Director of Early Care & Education

Rock Walworth Comprehensive FA•Beloit, WI

3d•$80,000 - $82,700•Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for an experienced leader who is passionate about prevention and education to join our team! Reporting to, and in close partnership with, the Executive Director, the Director of Early Care & Education (ECE) provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of the agency’s prenatal services, home-based and center-based early education, and child care programming/partnerships. The Director of ECE collaborates with others to ensure program quality, regulatory compliance, fiscal integrity, and continuous improvement in alignment with the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the agency's mission to support children and families from prenatal stages through preschool.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, or a related field
5 years’ experience supervising and coaching others to achieve results
Demonstrated success in program management, including operational and financial management, evaluation and assessment, and continuous quality improvement
Experience utilizing policies and procedures, administrative rules, and state/federal laws to develop and implement programs
Experience working cross-functionally with HR, Finance, Program Support, and leadership
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to present complex information and data to drive change
Demonstrated ability to build community partnerships and lead collaborative initiatives
Demonstrated computer literacy skills and experience with basic data management systems.
Must be able to pass a physical exam, background checks, and have a valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

master’s degree preferred
10 years’ experience and/or experience supervising and coaching other leaders, preferred
experience with this in a Head Start, Early Head Start and/or nonprofit setting preferred
prior experience serving as a member of a senior leadership team preferred
experience engaging broad, diverse audiences preferred
experience partnering with others to achieve organizational or community change preferred

Responsibilities

Serve as the unifying leader of Early Care & Education service areas, maintaining alignment with Head Start performance standards, federal and state regulations, and organizational policies, procedures, and mission.
Assist in the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategic plan encompassing prenatal services, home visiting (home-based option), center-based preschool education, and child care services.
Establish systems and practice that supports ongoing review of data and performance, open communication and feedback loops, and data-driven decision-making.
Direct the implementation of high-quality, developmentally appropriate curricula across all program options.
Direct the implementation program evaluations that address instructional quality, teacher-child/parent-child interactions, and classroom environments using validated observation tools (e.g., CLASS®, HOVRS).
Ensure systems, partnerships, tools, and resources are in place to support timely and appropriate services for children with individualized care needs (i.e. those with Individualized Family Service Plans, Individualized Education Programs, and/or Individualized Support/Behavior Intervention Plans), including functional behavioral assessments and/or program observation instruments, such as the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool and/or Infant-Toddler Scale.
Promote family engagement practices that support the parental role as the child's first and most important teacher and align with the agency’s school readiness goals.
Maintain relationships with key stakeholders, oversee Memorandum of Understanding/Partnership Agreements, inform contracts, and represent RWCFS on pertinent community committees.
Partner to achieve a healthy organizational culture that supports trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate practice, and emphasizes staff, child, and family well-being.
Oversee the agency’s policies and procedures related to early care, education, and family services.
Help lead the agency’s self-assessment, community assessment, and program design; assist with service and location changes.
Participate in the development of the agency’s budget, grant management, and reporting.
Engage with the agency’s Board of Directors to provide training, report on outcomes, and relay programmatic updates and/or adjustments to the strategic plan.
Assist with the integration of Head Start and child care funding streams to provide wraparound care and/or programming that supports working families.
Effectively team with other agency leaders to ensure safety, compliance, achieve outcomes, and provide sufficient and equitable access to services.
Partner with Human Resources to create/revise job descriptions, recruit and hire staff, arrange for layoff and callback of part-year staff, administer corrective action, maintain personnel records, manage leaves of absence, etc.; serve as the lead for the agency’s onboarding and staff development for ECE staff.
Participate in leadership team meetings, retreats, and other activities designed to enhance collaboration and promote consistency.
Ensure fiscal management by monitoring educational expenditures.
Hold regular team meetings and foster a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Set clear goals and expectations, provide regular supervision meetings, and deliver timely performance reviews for all direct reports.
Support managers, supervisors, and specialists in the development, implementation, and/or revision of onboarding and professional development plans, as well as efforts to improve the performance of their team members, address concerns, and implement corrective action.
Monitor workload, assess employee goals, and provide opportunities for growth.
Ensure employees have the information, support, and resources needed to be successful in their positions.
Ensure timely review, approval, and submission of staff related items (time sheets, mileage and other expense reimbursement, training and travel requests, etc.)