Program Quality Specialist

Job Description

The Education Secretariat is committed to equity and valuing the unique and diverse characteristics and experiences of every member of its workforce. We encourage an authentic workplace where colleagues show up as their full selves, where collaboration, innovation, and connections are key to realizing our mission that all children, youth, and families thrive socially, academically, and economically. We seek teammates who are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued and engaged. We encourage you to apply and identify your strengths in these areas.

The Program Quality Specialist is responsible for the regional coordination of a statewide strategy for improving program quality across EEC's mixed delivery system. Responsibilities include providing technical assistance and resources to programs involved in continuous quality improvement effort across the mixed delivery system; actively participating in ongoing efforts to evaluate, revise, and improve the statewide system of quality support; understanding and communicating the value of early education and care to diverse stakeholder groups; and contributing to a positive and collegial work environment.

• Coordinate statewide engagement of system-level program supports in continuous quality improvement across internal and external stakeholders;
• Promote and communicate the importance of continuous quality improvement framework internally and externally and provide technical assistance in the use of this process;
• Collect and analyze data regarding programs successes and barriers to success across regional and state levels; inform EEC programs, staff, and partners to develop and implement program-focused solutions based on trends across regions and across the state;
• Use data to support grant managers in the development of grants to ensure grants best reflect the needs of the programs;
• Oversee support to EEC programs, staff, and partners by demonstrating content expertise in commonly used ECE/ASOST measurement tools;
• Provide specialized resources and oversee support to enhance continuous quality improvement for EEC programs, including community center-based, family childcare, and after school/out of school time programs, to EEC staff, and to EEC partners;
• Conduct virtual and/or in-person consultation visits with external and internal administrators; and provide training to EEC programs, staff, and partners on elements of continuous quality improvement cycle and domains of quality;
• Actively participate in the planning and coordination of the ongoing design and implementation of a statewide, program-level continuous quality improvement system;
• Produce materials such as PowerPoint presentations, 1-pagers, guidance documents, and reports to communicate about continuous quality improvement and quality ECE/ASOST programs;
• Collaborate with EEC staff including (but not limited to): Licensing staff, Research and Innovation staff and Program Support staff in service of supporting program-level and system-level continuous quality improvement efforts;
• Communicate the trend of early education and care research and the value of early education and care with internal and external stakeholders;
• Attend local, state, and federal meetings and events related to program quality and continuous quality improvement;
• Contribute to a positive and professional culture and a collegial work environment;
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with colleagues and internal and external stakeholders;
• Represent EEC professionally to the public;
• Respond in a timely and effective manner to stakeholder inquiries; direct stakeholders to appropriate resources;
• Participate in unit and division meetings;
• Work effectively both independently and as a productive, positive team member; promoting team building and problem solving among peers;
• Demonstrate effective management of self, time, and workload and ensure clear communication with supervisor;
• Engage in other duties as assigned.

• Preferred Qualification: Bilingual in written and oral Spanish and/or Portuguese is a plus

• Effective communication skills in speaking and writing; and public speaking;

• Demonstrated knowledge of EEC regulations and best practices in early childhood (ECE) and after school/out of school time (ASOST) program quality;

• Strong organizational skills;

• Ability to maintain a collegial, professional demeanor in person, virtually, in written communications, and over the telephone;

• Ability to work on multiple tasks and/or projects concurrently; both independently and to collaborate as a team member;

• A deep knowledge of child development and best practices in early education and care and after school/out of school time (ECE/ASOST) programs;

• Knowledge of and experience with commonly used ECE/ASOST measurement tools;

• Experience providing technical assistance or consultation to ECE/ASOST programs;

• Experience and interest in early education policy development and implementation;

• Experience in data analysis;

• Ability to determine the most appropriate format and procedure for compiling and presenting information;

• Experience with change management;

• Ability to respond to flexible job requirements; and

• Attention to the details as well as being able to maintain big-picture focus.