Director of Head Start / Early Head Start

Salary range: $85k $95k

The Opportunity Alliance is seeking a Program Director for our Head Start and Early Head start programs.

The Director of Head Start and Early Head Start position offers a unique opportunity to play a critical role in advancing equitable access to high quality culturally appropriate early education childcare and support services to hundreds of children and families across Cumberland County.

This position is responsible for the supervision and management of the overall operations of the program and assures that service design delivery and quality comply with the federal Head Start Standards state licensing regulations and all legal and contractual obligations. The Director is also responsible for setting and holding program managers accountable to achieving specific results in child and family outcomes evaluating and improving program systems and representing the agency in local regional and state communities.

The ideal candidate is a strategic leader that plans for and makes decisions within the framework of organizational mission values and goals. They build trusting relationships through effective communication reliability and collaboration. The prospective candidate is flexible and able to pivot quickly and intentionally in a changing environment. They are invested in the community and believe deeply in the value of Head Start in interrupting poverty and preparing children and families for school.

Schedule: This is afull-time 40 hours/week salaried position.

This is an administrative role working M F primarily regular business hours. Some evenings hours may arise.

Location: Office is based in South Portland but will be supporting classrooms across Portland South Portland and Westbrook. Some travel to classroom locations may be required.

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field or bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education; or Bachelors Degree in a field related to ECE and coursework equivalent to a major in ECE plus minimum five years experience in a managerial role (program planning and operations and evaluation).

• 3-5 years of supervisory experience required.

• Group facilitation skills and experienceleading and engaging parents.

• Ability to be self-motivated and organized and strong verbal and written communication skills required. Computer and word processing skills preferred.

• Sensitivity and familiarity working with diverse populations required.

• Must be able to pass pre-employment physical and TB screen.

• ECE must be current on MMR and TDAP immunizations.

• Must be able to successfully pass a criminal background child protective service check & sex offender check.

• Must not be on the state or federal suspension and disbarment list.

• Must be able to exert moderate physical effort with occasional standing walking reaching stooping bending kneeling crouching typing and frequently lift and carry small children or material weighing up to 25 pounds.

• Driving may be necessary to attend meetings and trainings but is not a primarily and essential job responsibility.

Benefits: Our benefits include but are not limited to:

(offered to full-time and part-time employees)

• Generous paid time off accrual
• 9paid holidays per calendar year and up to 3 floating holidays per calendar year
• Excellent medical benefits at very reasonable cost
• Dental and Vision insurance options
• Agency paid basic life insurance and STD & LTD disability insurances
• 403(b) retirement with a generous agency match (all employees are eligible)
• Tuition Reimbursement offered once per year through an application process
• The Opportunity Alliance (TOA) is a qualified employer under thePublic Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)program.

To learn more about our benefits please visit we are

The Opportunity Alliance is Helping People Reach for a Brighter Future.

Mission: The Opportunity Alliance works with people to build better lives and stronger communities. We provide advocacy leadership and support to identify the goals and address the needs of individuals families and communities.

The Opportunity Alliance (TOA) is a dynamic results-focused Community Action Agency providing approximately 50 integrated community-based and clinical programs serving more than 20000 people annually throughout the state of Maine. With over 50 years of experience TOA draws from a comprehensive set of programs which address issues such as mental health substance use homelessness lack of basic needs and access to community an extensive array of services TOA provides opportunities for individuals to stabilize fragile situations and then works with them to achieve is client-focused with extensive experience working with diverse client populations. TOA programming includes four key sectors of service:

• Mental Health & Wellness
• Community Building
• Family & Early Childhood Education
• Economic Resources

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Please submit a cover letter and resume along with your application.

Thank you!