Senior Director of Equity and Leadership

Description

Organizational Overview

Created in 2005 to be a statewide leader in early childhood, ECIC collaborates to increase public and private investment in the earliest years, to elevate issues affecting young children and their families, and continuously improve Michigan’s comprehensive early childhood system, ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. We have a vision… that all young children and their families in Michigan thrive.

In order to make this vision a reality, we work to ensure:

• Race, culture and community are celebrated assets in a young child’s life
• Our work is informed by research and driven by the voices of diverse populations to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
• Collaboration is central to our work, and we strive to co-create knowledge and innovation for the field
  
  

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Equity and Leadership reports to the Chief Executive Officer and serves on the senior leadership team, collectively working toward our vision and values. As a senior leader at ECIC, the successful candidate will bring a transformational leadership style that inspires teams to achieve the ECIC vision. This role leads ECIC’s National Center for Family and Parent Leadership, overseeing team members working directly with states and regions across the country in their efforts to embed family voice to shape decisions that will ensure early childhood systems are more equitable, culturally relevant, and customer-centric.

The Senior Director of Equity and Leadership also provides strategic direction and manages a growing portfolio of national, state, and regional efforts focused on equity and leadership, with specific focus on building systems that support parent leadership. In collaboration with a team, this role leads the growth and execution of new programs and services, provide consultative services, and oversees quality and innovation, with the overall goal of building individual skills and transforming early childhood systems to be more equitable and inclusive.

This role joins a dynamic and mission-driven team. To succeed as ECIC’s Senior Director of Equity and Leadership, a strong candidate will bring two considerable traits to the role: lived experiences as a parent who once utilized public benefits or publicly funded services in early childhood or health or human services, as well as a dedication to intentional and culturally informed support of families and children of color. Experience leading and integrating equity efforts and managing large-scale projects, excellent communication, critical thinking, and planning/evaluation skills are also required to fulfill the intent of this position.

Duties And Responsibilities

This list is intended to represent job-related duties and should not be viewed as exhaustive.

Program Leadership

• Oversee the management and successful implementation of ECIC’s external equity and leadership programs and capacity-building initiatives, including family and parent leadership, equity and early childhood systems, community outreach to reach diverse populations and authentic engagement of parents and families.
• Collaborate with the team to develop and implement strategic and operational plans.
• Develop, coach, supervise and retain high-performance team members.
• Serve as collaborative thought leader on equity and leadership development, staying current on literature, practices and networks in relevant fields including training and professional development, leadership development, coaching, and equity.
  
  

Project Management

• Collaborate with the team to design and implement programs and initiatives utilizing the latest information from research and best practice, and in response to client needs.
• Oversee execution of all programs and services, including standards of program delivery and coordination, training content and design, and ongoing development of culturally effective training materials.
• Work with staff to develop necessary systems, processes, and tools to ensure consistent, high-quality project management to better support the facilitation, collection, and sharing of knowledge.
• Ensure that key project outcomes are evaluated and leveraged for maximum organizational and participant impact.
• Oversee the development of CRM systems and other databases in support of goals and objectives.
  
  

Relationship Management

• Serve as lead communicating with funders and strategic partners, representing ECIC and our vision and values, while navigating new opportunities and challenges.
• Contribute to effective communications, including developing or contributing to client and partnership proposals, program/grant reports, and conference presentations.
  
  

Financial Stewardship

• Oversee program budgets, including both forecasting and tracking of expenditures, and work plans, in collaboration with programmatic and operations staff, ensuring regular reporting and evaluation goals are well-established and met.
• Collaborate with ECIC’s CEO and financial team to identify and contribute to grant proposals and other revenue generating opportunities.
  
  

Organizational Leadership

• Actively participate in ECIC staff meetings and other strategic and administrative projects across the organization.
• Provide expertise on racial equity and inclusion in support of ECIC’s priorities.
• Contribute to the development of inter-team cohesiveness and management of culture change.
  
  

Requirements

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree with seven (7) years of overall professional experience, with at least three (3) years leading large-scale programs or projects, and at least three (3) years supervisory experience.
• Ability to effectively supervise and coach teams.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and professionally both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to present complex information in a concise, understandable format
• Ability to develop positive relationships with individuals and partners in both public and private sectors.
• Effective group consultation and meeting facilitation skills.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail while managing multiple tasks, projects, and timelines.
• Ability to use data and analytical skills to proactively identify opportunities, set priorities and solve problems.
• Ability to partner with racially and ethnically diverse colleagues and community members on joint initiatives.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe and web-based applications
  
  

Core Competencies And Qualifications

• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to ECIC’s vision and values, including racial equity and parent leadership.
• A successful track record in setting priorities; keen analytic, organization and problem-solving skills which support and enable sound decision making.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate in a fast-paced environment with diverse people and projects.
• Demonstration of strategic and critical thinking as part of a collaborative and innovative team.
• Ability to perform tasks in a timely and consistent manner with high accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong project management and analytical skills.
  
  

Physical Requirements

• Talking - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to others accurately. (4-5 hours daily)
• Hearing - Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make discriminations in sound. (4-5 hours daily)
• Visual Acuity – Viewing objects with close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. (4-5 hours daily)
• Office Setting - Sedentary work in which exerting up to 10 pounds of force is occasional and a negligible amount of force is frequently or constantly used to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Requires set up of home office in alignment with ECIC expectations for safe, secure, quiet space for work.
• Remote work - with occasional travel within Michigan or to other geographical areas nationally for projects, ECIC meetings and to meet the needs of the organization. All leadership roles require that successful candidates be based in Michigan.
  
  

Compensation

• Salary Range of $85,000 to $100,000 commensurate with education and experience
• Benefits package including medical, vision, dental, short/long-term disability, life insurance, paid time off, and retirement of up to 7% of salary
  
  

To Apply for This Position

Submit a cover letter and resume through the job posting on the ECIC website: www.ecic4kids.org/careers/. All materials must be submitted as .pdf documents. Applications must be submitted by September 30, 2024. If you need assistance with submitting your application or have questions about the position, please email HR@ecic4kids.org.

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often only apply to jobs if they meet all the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. ECIC encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. We look forward to your application.

All employment decisions at ECIC are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, gender identity, physical or mental disability, marital status, genetic information, medical condition, military and veteran status, political affiliation, or any other factor protected by law. ECIC encourages applications from minorities, women, persons with disabilities, protected veterans, and all other qualified candidates.

Early Childhood Investment Corporation provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment.