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Senior Director of Early Childhood Professional Development

New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute
Date Posted: 05/25/2022
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Salary/Wage: $100,000 - $115,000 a year
Job Type: Full-time
Work Arrangement: Hybrid
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Description:

The Senior Director of Early Childhood Professional Development will work in partnership with the Executive Director to support both City and State efforts to address the needs of the early childhood education workforce, including in response to new federal initiatives. In response to new requests and needs, the Senior Director will build a significant and comprehensive portfolio designed to support thousands of early childhood educators in response to new opportunity and changing policy and practice.

The Senior Director will lead the Institute’s projects that require expertise in direct service to children and the workforce. The Senior Director will create seminal materials that serve as the framework for the early childhood workforce, manage coaching and induction initiatives for educators and providers and their supervisors, the design and implementation of professional development for teachers and leaders serving young children, supervise a team of screening and assessment specialists, and other special projects as they arise.

Equipped with a wide range of experience in the field, the ideal candidate will have experience in a leadership position, an intimate knowledge of early childhood education across sectors and teacher preparation and a deep understanding of the professional development needs of the early childhood workforce. They will have had experience creating and providing high quality professional development, including coaching; supervising a staff; and building partnerships and systems with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, funders, and institutions of higher education.

Responsibilities:

Leadership and System Development

  • Build a comprehensive portfolio and team based on new funding and new state and NYC administration priorities
  • Lead the Institute’s professional development initiatives, including design and implementation of professional development, coaching, and induction initiatives
  • Participate as a member of a City-based design team and other working groups as required
  • Consider and test innovative strategies to solve challenges facing the field of early childhood education
  • Establish trusting and productive relationships with City and State agencies, early childhood programs and providers, and other external partners.
  • Lead systems and policy change to advance equitable best practices in early childhood
  • Serve on the Institute’s leadership team and work with strategic partners
  • Collaborate with other Institute program leaders to design effective initiatives that utilize relevant Institute and CUNY resources
  • Write and/or contribute to policy papers and other resource materials.

Team Supervision

  • Support and supervise a team of early childhood coaches and create and manage relationships with City-based and fee-for-service partners
  • Support and supervise a team of professional development content developers and trainers
  • Design with the team a system to manage, coordinate, and track training requests and responses
  • Support and supervise a team of screening and assessment specialists and liaise with funder and agency partners

Project Management, Data and Reporting

  • Work with the Web and Database Administrator to refine the coaching and professional development database for tracking and reporting input data and outcomes, as well as user feedback surveys and other data-centered applications
  • Work with executive leadership in support of writing grant and funding proposals
  •  Manage projects, collect data and prepare funding and project reports as needed for individual projects

Other Duties

  • Attend staff meetings and trainings as required.
  • Perform special projects and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education or related area.
  • 8+ years in leadership positions in early childhood-related positions (government, schools, nonprofit, and/or community-based organizations).
  • At least 6 years of experience in early childhood education, as a teacher or instructional leader.
  • At least 2 years of experience in coaching and professional development including curriculum design and implementation.
  • Strong knowledge base in both child and adult development.
  • Demonstrated understanding of and passion for the early childhood policy landscape at the local, state, and national levels; strategic and effective leadership advancing a policy agenda
  • Experience related to social justice and racial equity and/or anti-bias education, including a demonstrated understanding of how systems impact the lives of young children and adults
  • Philosophy toward early childhood that contains a deep understanding of emergent curricula and diverse, research-proven learning approaches, intentionality, the importance of play, child development, essential inclusion practices, and the protection of early childhood
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to listen and create positive work spaces that are open to new ideas
  • Comfort with ambiguity and a creative approach to problem solving
  • Ability to develop and sustain successful collaborative partnerships with early childhood educators, programs, funders, government agencies, and partner organizations
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Ability to attend in-person meetings across the state and country for events as needed

Preferred Qualifications

  • NYS TTAP Coaching and/or Professional Development Trainer Credential
  • Understanding of the current fundraising landscape and future opportunities, and experience with successful grant writing and fundraising 
  • Familiarity and training with various early childhood screening and assessment tools
  • Familiarity with the Aspire Registry
  • Previous experience working with the NYC Department of Education
  • Spanish speaking

Physical Requirements

  • This position operates in a professional office environment located in Brooklyn, NY, and is currently hybrid, working 70% in the office. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as personal computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and presentation equipment.
  • While performing these duties, the employee is required to perform physical activities such as, but not limited to, lifting items (up to 20 pounds), bending, reaching, and sitting for prolonged periods of time. Reasonable accommodations will be made for employees with disabilities or other needs per RFCUNY policies.
  • Ability to travel to other sites as needed.
  • As of May 27, 2022, all candidates will be required to provide proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencing employment. Exemption (medical or religious) requests to this requirement will be considered in accordance with applicable law and criteria. Being fully vaccinated is defined for this purpose as two weeks after a final dose in primary series of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine (example: two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine such as Moderna or Pfizer, or two weeks after a single dose vaccine such as Johnson and Johnson). Final candidates must be fully vaccinated as of their first day of employment.  Newly hired employees will be sent an email with instructions on how to upload their vaccine information on the Research Foundation portal.

Application Instructions:

Provide a resume and cover letter specifying your qualifications, experience, and interest relevant to this position.

EEO Info

We are committed to enhancing our diverse academic community by actively encouraging people of all race, color, religion, gender, gender identities or expressions, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disabilities, age, or protected veteran status to apply. We take pride in our pluralistic community and continue to seek excellence through diversity and inclusion. The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with disabilities act/E-Verify employer.

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