Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community:National/Federal Level

As I researched organizations at the national/federal level, I found several that appeal to me including The National Center for Children in Poverty, NAEYC, and Zero to Three. All of these organizations are designed to foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field.

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is one of the nation’s leading public policy centers dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children. NCCP uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. This organization promotes family-oriented solutions at the state and national levels.

NCCP vision:
• Family economic security
• Strong, nurturing families
• Healthy child development

Associate Research Scientist

Description

The Associate Research Scientist will assume the role of Director of Child Care & Early Education Research Connections and will provide overall leadership for this multi-dimensional, web-based project, operated through a cooperative agreement with the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children & Families, DHHS. The Director guides project activities for which staff at the National Center for Children in Poverty have primary responsibility (ongoing development of the site's comprehensive database of research on early care and education and outreach to researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the field). Also oversees work on activities conducted by NCCP's partner/subcontractor, the Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan (maintenance of the project's state of the art website; growing its archive of datasets for secondary analysis), and guides and coordinates activities for which NCCP and ICPSR share responsibility (technical assistance and training; development and maintenance of metadata describing the project's collections of research and datasets). The position is 60% time and effort with opportunities for the candidate to pursue own research in support of NCCP's mission to potentially bring to full-time (100%) status.

Qualifications

The position requires a Ph.D. or Ed.D. or equivalent in Early Childhood Education or a related field. Must have knowledge of early childhood research, policies, and programs, as well as experience with various forms of outreach to research and policy audiences. Candidate must have demonstrated excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, grant writing experience, and five or more years of relevant experience beyond the doctoral degree.

My thoughts about this organization and job opportunity… I have a desire and passion to help meet the needs of children and families who are struggling. This organization is committed to helping families in difficult situations. Although I am not qualified for this particular job, I think it proves to be very beneficial to helping meet my challenge.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is committed to improve the quality of child care by establishing quality programs that meet particular standards.

Senior Director, NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation

NAEYC seeks an effective leader with proven success managing large complex systems and expertise in organizational administration and management to lead the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation. Recognized as the gold standard for excellence in early childhood education, the NAEYC Academy works to improve the quality of child care, preschool and kindergarten programs by establishing high-level, research-based standards and accrediting programs that meet these standards. The Senior Director, working collaboratively within the overall NAEYC staff structure, manages a team of approximately 30 people. Through strong leadership and effective management, the Senior Director:

• Maintains the NAEYC program standards as the gold standard of excellence in early childhood education, reflecting current evidence from research and practice.
• Ensures that NAEYC Accreditation supports continuous quality improvement, is rigorous but not unduly burdensome to programs, and provides a valid and reliable assessment of program quality.
• Works with senior leadership and Council to make NAEYC Accreditation a critical component of total quality improvement processes for early childhood systems at the national, state and local level.
• Reaches out to states and other systems to form partnerships that utilize NAEYC Accreditation as a cost-effective approach to improving early childhood systems.
• Ensures mission-focused, cost-effective day-to-day operations of the NAEYC Academy, through supervising and mentoring staff, fiscal management (e.g. develop and monitor budgets, contract management), planning and execution.

Requirements: Demonstrated leadership and management skills administering early childhood systems and quality improvement initiatives. Demonstrated track record of staff supervision that motivates excellent performance and supports ongoing staff development. Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills. Strong conceptual and analytic skills and talent for innovation. Advanced degree in nonprofit management, business administration and/or early childhood education/child development preferred. Some travel required.

My thoughts about this particular organization and job opportunity… The NAEYC is a remarkable organization that promotes the well-being of children in a variety of ways. I think this would be an amazing and honorable job to obtain.

ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development. Zero To Threes mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.

Senior Information Specialist

The Senior Training Specialist is responsible for contributing to the efforts of the EHS NRC to develop a comprehensive body of knowledge for the EHS and MSHS community by organizing and enhancing the quality of EHS NRC training efforts. This position will provide a limited number of research-based training through face-to-face venues as well as distance venues (audioconferences, webinars and/or webcasts). This position will work closely with the Senior Training Coordinator to ensure quality across EHS NRC trainers by reviewing power point slides and other materials for consistency; organizing the electronic filing system for maintaining PowerPoint slides and training handouts; and creating training templates, utilizing previously developed PowerPoints and other materials. This position will serve as an integral part of the EHS NRC team, contributing to other duties as needed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Provide limited number of workshops, large trainings and key note addresses to EHS programs, Federal staff, and other audiences as requested on topics related to Early Head Start services and infants, toddlers and families;
• Provide limited number of distal trainings in the form of audio conferences, webinars and webcasts;
• Review EHS NRC PowerPoint slides and provide recommendations for consistency and enhanced quality (e.g. limited number of words per slide; descriptive trainers notes; formatting; photo citations, etc.);
• Organize training filing system to ensure accessibility for all EHS NRC staff ;
• Develop training templates utilizing existing materials;
• Contribute to development and implementation of the annual national Birth To Three Institute; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Strong knowledge of early childhood development and early childhood systems; with a specific focus on infant and toddler development;
• Strong knowledge of Early Head Start program development, the Head Start Program Performance Standards, and EHS technical assistance resources;
• Excellent training skills and experience providing training to a variety of audiences;
• Strong skills in the use of Microsoft Office products including Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks;
• Strong oral, and computer skills;
• Experience working in various databases;
• Ability to work collaboratively with individuals representing a range of backgrounds and skill levels;
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable to dynamic changes in the work environment;
• Ability to work with a team as well as independently;
• Strong interpersonal skills; and
• Encourages and practices critical thinking
• Is self-reflective and empathic
• Recognizes the influence of workplace relationships on outcomes and results
• Maintains a respectful and accepting approach to others
• Awareness of the influence of the larger context on individual behavior
• Collaboratively and creatively supports the work efforts of colleagues at all levels and in all areas of the organization

Education
Master’s degree in early childhood development or related field.

My thoughts about this organization and job opportunity…I think Zero To Three would be an incredible organization to be a part of! This particular job is one that I am qualified for and I would love it.

References

National Association for the Education of the Young Child (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from
http://www.naeyc.org
The National Center for Children in Poverty (2014). Retrieved July 12, 2014, from http://www.nccp.org
Zero To Three (2014). Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.zerotothree.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

This week I have been exploring ECE Community roles at the local, state, national, and international level. There are many beneficial agencies and organizations that foster the well-being of children and families. The ones listed below are the ones I chose to post.

The National Center for Children in Poverty is an organization that was founded in 1989.This center is dedicated to promoting health, security, and the well-being of America’s low-income families and children. This organization has a goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. Among the visions for the organization include building family economic security, nurturing families, and healthy child development. This site provides a wealth of resources about poverty. When looking at the state profiles, you are able to choose any state and view the demographic profiles and statics about children living in families with low incomes. I did not see any current job opportunities; however I think it would be very beneficial being involved with this organization even if only as a volunteer.

http://www.nccp.org/about.html

United Way is an organization that helps children and families in various ways. Providing food, clothing and shelter touches on the surface of the many needs they are involved in. One job in particular I that caught my interest is the Director of Community Impact. Community investment is a major job responsibility for this position, as well as, coordinating collaborative efforts between United Way, partner agencies and other community organizations. On the local level, there are many ways to be involved by volunteering. United Way partners with food banks and shelters in helping to meet the needs of many struggling families. Since this is my passion along with my challenge, I would love to work on a volunteer basis.

http://unitedwayroane.org

Hands of Mercy is a food bank located in my town. This organization is in partnership with the local police department, area schools, and a variety of churches. After speaking with the director, I knew I wanted to sign them on to my team. Once a week people from our area are able to visit the site and receive food for their family. This will be an excellent resource for the struggling families I serve. Receiving food once a week will be an amazing and much needed resource for these families. I was not able to find out about any particular jobs however; once again volunteering would be a pleasure.

http://www.handsofmercy.com