Careers Job Description
General Description
MISSION
Children excel when they spend their most critical years with dedicated, educated, trained, and well-compensated individuals in order to thrive. The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute leads the work to establish and implement an early childhood workforce system to ensure funding, standards and competencies, career development resources, qualifications and credentials, professional development (training and strengths-based coaching), and program quality assurance and improvement for individuals who work with young children throughout New York. Housed at the City University of New York, the Institute is a fast-paced, dynamic public/private partnership that is committed to the early childhood workforce across New York State.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Director of Early Childhood leads the Institute’s projects that require an expertise in direct service to children and the workforce. The Director will 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 candidates will have experience in a leadership position, an intimate knowledge of early childhood 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 with agencies, funders, and institutions of higher education.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership and System Development
- Lead the Institute’s professional development initiatives, including design of professional development, coaching, and induction initiatives
- Consider and test innovative strategies to solve challenges facing the field of early childhood education, and build the sector portfolio
- Establish trusting and productive relationships with the 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 papers and other resource materials.
Team Supervision
- Support and supervise a team of early childhood coaches and create and manage relationships with fee-for-service partners
- Support and supervise a team of professional development trainers, manage training requests with the team
- 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 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, 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
- Spanish speaking
Physical Requirements
- This position is currently hybrid, and will soon move to be 100% in the office. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as personal computers, laptops, tablets, smart phone, photocopiers, filing cabinets and a range of 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, 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 locations as needed.
How to Apply
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 any race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expressions, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, disability, age, or protected veteran status to apply. We take pride in our pluralistic community and continue to seek excellence through diversity and inclusion. CUNY is an EEO/AA Employer.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
Full Time
$90,000.00 - $100,000.00
Jun 01, 2022 (Or Until Filled)