Director of Early Childhood; Director

Director of Early Childhood

Reporting to the Executive Director, oversees state program budgets and coordinates the development and implementation of projects and strategic initiatives, ensuring effective collaboration across departments and partner agencies. Analyzes and reports on programmatic and fiscal data to support decision‑making and required reporting. Supervises and supports staff through performance management, training, and workload prioritization. Partners with leadership to develop and monitor strategic goals and serves as a liaison representing the Agency in internal, statewide, and national initiatives.

Provides technical assistance to stakeholders and performs other duties as assigned.

• Oversees and administers state programs budgets.
• Coordinates the development and implementation of projects and initiatives.
• Maintains strong project management and coordination between projects, across ISBE departments, and with other agencies including the Illinois Department of Early Childhood.
• Collects, analyzes, and generates reports on program and fiscal data on state early childhood programs for internal and external purposes, including reports for legislators and others upon request.
• Assists in mentoring and training new employees.
• Plans, assigns/reassigns, prioritizes, and reviews work assignments.
• Approves/denies use of benefit time.
• Establishes annual goals and objectives.
• Completes and signs performance evaluations.
• Provides technical guidance and direction.
• Counsels staff.
• Presents documentation of just cause for disciplinary action to the Director of Human Resources.
• Works with the Executive Director, Supervisor and other staff, as assigned, to develop a Strategic Action Plan for new and existing initiatives.
• Monitors progress towards strategic goals and metrics.
• Acts as department liaison/representative on ISBE, statewide, and national early childhood data initiatives within Agency and at external committees and meetings.
• Represents and communicates ISBE priorities and positions.
• Responds to and maintains communication with other Agencies and entities on collaborative projects.
• Provides technical assistance to agency staff, local education agencies and program administrators.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Five years of experience in early childhood education.
• Three years of experience supervising staff.
• Familiarity with federal and state education laws pertaining to early childhood education.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work with a variety of educational stakeholders.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Experience with Project Management as a team leader or team member working simultaneously on multiple projects.