Director of Early Childhood Learning

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Early Childhood Learning is responsible for the overall leadership, administration, compliance, and daily operations of a comprehensive Head Start and Early Head Start program. This position provides direct oversight of four center-based Head Start locations and a Home-Based Early Head Start program, ensuring high-quality, comprehensive services for children, pregnant women, families, and the community.

The Director ensures that all program operations comply with the Head Start Act, Head Start Program Performance Standards, federal and state licensing requirements, grant requirements, agency policies, and best practices in early childhood education and family support services.

The ideal candidate is an experienced leader with a strong background in early childhood education, program administration, staff supervision, fiscal management, and regulatory compliance.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. PROGRAM LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION

Provide strategic leadership and oversight of all Head Start and Early Head Start operations, including four center-based locations and the Home-Based Early Head Start program.

Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, licensing requirements, grant requirements, and agency policies.

Develop, implement, and monitor program goals, school readiness objectives, service delivery plans, policies, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.

Supervise program management staff across education, family services, health, nutrition, disabilities, mental health, ERSEA, home-based services, facilities, transportation, and data management.

Prepare reports, recommendations, and updates for executive leadership, governing bodies, Policy Council, auditors, and funding agencies.

2. COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Maintain effective systems for program governance, planning, communication, recordkeeping, reporting, monitoring, and continuous improvement.

Lead preparation for federal monitoring reviews, Focus Area reviews, CLASS assessments, fiscal reviews, licensing inspections, and other program evaluations.

Ensure timely correction of deficiencies, compliance concerns, audit findings, and licensing issues.

Monitor implementation of Head Start Program Performance Standards across all service areas.

Maintain accurate documentation demonstrating compliance with applicable requirements.

3. CENTER-BASED HEAD START OVERSIGHT

Oversee four Head Start centers to ensure safe, inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and high-quality learning environments.

Ensure classrooms implement approved curricula, child assessment systems, individualized instruction, and school readiness goals.

Monitor classroom quality, teacher-child interactions, child outcomes, attendance, staffing, ratios, supervision, and licensing compliance.

Coordinate services across education, family services, health, mental health, nutrition, disabilities, and transportation.

Support center leadership in maintaining safe, welcoming, and well-managed environments.

4. HOME-BASED EARLY HEAD START OVERSIGHT

Oversee home-based services, including home visits, group socializations, family engagement, child development services, and service coordination.

Ensure compliance with home-based service requirements, including caseloads, weekly home visits, service duration, and group socializations.

Support home visitors in promoting parent-child relationships, child development, family well-being, and school readiness.

Monitor caseloads, documentation, visit completion, family goals, referrals, and follow-up services.

Ensure group socializations are planned with families and include appropriate child and parent participation.

5. OVERSEE ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Oversee Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA) systems.

Monitor enrollment, waitlists, attendance, recruitment strategies, and vacancy timelines to maintain funded enrollment.

Ensure eligibility determinations and enrollment decisions comply with federal requirements and approved selection criteria.

Build partnerships with school districts, childcare providers, healthcare providers, and community organizations to support recruitment and referrals.

Analyze enrollment trends and barriers to participation and implement strategies to improve enrollment and attendance.

6. FISCAL AND GRANT MANAGEMENT

Collaborate with the fiscal department to develop, monitor, and manage program budgets.

Ensure expenditures are allowable, reasonable, allocable, properly…