The Associate Director, Leadership Initiative, reporting to the Senior Director of Career Development and Higher Education, will be responsible for leading the NYC-based Leadership Initiative and coordinating statewide Leadership Initiative efforts. The Associate Director will work with colleagues at each of the Leadership Initiative satellite sites across the state to foster partnerships with local institutions of higher education, organizations, and stakeholders, to identify and utilize local resources, and to share best practices and lessons learned. Equipped with a wide range of experiences in the early childhood field, the ideal candidate will have knowledge of the professional development needs of the early childhood workforce with a particular focus on early childhood leadership and management.
Leadership and Management
- Provide strategic and organizational leadership for the statewide and NYC-based Leadership Initiative, and carry out planning and implementation activities in collaboration with other Institute staff
- Supervise and manage Leadership Initiative Coordinator(s)
- Collaborate with the PDI Professional Development team to coordinate the Leadership Initiative coaching program
- Identify and assess current participants’ needs and utilize innovative methods to identify and recruit new participants
- Facilitate team meetings and events
- Provide coordination and input for other leadership-focused programing as needed
Professional Development
- Identify qualified coaches, mentors, trainers, and facilitators to support the Leadership Initiative
- Create and implement innovative and impactful professional development programming for current and future early childhood leaders
- Facilitate Leadership Initiative participant meetings and events and identify experts to facilitate topic-specific groups and activities
Partnerships, Communication, and Reporting
- Organize the NYC Leadership Initiative advisory board, provide training and conduct quarterly group meetings and individualized connections.
- Meet regularly with Leadership Initiative and CDC Regional Coordinators.
- Work with Institute staff to manage data collection efforts and utilize the data system to produce regular progress and grant reports
- In collaboration with the communications team: produce monthly newsletters; coordinate marketing campaigns for Leadership Initiative events; promote the program through blogs, vlogs, social media, articles, testimonies
- Attend external meetings pertaining to ECE leadership to maintain knowledge of city-wide and state-wide efforts
- Assist with additional fundraising efforts for the project
Other Duties
- Attend staff meetings and trainings as required
- Perform special projects and other duties as assigned
Minimum Qualifications
- Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, educational leadership or another related field of study
- 8+ years of leadership experience in the field of early childhood education or a comparable field of work
- Experience helping professionals build competency in leadership skills through training, staff development, coaching, etc.
- Demonstrated skill in project management with excellent analytical, organizational, and management skills
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Availability during evenings to attend associated/sponsored events
Preferred Qualifications
- Fundraising experience
- Exceptional interpersonal and team-building skills
- Demonstrated ability to develop and sustain successful collaborative partnerships, working with a diverse group of stakeholders that includes colleagues and external partners
- Minimum Education Level: Master's Degree
- Preferred Education Level: Master's Degree