Center Director - FDS

Family Development Services is a Non-Profit Organization headquartered in Indianapolis Indiana that is responsible for supporting the largest Headstart program in the state of Indiana. With 10 locations Family Development Services provides services across the greater Indianapolis area.

The Headstart program provides critical foundational education for Early Childhood students. In addition to Early Headstart and Preschool programming programs with Family Development Services also include essential wrap around services to provide a higher quality of life for children and their families.

Job Summary:

This position serves as a Center Director for the Head Start program. The Center Director serves as the operational lead for the center ensuring compliance with all program policies/procedures and Head Start licensing or other regulations.

The Center Director ensures integrated service delivery and improvement in the childrens literacy numeracy language cognitive fine/ gross motor skills; promotes parental involvement and participation in Head Start classrooms and in training opportunities.

Essential Job Duties:

• Ensure full implementation of all aspects of the Head Start programs early learning system policies/procedures and tools with the goal of supporting all children to achieve School Readiness Goals.
• Coordinate with Family Advocates to ensure full implementation of family services and parent involvement.
• Supervise and manage center staff to ensure completion of all human resources activities and ensure compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
• Serve as operational lead for the center ensuring compliance with all program policies/procedures and Head Start licensing or other regulations
• Authorizes purchases of instructional and teaching materials. Reviews and monitors facility budget.
• Implement all monitoring systems required by Family Development Services Head Start child care licensing CACFP or other agencies including daily visual checks of indoor & outdoor safety. Monthly or quarterly completion of health & safety monitoring tool
• Ensures that facilities materials and equipment are safe appropriate match the identified curriculum and are conducive to learning and reflect on the different ages and stages of development of each child including children with disabilities.
• Conduct and/or supervise monthly safety checks of all facilities.

Educational Quality

• Ensure that teachers integrate goals from Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for children with disabilities (in consultation with the Special Needs Coordinator and/or Assistant Mental Health Coordinator).
• Ensure the completion of all required child screenings and assessments including 30 and 90-day requirements for new children and quarterly progress assessments for all children.
• Oversee required training of new hires (in conjunction with education & HR leads)
• Support teachers in understanding child outcomes data and using it to improve practice.
• Responsible for recruitment of children/families for center capacity.
• Ensure parents are integrally involved in developing the programs curriculum and approach to child development and education
• Assist teaching staff in developing a system offering parents opportunities for enhancing and increasing their child observation skills.
• Conducts daily weekly and monthly formal and informal observations in each classroom.
• Participate in team meetings home visits and community events as needed.
• Participate in annual program self-assessment
• Provide ongoing coaching and feedback to teaching staff to support them in successfully fulfilling all aspects of their role including but not limited to effective practices in the following:

o CLASS Teacher-Child Interactions

o Learning Environments

o Curriculum

o Child Assessment

o Meeting All Childrens Needs

o Working with Families

o Professional Growth and Collaboration

o Work with teachers to implement program curriculum with fidelity.

o Work with teachers to implement child assessment systems reliably including understanding child outcomes data and using them to plan and individualize.

Communication & Service Coordination

• Actively Lead and participate in the Head Start community including staff meetings mandated training committee meetings and other program-wide functions as needed including some evening activities.
• Ensure childrens individual health nutrition disabilities or mental health needs are met through the implementation of Family Development Services referral system coordination with appropriate coordinators/specialists and participation in case conferences as necessary.
• Develop a working knowledge of local community resources related to education and transition.
• Coordinate training and implementation of Family Development Services family engagement programs and for parents and community members wanting to volunteer in the classroom.

Record Keeping & Reporting

• Review weekly MBI (managing by information) reports and ensure all concerns are addressed in a timely fashion.
• Review quarterly MBO (managing by outcomes) report and ensure all concerns are addressed in a timely fashion.
• Ensure complete and accurate implementation of all required systems for recordkeeping and reporting including:

o Individual child/family files

o Education portfolios or other documentation of early childhood education services

o In-kind contributions from parents or community members

o Purchasing and tracking of supplies and equipment

o Employee timekeeping

o Employee paid time off

o Attendance and payments (as appropriate) for Full/Extended Day

o Child family & program information in ChildPlus

o Child observations assessment & planning information in

• Monitor and review cognitive and social emotional screening attendance and referral system reports. Coordinate with the appropriate coordinators and participate in case conferences as necessary.

Human Resources

• Plan and adjust work operations to meet changing or emergent program requirements within available resources and with minimum sacrifice to quantity or quality of work.
• Work with teachers to develop and support their individual development plan including training plans for each teacher to obtain a bachelors degree or higher in Early Childhood Education or a related field. Individual development plans filed in the personnel folder and a training log.
• Submit annual performance evaluations in a timely manner.
• Implements monitors and administers disciplinary action when staff is in violation of agencies policies procedures union and non-union employee handbook as well as union contract as applicable.
• Understand the personnel policies and procedures and conduct regular personnel file audits to ensure compliance with Head Start Performance Standards Child Care State Licensing and Family Development Services regulations.

Program Governance and Leadership

• Participate in annual and quarterly planning to set plan for and monitor program goals.
• Make decisions that support program quality and maintain program accountability.
• Establish a focus for the education service area and act to align the areas goals with the strategic direction and needs of the center; ensure that employees in the area understand how their work relates to the center as a whole and the relevant regulations and performance standards.
• Improve quality and effectiveness of education service area and overall organization by initiating sponsoring and implementing organizational change and by helping others to successfully manage organizational change.
• Recognize that your job description is service area-specific but not limited to: confidentiality child abuse reporting attendance and dependability appropriate dress customer service and support to all families prudent use of program resources and promoting and maintaining a safe work environment.

Supervision

• Supervises assigned department personnel. Includes the following responsibilities but are not limited to hiring training scheduling evaluating and ensuring accuracy timeliness and the completion of all work performed by direct reports.
• Educates direct reports on all department and agency policies and procedures.
• Meets with assigned staff at least 2 times monthly to identify and resolve problems manage and monitor projects track goals and review work processes and procedures.
• Represents the team and/or department at meetings events and training as required.

Non-Essential Duties:

• Performs any and all other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in Early Childhood Education or an equivalent degree with 36 credit hours of ECE coursework is preferred OR a Bachelors Degree with eighteen (18) credit hours in ECE with documented content relating to the needs skills development or teaching methods of children age Oto age 8 years of age OR Associates degree in ECE who is working on the completion of a Bachelors degree in ECE or an equivalent degree.
• Previous experience teaching in an early childhood setting; experience with supervision the management or coaching preferred
• Experience managing an infant/toddler or preschool program
• Experience with collaborations and community partnerships (if applicable)
• Physical exam and background checks are required for this position.
• Travel required locally or long-distance up to 10% of the time for work-related meetings and functions.

Knowledge Skills&Abilities:

• Knowledge of the health and safety licensing requirements for schools and/or childcare centers.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to multitask work independently efficiently organize and communicate effectively with off-site supervisors
• Demonstrated computer literacy skills using MS Office applications other programmatic software and other basic data systems including internet navigation.
• Must be honest dependable and able to meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to obtain certification in CPR and First Aid
• Ability to understand and communicate proficiently verbally and in writing in English
• Ability to exert a minimum of 50 lbs of force to lift carry push pull or otherwise move objects
• unassisted
• Ability to move quickly in the event of an emergency
• Ability to sit most of the time with some bending and reaching.
• Ability to stand walk and bend periodically.
• Ability to engage in repetitive movement of wrists hands and fingers - typing and/or writing.
• Ability to work frequently at close visual range (i.e. preparing and analyzing data and figures accounting transcription computer terminal extensive reading).
• Exposure to Work Hazards: loud noises work closely and personally with public to complete job tasks; exposure to various cleaning and sanitizing agents

Work Environment:

• Family Development Services requires all staff members to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. We want to create the safest workplace possible and protect children and families. This is also necessary in order to comply with President Bidens mandated vaccination guidance for all Head Start/Early Head Start programs. Candidates who are selected for this position will have to meet the COVID-19 vaccination condition of employment.
• Work is generally performed in an office environment.
• Noise level in the work environment is moderate to occasionally loud (examples: business office with computers and printers light to moderate traffic human voices).
• Standard office equipment generally used includes:

o Telephone

o Personal Computer (monitor keyboard and mouse) or Tablet

o Printer/Photocopy Machine

o Calculator

o Fax Machine

• May be required to operate a motor vehicle during the course of duties.

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and healthy workplace.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60000.00 - $65000.00 per year