Head Start Early Childhood Specialist- Region III- REMOTE

ICF seeks an experienced Early Childhood (EC) Specialist to support Head Start and Early Head Start programs to ensure high quality Head Start and Early Head Start services in accordance with federal regulations. The Early Childhood Specialist will provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to programs to support progress toward established school readiness goals, focusing on the use of child and program data to make decisions about approaches to working with teachers, home visitors, and parents in quality practices. The Specialist will provide professional-level expertise by engaging programs in dialogue and learning of best practices for children from birth to five and encourage a culture of learning that promotes school readiness. 

This position is home-based in one of the regional states (Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia), and extensive travel within Region III, and other parts of the country as needed, will be required to fulfill the duties of the position.   

Basic Qualifications

The Early Childhood Specialist shall have:

• A minimum of a BA or BS Degree in Early Childhood Education/Development from an accredited university or college.
• If the highest degree was awarded more than ten years ago, the resume should specifically detail courses, conferences, seminars attended or relevant work experience that ensure the proposed candidate remains current in the field of early childhood development.
• 5+ years' experience in programs for young children ranging from birth to five years in age. The experience should include the provision of technical assistance to teachers, home visitors, family childcare providers, coaches, and/or management team members.

• 1+ year experience working with infants and toddlers
• 1+ year experience of Family engagement experience
• 1+ year experience facilitating group discussions and presenting to range of audiences.
• 1+ year experience analyzing data and assisting programs to make data driven decisions.
• 1+ year experience providing training and/or technical assistance to programs in developing and/or implementing school readiness goals or plans.
• 1+ year experience communicating, both orally and in writing, to various audiences.

Preferred Experience/Skills

• Knowledge of Head Start
• Experience working within a Head Start Program

Key Responsibilities

The Regional Early Childhood Specialist shall provide the following in-person or virtually as determined by the regional office.

• Provide TTA to grantees related to school readiness, family engagement, and professional development.
• Provide TTA related to the selection and implementation of ongoing child assessment, curriculum, and teaching that is age, developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate across the birth to five …