Director of Head Start

Director of Head Start

Richmond City Public Schools Academics Office – Richmond, Virginia. Job . Final date to receive applications:
Posted until filled. Re‑Posted:
Jul 09, 2026 4:00 AM (UTC). Starting Date:
Immediately. Position Type:
Full‑Time. Salary: $110,292 to $169,610 per year.

Job Title:

Director, Head Start.

Grade Level/Terms of Employment:
Grade 133.2 (260 Days 12‑Month Contract). FLSA Status:
Exempt.

Work Location:

Academic Office. Immediate Supervisor:
Principal Director of Pre‑K.

The Director, Head Start is responsible for coordinating all functions of the Early Head Start/Head Start programs including overseeing delegate agencies and assuring all federal program standards are met in coordination with local and state regulations. The Director provides leadership in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating the Early Head Start/Head Start programs, and representing the division in local, regional, state, and national communities.

The Director works in collaboration with the Early Childhood Education Director to ensure that Richmond Public Schools' early childhood programs are strategically positioned for growth as services expand to more young children throughout the city.

• Ensures compliance with the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) and the Virginia Department of Education licensing guidelines.
• Emphasizes the importance of the program achieving high standards of quality, internally and through public and private sector partnerships.
• Works collaboratively with the Director of Early Childhood Education to ensure the coordination, development, and implementation of an assessment and data monitoring system to measure student growth, school readiness, and program effectiveness.
• Establishes and sustains ongoing communication with internal and external stakeholders (i.e., Policy Council, Families, Staff, and Community Partners) through monthly collaborative interactions.
• Designs and delivers presentations to parents, staff, teachers, RPS School Board, Head Start Policy Council, and community groups to provide information and foster collaboration.
• Oversees the onboarding of new staff, continued professional development of all staff, and the implementation of the staff evaluation process as part of the agency's commitment to providing quality comprehensive services.
• Provides governance training to Policy Council members to ensure members are familiarized with the HSPPS, the Head Start Act, and federal updates.
• Provides bi‑annual governance training to Richmond Public Schools Governing Board to include budget updates, program goals, staffing, enrollment, and communications from the Office of Head Start.
• Facilitates and ensures implementation of the annual self‑assessment process to improve program effectiveness and accountability; assures remediation of any non‑compliance found in delegate or grantee assessment, and incorporates recommendations for planning for the improvement of the program.
• Hears and resolves programmatic concerns, seeking input from staff, parents, and the Policy Council, as needed.
• Ensures completion of a Community Needs Assessment every five years with the assistance of entities that can provide relevant information that is critical to the process and will update during the intervening years.
• Develops, monitors, and revises budgets in coordination with the fiscal accountant; oversees and monitors expenditures expense coordination through ongoing monitoring of fiscal compliance, and meets weekly with the fiscal accountant to ensure spend‑down of grant funds.
• Monitors the completion of annual VQB5 local observations for the CLASS assessment tool, and data submission via the LinkB5 data system to advance continuous quality improvement.
• Develop and submit the annual grant applications to the Office of Head Start.
• Ensures timely and detailed reporting of program services to all stakeholders.
• Prepare the new grant proposal for Policy Council and the Governing Board.
• Provides supervision and holds regular leadership meetings with program staff to ensure clear communication to meet and exceed academic and program goals.
• F…