Early Childhood Systems Consultant- REMOTE

ICFs seeks a Early Childhood Systems Consultant to provide critical data analysis and reporting support to Federal Office of Child Care (OCC) relating to the implementation of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)program and provide strategic technical assistance to state and territory CCDF grantees and partners. Technical assistance is focused on strategies that strengthen early childhood systems improve program quality and ensure the health and safety for children in a mixed delivery system of early education and care. This candidate will work on significant unique and emerging issues where deep understanding of Federal and state grant processes and analysis of state context and data is required. This position requires extensive understanding of the CCDF Statute and CCDF Plan as well as its reporting requirements and mechanisms including effective CCDF policy and implementation strategies for states and territories.

Ideal Candidate

The Ideal candidate will have experience developing and implementing policies procedures and frameworks for building quality early care and education systems at the state or national level that are responsive to the needs of families and focused on sustaining a qualified workforce. The ideal candidate will also have expert level knowledge of the state/territory CCDF Plan review and submission process as well as knowledge of additional Federal and state funded programs that dovetail with CCDF-funded services. Examples of preferred positions held include CCDF Administrator or senior staff Quality Improvement System Administrator Licensing Administrator Professional Development System Administrator. The ideal candidate will also have significant expertise using both qualitative and quantitative data to drive decision-making and inform strategies and recommendations to support clients within CCDF contexts. They have experience using a strengths-based approach to technical assistance and are able to identify effective innovative solutions to achieve client objectives and move client work forward.

Key Responsibilities

Communication Collaboration and Coordination

• Serve as the lead across all Office of Child Care technical assistance centers to support the triennial state and territory CCDF Plan process.
• Build and sustain strong collaborative relationships with the Office of Child Care Central Office staff Regional Office staff and CCDF Lead Agency staff through ongoing communication collaborative planning and shared problem-solving.
• Build and sustain strong partnerships with Federal technical assistance partners across multiple agencies and programs and coordinate technical assistance as defined by the contract and client including participation in national workgroups and task forces as assigned.
• Work collaboratively and efficiently across technical assistance teams and centers to support and coordinate completion of high-priority tasks within tight timelines.

Product Development and Delivery of Technical Assistance

• Support Office of Child Care designated priorities through data collection and analysis to inform CCDF Plan development and implementation including development of training and technical assistance materials for Office of Child Care and CCDF grantees on key topics relevant to Office of Child Care policies CCDF implementation and best practice trends and innovative practices in state and territory child care programs and systems.
• Support Office of Child Care priorities by facilitating workgroups developing and implementing training materials and presentations gathering and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data and leveraging data visualization techniques to visually convey trends emerging needs and gaps.
• Provide and/or coordinate the delivery of technical assistance to states and territories as requested by CCDF Administrators and regional office staff members.
• Research and develop timely responses to a wide range of Office of Child Care state territory or Tribal requests developing professional products in approved formats.
• Lead and support reliable data collection and data analysis proactively identifying opportunities to improve or expand data collection and analysis options to help strengthen data-driven CCDF implementation at national and regional levels.
• Plan for and deliver tailored individualized technical assistance to support early education and care systems building and quality improvement systems.
• Enter and maintain data within required databases regarding TA planning and delivery to document and track TA efforts to inform contract reporting and assess project progress adhering to established timelines and data reliability protocols.
• Stay well-informed about the latest research tools and resources that support and/or inform project activities and products.

Basic Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelors degree in early childhood education child development public policy public administration or management or related field.
• 12 years of experience resulting in deep content knowledge of state early childhood education systems Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) requirements and related Federal and state regulations including experience supporting areas such as:
  • mixed delivery systems for early education and care services
  • publicly funded early childhood education systems building implementation and operations
  • early childhood education governance
  • quality improvement efforts including Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
  • early childhood education professional development systems
  • early learning guidelines
  • Head Start and State prekindergarten
  • school age child care
  • subsidy management
  • consumer education best practices
  • early childhood education data systems and federal reporting requirements and
  • other early childhood programs and initiatives such as IDEA Part B and C including core knowledge of key federal child care and law policies and regulations.
• 10 years of experience in building and sustaining collaborative partnerships across early care and education systems including state and Federal partners and working with multiple agencies or partner organizations to support streamlined early education and care policy development and implementation.
• 8 years of experience providing complex technical assistance training or consultation at the state systems level including developing and/or leading or overseeing the development of systems-oriented technical assistance materials and high-quality written products in various formats to maximize audience understanding.
• 5 years of experience resulting in deep understanding of state or territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plan review and submission processes as well as broad knowledge of additional Federal and state funding streams that support state and territory early childhood education systems.
• 5 years of experience in project management including leading a group of senior professionals and developing complex time sensitive deliverables.
• Experience with data analysis and visualization tools such as Smartsheet dashboards MS Power BI and Google Analytics to display track and analyze data.
• Proficient in MS Office Applications (Word PowerPoint Outlook Excel SharePoint Teams One Note).

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Masters degree in early childhood education child development public policy administration or management
• Deep knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods and applying that knowledge to assess trends identify patterns and gaps and make practical recommendations.
• Experience serving in a public sector leadership role in early care and education system at the state level.
• Experience resulting in content knowledge in federal and state funding mechanisms and state grant procurement processes.
• Experience working as a CCDF Administrator/Co-Administrator or senior level CCDF policy analyst or program manager.
• Experience as a systems-level early learning and care trainer consultant facilitator and coach.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic communications to engage Federal partners state leaders industry partners as well as families and child care providers.
• Experience with e-learning webinar virtual meeting and digital work management tools including Smartsheet.

Professional Skills

• Excellent verbal interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
• Team player with the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work with all levels of internal staff outside clients and vendors.
• Ability to be flexible and handle multiple priorities.
• Demonstrated outstanding level of professionalism in providing team support including the ability to exercise good judgment discretion tact and diplomacy.
• Sound business ethics including the protection of proprietary and confidential information.

Working at ICF

Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position including but not limited to relevant work experience skills certifications and competencies that align to the specified role geographic location education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is: