Associate Director, Leadership Initiative

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Children thrive when they spend their most critical years with dedicated, educated, trained, and well-compensated individuals. The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute leads the work to establish and implement an early childhood workforce system to ensure funding, standards and competencies, career development resources, qualifications and credentials, professional development (training and strengths-based coaching), and program quality assurance and improvement for individuals who work with young children throughout New York. Housed at the City University of New York, the Institute is a fast-paced, dynamic public/private partnership that is committed to the early childhood workforce across New York State.

The Career Development Center (CDC) at the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute offers career development strategies and support to aspiring and experienced early childhood education professionals across all 10 economic regions in New York State. The CDC provides comprehensive career services through recruitment, high-touch advising, and continuing education and professional development opportunities. For early childhood professionals in or pursing leadership roles, the CDC provides support through the Leadership Initiative. This unique program offers individualized leadership-focused professional development and career planning pathways and services.

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

Physical Requirements

• This position operates in a professional office environment located in Manhattan, NY, and is currently hybrid, working 70% in the office subject to change. Remote work arrangements are not a right or entitlement of employment and, as such, are discretionary and subject to operational needs unless otherwise provided by the CUNY Flexible Work Guidelines.

• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as personal computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and presentation equipment.

• While performing these duties, the employee is required to perform physical activities such as, but not limited to, lifting items (up to 20 pounds), bending, reaching, and sitting for prolonged periods of time. Reasonable accommodations will be made for employees with disabilities or other needs per RFCUNY policies.

• Ability to travel to other sites as needed.

How to Apply

Provide a resume and cover letter specifying your qualifications and experience relevant to this position by uploading your resume and cover letter in the "Resume/CV" field. Applications without cover letters will not be accepted.

Pay Range:

RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.