Family Services Center Manager

About the Role

Lead a licensed Head Start center, ensuring compliance with state and federal standards while fostering a safe, high-quality early childhood program for children and families.

Responsibilities

• Ensure staff, consultants, contractors, and volunteers protect the physical and mental health and safety of children; no child is left alone or unsupervised.
• Hire, train, manage, and evaluate program personnel to support individual staff professional development and continuous program quality improvement.
• Manage the delivery of high-quality program services that comply with state and federal standards through implementation, monitoring, and feedback of program policies and procedures.
• Monitor compliance of recordkeeping systems for all physical and electronic program files (e.g., personnel, client, accounting, and incident records), including confidentiality.
• Ensure center staff (including contractors) follow appropriate practices to keep children safe during all activities, including reporting suspected or known child abuse and neglect, appropriate supervision of children at all times, and adherence to all standards of conduct.
• Track and monitor child outcomes and quality assessment results on a center-wide basis, including compliance with positive adult-child interactions as measured by the CLASS Pre-K instrument.
• Support staff development, including completion of minimum training requirements, continuing professional development, and staff wellness initiatives.
• Monitor and address attendance for each assigned child, including direct contact with parents and intensive case management.
• Engage families in partnerships that identify needs, interests, strengths, goals, and services/resources to support family well-being (safety, health, and economic stability).
• Meet with families to establish Family Service Plans (FSP), review individual progress, evaluate/revise goals, and provide resource referrals based on urgency and intensity of needs.
• Coordinate new and existing community referrals to maximize resources and avoid duplication of effort or services.
• Ensure physical and electronic child files are current and organized.
• Monitor the facility to be certain it is free from physical and environmental hazards; report incidents within designated timeframes.
• Establish weekly staff meetings to ensure effective command, control, and coordination.
• Prepare and submit reports prior to deadlines.
• Provide timely communication as the first point of contact for the Head Start center for personnel, support staff, families, and community partners.
• Analyze program, financial, and child data and make program development recommendations to the program leadership team.
• Participate in program efforts and events designed to actively inform, recruit, and engage families with eligible and/or enrolled children in the service area.
• Ensure teachers understand, generate, and document in-kind contributions from parents and others toward the non-federal share requirement.
• Support development of grant applications, budgets, and required reports in accordance with INK and Office of Head Start timelines and criteria.
• Perform other job duties as assigned.

Requirements

• High School diploma, GED, or equivalency (Associate’s degree preferred).
• Ability to obtain State Center Director certification within the first three weeks of employment.
• Required to complete a Child Development Certificate (CDA) in the age group most prevalent in the center; if not completed on the first attempt, the employee may retake the course at their own expense within 60 days or face separation from employment.
• Experience in supervision of staff in a licensed childcare center or home (experience in early childhood programs preferred).
• Leadership skills evident through professional presence and reinforcement of agency mission, vision, and culture.
• Courtesy and sensitivity when dealing with staff, children, and parents, including effective management of difficult or emotional situations.
• Strong people acumen, knowledge of human resources policy requirements, and personnel management strategies.
• Ability to organize and prioritize duties in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work independently in a flexible schedule including nights, holidays, and weekends.
• Sensitivity to the service population’s cultural and socio-economic characteristics.
• Familiarity with applicable state and federal Head Start regulations, performance standards, and guidelines.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Complete and pass health examination; confirm work eligibility status.
• Successfully pass driving history check and clear criminal background check.
• Required to lift up to 60 pounds; stand, sit on the floor, bend, squat, kneel, lift children, and engage with children.
• Exposure to communicable diseases, hazards such as cigarette smoke, pets, and at-risk neighborhoods.
• Travel up to 50% by car, bus, airplane, or train for conferences, meetings, and other duties; some overnight travel may be required.
• Some evenings and weekend work may occasionally be required for events such as home visits, parent-teacher conferences, Parent Committee meetings, and community/social events.
• Must receive an annual Influenza vaccination or obtain an approved exemption as a condition of employment.

Qualifications

English (United States) proficiency.