Director Of Early Education And Family Services

What We Do

Our mission is to break barriers and transform communities through programs rooted in our tradition of action and faith. Episcopal Community Services (ECS) was founded in 1927 to provide social welfare programs for “those who might otherwise be forgotten” and expanded its scope in 1954 to provide programs to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of all San Diegans. Today, with a team of 450+ staff across 22 sites, ECS provides more than $34 million in health and human services in the areas of homelessness, mental health, substance use disorder treatment and early childhood education to more than 7,000 clients in the San Diego region annually. For additional information about ECS, please visit: ecscalifornia.org.

LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

ECS is led by an exceptional executive team dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity, transparency, and growth, both personally and professionally. Our focus is to create a highly supportive environment where team members can bring their full self and do their very best work. This position reports to our Vice President of Programs, Stacie Perez, MS, a 12-year veteran of the organization. Stacie is an established behavioral health professional with over 25 years of experience as a bilingual, bicultural leader overseeing numerous behavioral health and substance use disorder programs. The Director of Early Education and Family Services will lead and work collaboratively with a team of 285 staff to break barriers and transform communities.

BENEFITS & FEATURES

  • Salary – $120,000 – $135,000 DOE
  • 401(k)
  • Medical, dental, vision, AD&D, and life insurance
  • 15 paid vacation days. 10 paid sick days. 16 paid holidays
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Paid time for training and many opportunities for personal and career growth

LOCATION

This role will be primarily on-site with an office located at 401 Mile of Cars Way, National City, CA 91950.

POSITION SUMMARY

After an incredible 14-year career with ECS, our current Head Start Director will retire this spring. While we are sad to see her go, this has enabled us to reimagine and expand the leadership position for our early education programs. The newly created Director of Early Education and Family Services will be one of our key management positions, responsible for coordinating and directing all program and administrative services for the Head Start program. It is an incredible opportunity to lead a high-profile program and drive positive impact in the lives of hundreds of children and their families. The position includes supervision and development of both center and home-based operations, overseeing compliance with State and Federal regulations and adherence to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, Head Start Act, and state preschool CSPP funding terms and regulations. The Director will manage a $22 million budget, supervise 5 direct reports and lead a team of over 280 staff members.

Strategic Priorities for this position include:

  1. Empowering staff to innovate and do their best work, encouraging them to share ideas and be leaders in their respective fields/positions.
  2. Coach, mentor and develop manager level staff, so that they may bring out the best in their teams.
  3. Advance our culture of growth, collaboration, creativity and positivity.
  4. Review, improve and help lead our enrollment and marketing strategies to bring more families into ECS programs.
  5. Become familiar with our new CRM and make sure we are fully leveraging its capabilities.
  6. Conduct family feedback listening sessions to gather input for ongoing program enhancements and ensure we are meeting the needs of the community.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

  • Work closely with the VP of Programs, CEO, Board of Directors, Policy Committee, and related stakeholders to ensure high-quality early learning opportunities.
  • Oversee the development of the instructional leadership, training, and mentoring program for early education staff.
  • Analyze child and family outcomes; lead data-driven decision making to increase student achievement, family outcomes and kindergarten readiness.
  • Lead, coach, mentor and support staff to ensure we are all successful.

Financial Management

  • In collaboration with the Fiscal Officer, develop an annual budget and monitor site/program budgets.
  • Partner with the fiscal team on forecasting and long and short-term financial planning.
  • Seek out sources of additional funding to support programs and projects.
  • Ensure program leaders, teachers, and parents have appropriate insight into budgeting and financial performance.

Program Operations

  • Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines, including Head Start, Neighborhood House Association and ECS policies.
  • Work closely with our VP of Programs and Fiscal Officer to ensure operations are top notch and our program sites have the resources and support they need.
  • Conduct a complete Community Assessment every five years.
  • In the event of a finding, take immediate action to address the non-compliance and incorporate recommendations for improvement.

Community Relations

  • Build effective partnerships among staff, parents, the Board, and diverse constituencies.
  • Promote parental engagement and provide opportunities for meaningful interactions between parents, teachers, and administrators.
  • Represent ECS with outside partners, such as SDCOE, First Five, CA Department of Education and elected officials.
  • Participate in conferences, community outreach and legislative advocacy as appropriate.

BACKGROUND PROFILE

  • Demonstrated leadership experience within a large early education program.
  • Familiarity with state licensing requirements; knowledge of best practices and systems in the field of early childhood education.
  • Excellent communication skills, written and oral; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with management, employees, and stakeholders.

COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination, including booster is required.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO APPLY, PLEASE CONTACT:

Shira Jacobs, Director, Blair Search Partners
1855 1st Ave., Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92101
shira@blairsearchpartners.com