Program Officer, Early Care and Education

The Low Income Investment Fund is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that mobilizes capital and partners to achieve opportunity, equity and wellbeing for people and communities. LIIF innovates financial solutions to create more equitable outcomes for all by building and preserving affordable homes, quality educational opportunities from early childhood through higher education, health clinics, healthy food retail and community facilities. LIIF’s headquarters is in San Francisco and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C.

About the role

The Program Officer, Early Care and Education, plays a critical role in designing, implementing and expanding the Sonoma County Child Care Childhood Facilities Fund. This fund supports high-quality early learning environments across Sonoma County. The Program Officer manages grants, provides technical assistance to childcare providers, and collaborates with public and private partners to enhance the supply and quality of early childhood education facilities. This role is ideal for a mission-driven, organized, and collaborative professional dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families.

This position reports to the Program Manager, Early Care and Education Program and collaborates with the broader Early Care and Education and LIIF teams.

Responsibilities

• Facilities Grant Management
  • Administer a complex portfolio of facility improvement grants for licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, and other child-serving spaces (e.g., libraries, shelters, family resource centers, mobile vans).
  • Manage full grant lifecycle including application intake, due diligence, contracting, disbursement, and closeout.
  • Review grant applications for compliance, feasibility, readiness, and alignment with strategic program goals.
  • Maintain real-time tracking systems to monitor pipeline activity, award status, project timelines, and budgets.
  • Conduct virtual and in-person site visits to assess facility needs, document progress, and ensure compliance with program milestones.
  • Draft grant recommendations, presentations, and summary reports for internal review committees and funding partners.
  • Support communications and outreach to ensure grant opportunities are equitably distributed across diverse provider communities and underrepresented populations.
• Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
  • Provide individualized technical assistance to ECE providers on facility-related topics including scoping of repairs, space planning, health and safety, regulatory compliance, and business planning.
  • Assist providers in navigating building code requirements, Community Care Licensing (CCL) regulations, and zoning issues in collaboration with city and county agencies.
  • Develop and lead trainings or workshops on facility best practices, physical environments for young children, business readiness, and long-term maintenance planning.
  • Create and disseminate resource guides, tip sheets, and planning tools tailored to early childhood programs.
• Data, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement
  • Support data collection and evaluation efforts by tracking key data points, outcomes and contributing to program learning and reporting.
  • Contribute to reports for funders, internal leadership, and external stakeholders on program outcomes and success stories.
  • Identify areas for process improvement, propose enhancements to internal systems, and participate in cross-team learning sessions.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
  • Partner with local government departments, including but not limited to Community Care Licensing, and local Fire, Building, and Planning Departments, affordable housing developers, and licensing bodies to align facility funding and development strategies.
• Other Duties as Assigned
  • Support the overall mission and work of the ECE team as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Care and Education, Architecture, Planning, Operations, Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 2-3 years experience in Early Care and Education (ECE), California child care licensing, and government funding regulations.
• Bilingual Spanish preferred.
• Strong organization and project management skills.
• Ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities.
• Training and business technical assistance experience for child care providers or small businesses.
• Knowledge or willingness to learn about planning and building codes for child care and community facilities.
• Understanding of facilities construction, management, project planning, and cost estimation.
• Strong collaboration skills with diverse stakeholders in public and private sectors.
• Excellent communication skills (bilingual preferred).
• Willingness to travel throughout California for site visits and occasional evening/weekend work.
• Proficiency in cloud-based systems and databases (Salesforce experience a plus).

Schedule

LIIF offers a hybrid work environment with flexibility to balance in-office and remote work. All employees are expected to be on-site at least two (2) days each week, including one day visiting sites throughout Sonoma County and one day working from LIIF’s San Francisco office. The successful candidate will be expected to travel occasionally for meetings or other Company sponsored events, approximately 2-3 times per year.