Executive Director, Early Childhood Innovation Center

The Early Childhood Innovation Center (ECIC) envisions a day when there is equal access to quality early learning programs and children have early learning experiences that support their social, emotional and cognitive development to provide them a strong foundation that will carry them through a lifetime of learning. The ECIC is a newly developed initiative in Delaware that is focused on transforming the early childhood education workforce by addressing early

learning professionals’ access to higher education and earning advanced credentials such as the Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate and post-secondary degrees. This will move us closer toward a new reality where every young child has an educator who is well prepared and possesses competencies needed to promote healthy learning and development.

The Early Childhood Innovation Center is enacting two strategies to fulfill its vision to support early learning professionals:

• CDA:
  Under this strategy, the ECIC is committed to supporting early childhood professionals in obtaining the CDA as the first milestone of their educational journey by providing financial support and mentorship required to earn this credential.
• Post-Secondary Degrees:
  Under this strategy the ECIC will transform how early childhood professionals are able to access higher education through a scholarship model that support degree acquisition when many are under- compensated. The ECIC will also collaborate with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to develop innovated programs to prepare ECE teachers

The Executive Director will establish a common vision for excellence in professional learning and higher education for early learning professionals and will engage with stakeholders in developing a coherent, high-quality, strategy for achieving the vision of the Early Childhood Innovation Center. The Executive Director will lead a team of county coordinators, operational personnel, and others in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the impact of activities focused on early childhood professionals, as well as the development of the ECIC budget and contracts, to ensure the strategy is fully resourced.

The Executive Director will be the nexus and day-to-day leader of the ECIC, skillfully implementing the dual strategic focus on competency-based preparation in the form of the CDA credential and post-secondary degrees for ECE professionals.

The Executive Director will engage directly with the communities of intended impact. This includes, but is not limited to, working with the ECE workforce itself, individuals working in IHEs that prepare the workforce, policymakers, local education agencies, advocates, and others working to increase access to competency-based preparation. The ability to effectively engage and comfortably communicate with many different audiences is essential.

As the first staff member for the ECIC, an entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrated capacity to be a “self-starter” will be necessary to thrive and succeed.

The Executive Director reports to Chair of Education Department at Delaware State University, the fiscal agent for the ECIC. The Director will be an employee of Delaware State University and will hire other full-time positions to assist with program delivery and operational needs. The Collaborative will be supported by an Expert Advisory Committee with deep experience in early childhood. The Collaborative is fiscally supported by state and federal allocations, committed for five years through the current Memorandum of Understanding.

Delaware State University is a public, comprehensive, 1890 land grant institution that offers access and opportunity to diverse populations from Delaware, the nation, and the world. With a total…