Position Summary:

The Director of Programs is a leader in the community with expertise in the fields of early childhood development, early childhood systems, infant/family mental health, and adult learning for professional development. This is a full-time position and reports to the Executive Director and has oversight for the Program Manager and Program Administrative Support.

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and collaborative partner with a passion for racial equity-focused and healing-centered systems change, a creative visionary for strategy and sustainability and a strong and accountable manager of people, projects, and funds. This individual is responsible for:

• Overseeing programmatic strategy development and implementation focused on children ages 0-5 and their families
• Co-developing and managing objectives of the agency's funding cycle
• Supporting the evaluation of programs following all requirements of public funding processes

The Director of Programs engages with other First 5 staff and contractors in the following ways:

• Provides oversight for contractors, funded partners, and fiscally sponsored programs
  Works with the Controller to develop and oversee budgetary requirements of all programs
• Partners with the Director of REDI & Strategic Partnerships to participate in county wide initiatives and collaborate with systems and community partners to enhance family access to high-quality, integrated services
• Collaborates with staff across departments (Policy, Systems, REDI, and Evaluation) to ensure programmatic alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan and F5MC values, especially those related to Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI)

This position is a hybrid schedule and requires work in the Salinas office (at least 50% time).

Responsibilities:

Program Design, Oversight and Contract Administration (30%)

• Designs F5MC programmatic strategy and leads collaboration with F5MC staff, community members, parents, and partners using data, results-based accountability, root cause analysis, the community engagement to ownership model, and systems change frameworks
• Oversees implementation of programs; develops or oversees budgets, scope of work and targets, evaluation data, progress reports, and other services required by contracts and in alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan
• Participates in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning activities and reports for internal use and to share with external stakeholders
  Oversees the development and execution of contractual agreements and public procurement documents for the provision of services by funded partners and other contractors
• Meets with or convenes funded partners to support progress towards program goals

Capacity Building (20%)

• Works with community members and agencies to identify county-wide early childhood professional learning needs and designs new or sources existing solutions
  Co-develops implementation and funding plans with shared responsibilities across partners
• Manages the implementation of technical assistance and training programs (e.g., IFECMH) that equip professionals with the skills to effectively serve young children and families.
• Partners with systems leaders and administrators to encourage their programs, policies, and staff trainings to align with quality criteria to support families with young children
• Supports community-centered program design and implementation for parent learning and development that build connections, community, self-efficacy, resilience, healing, and knowledge

Program Sustainability (20%)

• Manages efforts to expand F5MC's use of entitlement or reimbursement funds e.g., Medi-Cal
• Pursues county, state and federal public funding opportunities in collaboration with systems partners (see partnerships above)
• Contributes to general fundraising efforts including grant writing
• Explores other earned revenue/fee-for-service models e.g., opportunities for organizations like childcare centers, hospitals, and government agencies to pay for employees' participation in early childhood professional development

Partnerships (10%)

• In coordination with the Director of Racial Equity and Strategic Partnerships, fosters integrative and collaborative relationships among families, systems agencies, and providers to support programs
  • Co-designs and implements ways to better connect families to needed services in the places and systems they frequently visit
  • Supports providers across agencies to improve systems navigator skills for families
  • Addresses program and systems gaps, makes connections, supports referrals where families struggle to access services
  • Supports identification of and application for cross-organizational funding opportunities; organizes funding partners to plan for local implementation
• Collaborates with First 5 staff to achieve policy, systems, and program priorities in alignment with the F5MC Strategic Plan

Thought Leadership (10%)

• Provides high-level strategic direction and specialized expertise to county and state partners with regard to Early Childhood Development, particularly in the areas of infant-family and early childhood mental health, family strengthening (including home visiting and care coordination), and quality-focused professional development for those working with young children and families
• Stays current on best practices and shares reports and presentations with key constituencies

General Support (10 %)

• Provides periodic program updates to the Commission, staff, and other constituencies
• Oversees and evaluates the performance of assigned staff in alignment with F5MC values

Qualifications:

Minimum 10 years full-time, progressively responsible, experience in public or nonprofit organizations, including at least 4 years at the senior administrative management level, supervising mid-level managers and/or professional staff. Applicants must possess a Bachelor's degree with an advanced degree preferred in a related field such as psychology, child development, social work, health, and/or human services. Equivalent experience will be considered in lieu of advanced level education.

Skills:

• Program strategy development and evaluation
• Communication, both orally and in writing, including the ability to listen actively. English proficiency is essential to the position and the ideal candidate is also proficient in Spanish
• Presentation development and delivery, including the ability to translate complex issues to different audiences and deliver clear and succinct reports
• Project management: ability to manage oneself and the team, prioritize multiple tasks with attention to detail, and work autonomously to meet critical deadlines
• Basic data analysis and synthesis
• Contract and budget development, administration and oversight, including the ability to meet programmatic outcomes within defined financial parameters
• Understanding, meeting, and communicating policy and procedure requirements
• Interpersonal relations - especially across race, culture, and class - with empathy, respect, humility, self-awareness, accountability, and transparency
• Team management: trust-building, clear goal setting, supportive check-in and feedback cycles
• Group facilitation: collaborative agenda-setting, decision-making, synthesis and follow-through
• Solutions orientation: able to hold complexity and still propose practical steps forward

• Racial equity and social justice: self-awareness of privilege, implicit bias and current stage in the racial equity journey, knowledge of best practices for advancing racial equity and reducing health disparities and ability to navigate challenging conversations on racial-equity related topics.
• Ability needed to travel independently within Monterey County to attend meetings as needed.

Knowledge:

• Early childhood development, infant/family early childhood mental health, family strengthening (including home visiting and care coordination)
• Systems change strategies that support cohesion, connection, navigability, and equity among programs and partners for the benefit of greater quality and access for families
• Adult Learning Theory and its implications for professional development
• Monterey County: people, economy, geography and political landscape
• Principles and practices related to F5MC's values, especially Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement-to-Ownership, and how to be trauma-informed and healing centered
• Technology applications including Microsoft 365, Google Suite, Slack, and Asana (project management tool)

About First 5 Monterey County

First 5 Monterey County enriches the lives of children, ages prenatal through 5, and their families by elevating early childhood as a priority, strengthening connections, and advancing quality within a whole system of care and support.

Connections working at First 5 Monterey County