Position Title: Program Director
Employee Type: Full-Time/Regular
Supervisor Title: Deputy Executive Director, Head Start

Summary

Save the Children’s U.S. Programs (USP) division is committed to ensuring that all children in rural America have a healthy, strong foundation to thrive as learners and in life. Our goals are to increase kindergarten readiness and grade-level literacy and math proficiency for children in under-resourced rural communities. As the senior staff member on the state team, you will lead the development and execution of effective program, advocacy and resource development strategies. You will oversee Head Start business operations, partnership management, and serve as the primary external representative of SCUS Head Start’s work in the state.

The Program Director is the principal investigator of the Head Start/Early Head Start program and is responsible for its overall leadership and management. You will direct, administer and manage the day-to-day program operations. Your responsibilities will include direct and indirect staff supervision, budget and fiscal assets management, building, leading and managing team support and performance. You will lead all program options, including center-based and home-based services, as well as compliance with donor and Head Start policies and procedures.

What You’ll Be Doing

Increase kindergarten readiness in high-need rural communities (30%)

Direct the mobilization of communities through partnerships and services to address other social and systemic barriers to achieving school readiness or proficiency outcomes.
Monitors programs and services to guarantee they are implemented with excellence; ensuring partner needs are assessed annually, services are customized for the target population, training and technical assistance is effective and responsive, and improvements to program quality and data management are made, as needed.
Accountable for achieving project deliverables, annual program goals, and long-term strategic objectives for the state as determined by SCUS Head Start and/or required by grants or donors.
Utilize Parent, Family & Community Engagement Framework to enhance and coordinate program services. Use it to inform community partners about Head Start and Early Head Start parent and family engagement goals and the importance of those goals to children's school readiness and success in school and life.
Expand Save the Children’s reach, recognition and impact in the state (45%)

Responsible for developing annual and long-term state strategies; conducting state-level analysis, defining opportunities and risks, facilitating integration of cross-functional supports, setting specific and measurable goals, and facilitating periodic reviews of achievements and performance.
Educate and motivate key stakeholders to actively improve children’s education, health and wellbeing in the state; identifying partners, networks and coalitions to align contributions, scale best practices, and increase awareness and support of shared initiatives.
Inform and execute resource development activities in partnership with division and agency fundraising teams; co-developing strategies for acquiring funds or gifts-in-kind, prospecting for opportunities, cultivating donor relationships, and supporting the development of proposals and reports.
Lead a high-performing team that operates with excellence (25%)

Plan, monitor and manage overall state operations and projects from initiation through completion, overseeing project planning, state budgeting and spending, GIK processing and staff resourcing.
Ensure all program activities are carried out in compliance with local, state and federal regulations and laws pertaining to programmatic operations.
Responsible for overseeing the execution all business continuity and safety and security protocols for the state staff and programs including identifying and characterizing potential risks, safeguarding facilities and assets, ensuring 100% completion of staff and partner trainings, supporting response and resolution of reported incidents, and routinely updating plans as required by SCUS.
Ensure that Save the Children is safe for children by promoting awareness and prevention to mitigate the risk of, or actual, harm that may come to children by representatives across all programming, operations, campaigns, and activities.
Protect the safety of children by ensuring implementation of active supervision techniques to ensure no child is left alone or unsupervised at any time.
Serves as team lead for the state, responsible for establishing a healthy workplace culture and setting the team pace and direction; promoting staff development, engagement and well-being while holding supervisors and staff accountable for achieving results, demonstrating the organization’s core values, and operating within our ethical standards.
Perform other duties as may be assigned.
Required Qualifications

At a minimum, a baccalaureate degree in business, finance, management, early childhood development, human services or a related field and 5 years of experience in supervision of staff, fiscal management, administration and proven experience developing relationships with community partners.
Demonstrated ability to manage people and culture.
Demonstrated ability to engage and influence a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including Policy Council, Head Start Board of Directors, program partners, coalitions, celebrities/influencers, and elected officials
Experience developing funding proposals and reports, and managing a large and complex grant portfolio.
Willingness and ability to travel within the state up to 30% of the time and occasional travel outside of the state.
This position may require the incumbent to operate a motor vehicle to fulfill certain essential functions of the job. The incumbent should maintain a valid driver’s license and remain in compliance with any Save the Children policies pertaining to the safe operation of motor vehicles.
Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree preferred in business, finance, management, early childhood development, human services or a related field.
Previous Head Start management experience
Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $108,800 – $121,600 base salary
Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $98,600 – $110,200 base salary
Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $88,400 – $98,800 base salary
Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location.
Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here). Employee may be eligible for an incentive program. Save the Children US also offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, a retirement savings plan with employer contribution, paid vacation leave, safety & wellness leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, caregiver leave, and much more.

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.

As a frontline representative of Save the Children, you are required to ensure the safety and security of children and families you come in contact with adhering to the agency’s values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity, and Integrity.

As a Save the Children employee who will come into contact with children on a routine basis, you are expected to prevent child abuse in every situation by striving, through mental awareness, good practice and training to minimize risk to children. You must take positive steps to protect children who may be a subject of concern and report and respond to any instance of child abuse and promote training and awareness around all child safeguarding obligations.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)