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First 5 Monterey County
Monterey, CA 93940
Director of Programs
$103,962-132,685 per year
Hybrid
Full-time, Exempt
Applications and resumes will be accepted until August 2, 2024.
Summary/Objective
The Director of Programs is a leader in the community with expertise in the fields of early childhood development, early childhood systems, infant/family mental health, and adult learning for professional development.
The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and collaborative partner with a passion for racial equity-focused and healing-centered systems change, a creative visionary for strategy and sustainability and a strong and accountable manager of people, projects, and funds. This individual is responsible for:
• Overseeing programmatic strategy development and implementation focused on children ages 0-5 and their families;
• Co-developing and managing objectives of the agency’s funding cycle; and
• Supporting the evaluation of programs following all requirements of public funding processes.
The Director of Programs engages with other First 5 staff and contractors in the following ways:
• Provides oversight for contractors, funded partners, and fiscally sponsored programs;
• Works with the Controller to develop and oversee budgetary requirements of all programs;
• Partners with the Director of REDI & Strategic Partnerships to participate in county wide initiatives and collaborate with systems and community partners to enhance family access to high-quality, integrated services
• Collaborates with staff across departments (Policy, Systems, REDI, and Evaluation) to ensure programmatic alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan and F5MC values, especially those related to Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI).
Essential Functions: (to include supervisory responsibilities - if applicable)
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
- Responsibilities:
Program Design, Oversight and Contract Administration (30%)
• Designs F5MC programmatic strategy and leads collaboration with F5MC staff, community members, parents, and partners using data, results-based accountability, root cause analysis, the community engagement to ownership model, and systems change frameworks
• Oversees implementation of programs; develops or oversees budgets, scope of work and targets, evaluation data, progress reports, and other services required by contracts and in alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan
• Participates in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning activities and reports for internal use and to share with external stakeholders
• Oversees the development and execution of contractual agreements and public procurement documents for the provision of services by funded partners and other contractors
• Meets with or convenes funded partners to support progress towards program goals
Capacity Building (20%)
• Works with community members and agencies to identify county-wide early childhood professional learning needs and designs new or sources existing solutions
• Co-develops implementation and funding plans with shared responsibilities across partners
• Manages the implementation of technical assistance and training programs (e.g., IFECMH) that equip professionals with the skills to effectively serve young children and families.
• Partners with systems leaders and administrators to encourage their programs, policies, and staff trainings to align with quality criteria to support families with young children
• Supports community-centered program design and implementation for parent learning and development that build connections, community, self-efficacy, resilience, healing, and knowledge
Program Sustainability (20%)
• Manages efforts to expand F5MC’s use of entitlement or reimbursement funds e.g., Medi-Cal
• Pursues county, state and federal public funding opportunities in collaboration with systems partners (see partnerships above)
• Contributes to general fundraising efforts including grant writing
• Explores other earned revenue/fee-for-service models e.g., opportunities for organizations like childcare centers, hospitals, and government agencies to pay for employees’ participation in early childhood professional development
Partnerships (10%)
• In coordination with the Director of Racial Equity and Strategic Partnerships, fosters integrative and collaborative relationships among families, systems agencies, and providers to support programs
o Co-designs and implements ways to better connect families to needed services in the places and systems they frequently visit
o Supports providers across agencies to improve systems navigator skills for families
o Addresses program and systems gaps, makes connections, supports referrals where families struggle to access services
o Supports identification of and application for cross-organizational funding opportunities; organizes funding partners to plan for local implementation
• Collaborates with First 5 staff to achieve policy, systems, and program priorities in alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan
Thought Leadership (10%)
• Provides high-level strategic direction and specialized expertise to county and state partners with regard to Early Childhood Development, particularly in the areas of infant-family and early childhood mental health, family strengthening (including home visiting and care coordination), and quality-focused professional development for those working with young children and families
• Stays current on best practices and shares reports and presentations with key constituencies
General Support (10 %)
• Provides periodic program updates to the Commission, staff, and other constituencies
• Oversees and evaluates the performance of assigned staff in alignment with F5MC values
Competencies
Skills:
• Program strategy development and evaluation
• Communication, both orally and in writing, including the ability to listen actively. English proficiency is essential to the position and the ideal candidate is also proficient in Spanish
• Presentation development and delivery, including the ability to translate complex issues to different audiences and deliver clear and succinct reports
• Project management: ability to manage oneself and the team, prioritize multiple tasks with attention to detail, and work autonomously to meet critical deadlines
• Basic data analysis and synthesis
• Contract and budget development, administration and oversight, including the ability to meet programmatic outcomes within defined financial parameters
• Understanding, meeting, and communicating policy and procedure requirements
• Interpersonal relations – especially across race, culture, and class – with empathy, respect, humility, self-awareness, accountability, and transparency
• Team management: trust-building, clear goal setting, supportive check-in and feedback cycles
• Group facilitation: collaborative agenda-setting, decision-making, synthesis and follow-through
• Solutions orientation: able to hold complexity and still propose practical steps forward
• Racial equity and social justice: self-awareness of privilege, implicit bias and current stage in the racial equity journey, knowledge of best practices for advancing racial equity and reducing health disparities and ability to navigate challenging conversations on racial-equity related topics.
Knowledge:
• Early childhood development, infant/family early childhood mental health, family strengthening (including home visiting and care coordination)
• Systems change strategies that support cohesion, connection, navigability, and equity among programs and partners for the benefit of greater quality and access for families
• Adult Learning Theory and its implications for professional development
• Monterey County: people, economy, geography and political landscape
• Principles and practices related to F5MC’s values, especially Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement-to-Ownership, and how to be trauma-informed and healing centered
• Technology applications including Microsoft 365, Google Suite, Slack, and Asana (project management tool)
Working Environment
Hybrid schedule between Salinas office and remote with at least 50% time spent in-person at the Salinas office
Physical Requirements
N/A
Travel Required
• Must travel independently within Monterey County to attend meetings as needed.
Required Education & Experience
Minimum 10 years full-time, progressively responsible, experience in public or nonprofit organizations, including at least 4 years at the senior administrative management level, supervising mid-level managers and/or professional staff. Applicants might possess an advanced degree in a related field such as psychology, child development, social work, health, and human services. Commensurate work experience will also be considered.
Affirmative Action/EEO Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. We make hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
Other Duties
N/A
Expected Hours
N/A
Interested in this position? Send an email with your resume and/or cover letter to: