Early Childhood Manager

The Early Childhood Manager’s role will be to manage the Next Generation Academy Program, focusing particularly on providing high-quality educational programming and services to Generation Hope Scholars’ children. The Early Childhood Manager will have an external impact in the following ways:

• Creating high quality, engaging experiences for the children of Generation Hope Scholars to participate in during Generation Hope events;
• Building and implementing curriculum for kindergarten and first-graders enrolled in Next Generation Academy; 
• Ensuring that Next Generation Academy provides high quality and impactful support to the children of Generation Hope Scholars;
• Managing and building a high-performing team of case managers. 

Primary Responsibilities:

Early Childhood Education Program Design and Evaluation

• Design lesson plans aligned to standards that challenge, engage, inspire, and empower our Scholars’ children. Our Early Childhood Manager must be able to identify and develop high-quality early childhood instruction. Lesson plans should be focused on literacy, language, cognitive, and social-emotional development and should be designed with an equity lens. 
• Foster a cohesive shared vision for early childhood education at Generation Hope and ensure that Hope Coaches (i.e., case managers), facilitators, leadership, volunteers, and Scholars all understand the philosophy and purpose of Next Generation Academy and how they can support its success.
• Use data to improve instruction. Our Early Childhood Manager should be familiar with developmental assessments and implement clear, consistent strategies for using data to analyze student success and use the results to address gaps and inequities.
• Track and maintain Scholar and child data (i.e., contact information, grades, mentor meetings, developmental screenings, and milestones) using evaluation tracking software. Partner with the Director of Programming to collect and analyze data for program evaluation purposes. 
• Work with the Community Engagement Manager to improve recruitment of group mentors and ensure childcare volunteers are trained and carry out programming according to our early childhood philosophy.  

Program Implementation

• Plan and lead educational programming for Scholar’s children during Generation Hope trainings, monthly dinners, etc. 
• Recruit and organize external facilitators for childcare sessions, refining and updating policies for childcare volunteers, and improving and leading all training for childcare volunteers. 
• Plan monthly Family Dinners and Parent Connect meetings in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, including recruiting facilitators and ensuring quality. 
• Manage a small caseload of Scholar Families, providing academic and life support to ensure that they earn their degrees, monthly home visiting using the Parents as Teachers curriculum, and support their child’s development.

Supervision and Leadership 

• Manage 2-4 case managers, ensuring they are supported in their professional growth through weekly 1:1 meetings, home visit observations, and regularly providing coaching  and guidance. 
• Work with the Director of Programming and College and Career Success Manager to hold weekly program team meetings and Next Generation Academy staff meetings and plan regular morale activities for the program team.

Partnership Building 

• Ensure a positive and impactful volunteer experience for our group mentors, including gathering their feedback throughout the year both formally and informally, ensuring that group mentors are being thanked and appreciated, leading the group mentor interview, selection, and matching processes, and planning and executing the annual group mentor training.
• Build community partnerships with nonprofits, service organizations, and government agencies to provide Generation Hope Scholars’ children services.
• Represent Generation Hope at relevant convenings on early childhood topics, such as conferences, roundtables, etc., as appropriate. 

Other

• Maintain in-depth knowledge of both federal and location-specific childcare policies and best practices in selecting childcare and provide advice on childcare issues to Scholars, Sponsors, and program staff as necessary. 
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE: 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field plus one-year related work experience in a licensed early childhood program OR a combination of post-secondary education and experience equal to five years
• At least three years experience working with high school or college-age youth, particularly youth from marginalized communities
• At least two years of management experience 
• Ability to analyze and interpret program performance data and make data-driven adjustments to maximize the impact
• Ability to self-direct and prioritize among competing goals and to initiate process improvements
• Goal-oriented, with strong initiative and creative problem-solving skills
• Experience creating and executing overarching plans to meet organizational goals
• Demonstrated ability to innovate in order to improve programs or processes and dedication to the goal of continuous improvement
• Flexible and willing to contribute when necessary to projects outside of own department
• Experience planning and facilitating or co-leading workshops and events
• Access to reliable, insured transportation to get to events around the D.C. metro area
• Willingness to adjust hours to accommodate the needs and schedules of Scholars and their children. Must be available for special events and trainings, which may occur on evenings and weekends.
  • Please note that all Generation Hope staff are currently working remotely in accordance with the CDC guidelines. In-person work will resume when it is safe to do so.
• Unquestioned integrity and commitment to Generation Hope’s mission and values

THE FOLLOWING QUALIFICATIONS ARE PREFERRED:

• Experience working with teen parents is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with low-income children is a  plus. Experience with home visiting or family case management is a plus. 
• Experience with program evaluation is a plus.
• Bilingual Spanish/English is a plus

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

• Generation Hope provides a competitive salary with full benefits, including 403(b), health, dental, and paid time off. 

To apply, please complete the online application.  If this link does not work, you can access the application at this URL: https://Generation_Hope.formstack.com/forms/apply_now. Please do not call.

Generation Hope is an equal opportunity employer. Generation Hope will not discriminate on any basis prohibited by law, including marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, matriculation, political affiliation, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health decisions), age, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, and disability.

https://www.generationhope.org/