Assistant Director, Head Start Workforce Development and Professional Learning

Insurance: Your choice of several medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans To learn more, visit: https://www.lacoe.edu

Online applications must be submitted by: 8/25/2026 5:00 P.M. (Pacific)

Retirement: PERS Defined Benefit Plan Paid Time Off: 24 vacation, 15 holidays, and 12 illness days.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) invites leaders experienced in driving innovative growth across the early learning workforce to apply for the Assistant Director, Head Start Workforce Development & Professional Learning position.

Under administrative direction, plans, organizes, coordinates, and directs the activities and staff of the Workforce Development and Professional Learning unit; manages the continuous professional development opportunities for grantee and delegate staff to ensure that all staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to promote and support children’s school readiness and transition to kindergarten; establishes an overall countywide system of new staff recruitment for early learning workforce; and provides technical and evaluative monitoring and support services to delegates agencies to ensure the comprehensive oversight of Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) program outcomes.

The Well Qualified Candidate Will Possess the Following

Knowledge:

---

• Applicable laws, codes, and regulations including federal and state program regulations and policies that apply to the management and administration of Head Start/Early Head Start and California Department of Social Services, California Department of Education funded programs
• Curricula to support school readiness of children 
• Principles and practices of program management and organizational development 
• Business operations and administrative practices
• Concepts, capabilities, and applications of management systems
• Technical content of specific training certifications that promote program goals and school readiness such as CLASS, ECERS and QRIS
• Principles and practices of human resources management and organizational development including diversity and equity
• Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other MS applications
• Virtual remote platforms for training and continuous professional development 
• Fundamental concepts of employment laws, codes, and regulations, including EEO, FLSA, FMLA, and Cal/OSHA and applicable provisions of collective bargaining agreements
  
  

Competencies:

---

• Analyzing and Interpreting Data – Drawing meaning and conclusions from quantitative or qualitative data
• Decision Making – Choosing optimal courses of action in a timely manner
• Legal & Regulatory Navigation – Understanding, interpreting, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations
• Professional & Technical Expertise – Applying technical subject matter to the job
• Oral Communication – Engaging effectively in dialogue
• Presentation Skill – Formally delivering information to groups
• Writing – Communicating effectively in writing
• Customer Focus – Attending to the needs and expectation of customers
• Relationship Building – Establishing rapport and maintaining mutually productive relationships
• Leadership – Guiding and encouraging others to accomplish a common goal
• Managing Performance – Ensuring superior individual and group performance
• Business Process Analysis – Defining, assessing, and improving operational processes and workflow
• Managing Change – Addressing key factors that influence successful organizational change
• Organizational Design and Structure – Establishing organizational structure and clarifying roles and responsibilities
• Organizational Systems Thinking – Comprehending the organization as a system of integrated and interdependent functions
• Political & Organizational Savvy – Working skillfully with politics, procedures, and protocols across organizational levels and boundaries
• Project Management – Planning and tracking projects to ensure they are on-time, on-budget, and achieve their objectives
• Cultural Proficiency – Modeling communication and interaction that respect and include all individuals and their languages, abilities, religions, and cultures
  
  

Required Education and Experience

---

Education: Bachelor’s degree with major coursework in business administration, public administration, social services, or another field closely related to the job requirements of this classification from an institution of higher learning recognized by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation. Foreign degrees and credit units require translation and equivalency established by an agency recognized by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Experience: Five years of experience managing business, administrative, and operational services in a social services or early childhood educational organization with multiple funding sources, including two years of supervisory experience specifically in Head Start.

Additional Requirements: A master's degree in one of the areas listed above is preferred. A valid California driver’s license, the availability of private transportation or the ability to provide transportation between job sites is required. 

Selection Process

---

Candidates who meet the minimum requirements above will be invited to participate in an examination that may consist of a training and experience evaluation (T&E), technical project, and structured interview.

Contact

---

Additional Information

---

Minimum qualifications must be met by the close of filing date. For more information, please go to https://lacoe.edu/jobs/hr/classified.  For additional information on our testing procedures, please visit Applicant Resources on our website. Selection and promotion are based on a competitive examination process. Candidates who pass all exam parts are ranked according to overall exam score and placed on an eligibility (hiring) list. Vacant positions are filled from the top three ranks. Eligibility lasts for 12 months; however, additional recruitment may occur under a separate bulletin with additional candidates being merged onto the eligibility list. Some positions that involve public contact may require bilingual proficiency for which selective certification may apply (Education Code 45277.5). In addition, the eligibility list resulting from this examination may be used to fill vacancies in related job classifications for which no eligibility list exists (Education Code 45272). Veterans' Credit may be awarded for entry jobs.

Reasonable accommodations in completing an application, testing, and employment are available to individuals with disabilities. If you would like to request an accommodation, please call 562.803.8360 as early as possible.