The Education Manager provides early childhood technical assistance, management, oversight, and support to the Head Start and Early Head Start programs to ensure effective coordination, implementation, and monitoring of the education services. The Education Manager is responsible for overseeing Education and Mental Health/Disability services, and supervising the mental health and disability portion of the Head Start regulations and Performance Standards as well as other state and federal requirements as they relate to ADA. This includes working to develop appropriate placement and early childhood education curriculum and providing educational resources for staff and parents, ensuring compliance with Performance Standards and recognized “best practices” in the field of Early Childhood Education and Special Education. Under the supervision of the Program Director and working as the supervisor of early childhood staff, Education Specialists, and Mental Health and Disabilities Specialists, the Education Manager oversees the implementation of the education services at all sites and works with all local educational institutions and other STC Head Start partners.
The HS/EHS Education Manager will provide training and technical assistance to the Head/Early Head Start staff to ensure high-quality programming, monitor child and teacher progress and performance to ensure they are achieving program objectives, and consult with the Program Director, other Managers, and/or the Education team as needed to resolve complex issues and to ensure compliance with Head Start regulations and performance standards.
As a front line representative of Save the Children, the Education Manager is required to ensure the safety and security of children and families that he/she comes in contact with adhering to the agency’s values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity, and Integrity.
As a Save the Children employee who will come into contact with children on a routine basis, you are expected to prevent child abuse in every situation by striving, through mental awareness, good practice and training to minimize risk to children. You must take positive steps to protect children who may be a subject of concern and report and respond to any instance of child abuse and promote training and awareness around all child safeguarding obligations.
- Program Planning and Implementation
- Training and Technical Assistance
- Operations and Management
- Supervision and training
Responsibilities and Impact
- Coordinate the Education and Early Childhood Development of the prescribed content area of the Early Head Start program.
- Work closely with the program director and other administrative/management staff to assure adequate classroom supplies and equipment are available to staff.
- Attend home visits, parent conferences, and/or IFSP meetings.
- Visit each site and classrooms on a regular basis (4-6 hours per month, per site) to conduct observations and provide training, technical assistance, coaching, and mentoring.
- Provide training and technical assistance to build capacity by working directly with HS/EHS staff, parents, and community partners to ensure high quality programs.
- Develop and incorporate the Program for Infant-Toddler Caregivers (PITC) into the curriculum and parent/child activities; ensure that staff consistently incorporates PITC information into their classrooms and home visits; provide strategies to support young English language learners and their families.
- Oversee site tracking of early childhood screenings and assessments and early childhood data collection, and participate in local evaluation activities.
- Assists in developing and tracking budget information as it relates to Head Start/Early Head Start.
- Supervise HS & EHS Specialist(s) and designated Center Directors and approve work hours, leave hours, and overtime in advance for all employees.
- Provide ongoing training in policies, procedures, and program requirements as well as communication and problem-solving skills to staff of assigned team.
- Responsible for setting up and tracking that all educational staff with a professional development plan tie into the agency-wide T/TA plan;
- Work with individual teachers to develop training plans for obtaining CDA credentials and AA degree or higher in Early Childhood Education.
- Complete other tasks as assigned or needed.
- Minimum 5 years of experience working with infants and toddlers and preschool-age children.
- Experience in supervision and training and ability to develop consistent, stable, and supportive relationships with very young children.
- Extensive knowledge of early childhood development, safety issues, and methods for communicating effectively with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, parents, and other staff.
- Must have extensive knowledge of Heat Start Performance Standards and developmentally appropriate early childhood education practices in infant/toddler programs.
- Knowledge of program planning, supervisory techniques and practices, and basic fiscal accountability.
- Ability to exercise professional judgment and evaluations.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with agency staff, children, parents, and outside agencies.
- Effective communication, problem-solving, and time management skills.
- Ability to perform medium to heavy physical work exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 20 pounds frequently and up to 5-10 pounds constantly, performing such activities as sitting, crawling, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping. This also includes some duties that require repetitive action and motion skills, keyboarding, and computer use.