Summary
The Senior Specialist, Head Start Education (SS-Ed) serves as an expert for Save the Children's Head Start operations in the content area of early childhood education and child development birth to 5 (including for center-based and home-based program options). The SS-Ed ensures fidelity to the Education and Child Development program services requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards and other applicable State and federal regulations.
The SS-Ed leads the development of Save the Children's strategy for birth to 5 education and guides its implementation across all Head Start programs. The SS-Ed monitors education service delivery and provides training, technical assistance, and other continuous quality-improvement measures to address variances, irregularities, and/or non-compliances in education services implementation. The SS-Ed ensures that Head Start and Early Head Start education and child development services comply with the Head Start Program Performance Standards and other State and federal regulations, and that those services are administered across all Save the Children Head Start programs in the highest quality with consistency and uniformity.
What You'll Be Doing (Essential Duties
Education Services Implementation (35%)
Ensures the successful implementation of curricula and recognized best practices in the field of early childhood education across all programs
- Supports the development of School Readiness Goals that are uniform across all Save the Children Head Start programs.
- Ensures cross-program participation in program planning activities, including self-assessment processes, T/TA opportunities, and the development and/or revision of program policies and procedures.
- Ensures program staff integrate education services with disability-, health-, nutrition-, and parent engagement/family support services.
- Cultivates a culture of child safeguarding across programs, guiding and monitoring the implementation of active supervision techniques to ensure that there are no incidences of child maltreatment including children being left alone, unsupervised, and/or abused in any way.
Staff Capacity-Building (30%)
- Builds the capacities of program level Education Managers/Specialists of each Save the Children Head Start program to support the successful implementation of education services through reflective and relationship-based practices and guidance that include weekly/bi-weekly meetings and remote and onsite training and technical assistance.
- Builds the capacities of program level Education Managers/Specialists to ensure that education services across programs include developmentally appropriate learning experiences in language and literacy; social and emotional development; math and science concepts; social studies; creative arts; and physical development that are focused toward achieving progress outlined in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five.
- Builds the capacities of program level Education Managers/Specialists to ensure that the services provided are culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate and inclusive of individual levels of ability, interests, and developmental skills
- Supports Education Managers/Specialists with cultivating and monitoring partnerships with public and private agencies that are developed to enhance Head Start & Early Head Start education services
- Coordinates the development and implementation of appropriate and effective professional development and training and technical assistance/coaching experiences that are responsive to the needs of education staff of Save the Children Head Start programs and, as appropriate, contracted partners.
Program Monitoring (30%)
- Monitors education program data – performing trend analysis within and across programs – to ensure consistency of high quality service delivery. Provides regular reports to Head Start Program leadership that capture data from
Teaching Strategies GOLD, CLASSTM, classroom monitoring reports, and other sources of child assessment/outcomes, school readiness, and environmental health and safety data.
- In partnership with program level counterparts, monitors the overall impact of the performance of education support services contractors across programs to ensure compliance with Head Start regulations and Save the Children program goals; makes recommendations for improvements, when needed.
- Monitors to ensure that teaching staff have regular communication with parents regarding their child's growth and development, feeding patterns, strengths, and interests. This includes monitoring to ensure parents receive no less than 2 home visits and 2 parent-teacher conferences per year.
- Monitors the educational services budget to ensure efficient operation and appropriate environment set up, which includes developmentally appropriate, sufficient and safe materials at each of the sites.
Other duties as assigned (5%)
- As part of the Head Start leadership team, participates in program wide activities that include, but are not limited to, program planning, self-assessment, community assessment, preparing funding applications, developing and/or revising policies, procedures, forms and plans.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Development or related field
- Minimum 5-7 years of Head Start /Early Head Start experience
- Management experience in early childhood education
- Experience with monitoring and training/coaching adults
- Experience teaching children in the birth to 5 years age range (preferred, not required)
- Knowledge and experience in the philosophy and practices of Head Start/Early Head Start (or comparable child development programs) & early childhood education developmentally appropriate practices
- Experience working with culturally and socio-economically diverse families and children
- Must have knowledge of Head Start Performance Standards and Head Start Act
- Must be a certified Reliable CLASSTM, Observer
- Experience in managing programs in data-managed or data-sensitive environment
- Ability to work with families from a strength-based approach
- Proficient use of computers and software packages (especially MS Office, Child Plus, and email) to store data, write reports and conduct research related to early childhood education.
- Use of web-based conferencing technology like Skype, GoToMeetingTM, WebEx, etc.
- Excellent written and communication skills.
- Demonstrated coaching, training, and leadership skills.
- Professional level of technical or managerial knowledge, skills, and experience to manage the operational activities of a unit or team, or provide the technical and management support related to various size programs, grants or projects.
Preferred
- Candidates living in Southeastern United States
What's In It for You
- Meaningful work, knowing that you are changing lives of children all around the world
- A family friendly work environment with flexible work hours
- Highly collaborative and innovative teams
- Paid vacation days, family leave days, and sick time
- Paid holidays
- Healthcare plans including medical, dental, and life insurance
- Retirement savings account with matching company contributions
- Structured and formalized management development and coaching programs for mid and senior level managers
- Extensive e-learning opportunities on a variety of topics offered through our affiliation with several prestigious universities and with the American Management Association
- Language learning opportunities: more than 35 languages offered
Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we are dedicated to ensuring every child has the best chance for success. Our pioneering programs give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Our advocacy efforts provide a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. As the leading expert on children, we inspire and achieve lasting impact for millions of the world's most vulnerable girls and boys. By transforming children's lives now, we change the course of their future and ours.
Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children's policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.