Senior Program Officer, ECE

Low Income Investment Fund•Los Angeles, CA

5h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Program Officer, Early Care and Education, plays a critical role in implementing initiatives that strengthen and expand licensed child care supply by providing technical assistance, training, and project support to early care and education providers. Working closely with Family Child Care providers and Child Care Centers, the Senior Program Officer helps providers navigate licensing requirements, improve facilities, and strengthen operational practices that support program stability and growth. Through relationship-based coaching, site visits, and group trainings, the Senior Program Officer supports providers in creating safe, high-quality learning environments and increasing access to early learning opportunities for children and families. The role also includes helping providers build foundational financial practices and connecting them to capital and small business resources when appropriate to support long-term sustainability. This position works closely with public agencies, community partners, and financial institutions to ensure providers receive coordinated support and that programs contribute to measurable improvements in child care access, particularly in underserved communities. This role is ideal for a mission-driven, organized, and collaborative professional dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Early Care and Education, Architecture, Planning, Operations, Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 2-3 years experience in Early Care and Education (ECE), California child care licensing, and community-based program implementation.
Strong organization and project management skills.
Ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities.
Training and business technical assistance experience for child care providers or small businesses.
Knowledge or willingness to learn about planning and building codes for child care and community facilities.
Understanding of facilities construction, management, project planning, and cost estimation.
Strong collaboration skills with diverse stakeholders in public and private sectors.
Excellent communication skills.
Willingness to travel throughout Los Angeles County for site visits and occasional evening/weekend work.
Proficiency in cloud-based systems and databases.
All Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual Spanish preferred.
Salesforce experience a plus.

Responsibilities

Provide individualized technical assistance to licensed Family Child Care homes and Child Care Centers across Los Angeles County.
Manage full expansion grant lifecycle including application intake, due diligence, contracting, disbursement, and closeout.
Support providers in navigating licensing requirements, health and safety standards, and facilities readiness for expansion.
Assist providers in completing repair, renovation, or facilities improvement projects that enhance licensed capacity.
Guide providers in strengthening operational practices, including budgeting, recordkeeping, cash flow tracking, and long-term business sustainability planning.
Maintain real-time tracking systems to monitor pipeline activity, award status, project timelines, and budgets.
Conduct virtual and in-person site visits to assess needs, identify barriers, document progress, and ensure compliance with program milestones.
Support communications and outreach to ensure grant opportunities are equitably distributed across diverse provider communities and underrepresented populations.
Support providers in establishing core financial management practices, including budgeting, cash-flow tracking, basic recordkeeping, and separation of business and personal finances (particularly for Family Child Care providers).
Connect providers to capital access programs, lending partners, or small business resources when appropriate to support facilities improvements or business sustainability.
Develop and lead trainings or workshops on facility best practices, physical environments for young children, financial literacy, business sustainability, and operational resilience.
Create and disseminate resource guides, tip sheets, and planning tools tailored to early childhood programs.
Support data collection and evaluation efforts by tracking key data points, outcomes and contributing to program learning and reporting.
Contribute to reports for funders, internal leadership, and external stakeholders on program outcomes and success stories.
Identify areas for process improvement, propose enhancements to internal systems, and participate in cross-team learning sessions.
Coordinate with internal LIIF teams and external partners to connect providers to additional support, including facilities funding, business coaching, or community-based resources aligned with their needs.
Partner with local government departments, including but not limited, Community Care Licensing, local Fire, Building, and Planning Departments, affordable housing developers, and other emergency financial assistance providers, to align development strategies.
Participate in outreach and community engagement efforts to increase awareness of available supports for child care providers.
Support the overall mission and work of the ECE team as needed.