’s position.
Participate in staff recruitment process along side with WSHS recruiter.
Coordinates equipment and/or facility repairs via established program procedures; ensures timely completion of repairs to minimize any risk of injury to others and meet state licensing requirements.
Maintains appropriate communication with and seeks out information and assistance from supervisors, managers, other Head Start staff, and parents as needed to provide services and fulfill job responsibilities.
Understands the requirements of the Arizona Mandatory Reporting Law; communicates and demonstrates the importance of informing a supervisor/manager of any concerns about children and suspicions of child abuse and/or neglect.
Promotes ongoing commitment to excellence and continual quality improvement to ensure the highest quality of services to children, families, and staff.
Other duties as assigned
This position may require flexibility in scheduling to attend and actively participate in evening and weekend events, including but not limited to parent meetings, family engagement activities, community outreach events, trainings, recruitment efforts, program celebrations, and other agency-sponsored functions as assigned.
Prepares, and attends all meetings, trainings, and conferences as assigned.
Maintains self and functional work environment.
Performs other tasks as may be required for the efficient comprehensive, integrated program.