Vice President of Early Childhood Services

Description

Under the direction of the President/CEO, the Vice President of Early Childhood Services provides executive leadership for Porter-Leath’s family support, early literacy, national service and community collaboration programs: Books from Birth (the Shelby County affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library), the Early Success Coalition, Generations (AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparents, and AmeriCorps Seniors Workforce Development) and Cornerstone (Parents as Teachers home visitation). The Vice President sets the policy, strategy, and annual work plans that lead to measurable outcomes for children from the prenatal period through age five and their families, including healthy births, safe and nurturing relationships, kindergarten readiness, and third-grade reading success. A central focus of the role is hiring, developing, and holding accountable a highly effective team of Department Directors and key professionals, and building a division culture of data-driven, continuous quality improvement.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Child Development, Public Health, Education, Nonprofit Management or a related field required. 
  • An equivalent combination of a bachelor’s degree and additional senior leadership experience in early childhood or family services may be considered.
• Minimum of seven years of progressive experience in administration and program development in early childhood, family support, home visitation or human services, including at least four years supervising managers or directors.
• Demonstrated success implementing evidence-based program models with fidelity (such as Parents as Teachers, Nurturing Parenting, or similar models) and leading programs funded by federal, state, and private grants.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and design new program models and to turn strategy into written policies, work plans, and measurable results.
• Experience leading or actively participating in community-based coalitions, collaboratives, or collective impact initiatives.
• Strong commitment and dedication to the progression of early childhood services in Memphis and surrounding areas.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Directly supervises the department directors and managers leading Books from Birth, the Early Success Coalition, Generations, and Cornerstone, and provides oversight of the management teams and staff carrying out this work. 
• Builds the division’s leadership team by recruiting, selecting, and developing highly effective department leaders and key professionals, and holds each department accountable for its work plan and outcomes. 
• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. 
• Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Essential Job Functions

1. Provide executive leadership and oversight for the operation, development, coordination, and management of Books from Birth, the Early Success Coalition, Generations, and Cornerstone, ensuring each program advances the agency mission and strategic plan.
2. Lead development of a multi-year strategy for the division and annual work plans for each department with clear goals, measurable outcomes, timelines, accountable owners, and resource needs; monitor progress monthly and adjust course as needed.
3. Develop and recommend operating policies and procedures for approval, and ensure the division complies with all contractual, regulatory, and accreditation obligations, including grant requirements, model fidelity standards, Council on Accreditation (COA) standards, and agency policies.
4. Translate research and best practice in early brain development, early literacy, family strengthening, protective factors, and two-generation approaches into program design, policy recommendations, and future projects that sustain services.
5. Identify gaps in the local early childhood system and design new program models, pilots, and service expansions that respond to community needs and funding opportunities across the Tennessee and Mississippi communities served.
6. Recruit, hire, onboard, and retain highly effective department directors, managers, and key professionals; build a diverse leadership bench and a succession plan for every critical role in the division.
7. Develop leaders through regular one-on-one supervision, reflective supervision practices, individual development plans, coaching, and clear performance expectations; hold department leadership accountable for results.
8. Build a cohesive division leadership team that shares data, coordinates referrals, and works across program lines so that families experience one connected Porter-Leath.
9. Ensure each department is staffed with qualified professionals who complete the training and certification its model requires and have an annual professional development plan.
10. Ensure program outcomes are defined, tracked, evaluated, and refined in a continuous quality improvement cycle; review outcome data with department leadership at least monthly and use results to guide decisions.
11. Ensure Cornerstone delivers Parents as Teachers home visiting and the Cornerstone Manhood Initiative with fidelity to model requirements, including personal visits, group connections, developmental and health screenings, resource linkages, reflective supervision, and data reporting.
12. Oversee Books from Birth’s operation as the Shelby County affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, including enrollment growth, address maintenance, partnerships with The Dollywood Foundation and the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, local funding match, municipal partnerships, and family literacy engagement.
13. Oversee Generations’ AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and AmeriCorps Seniors Workforce Development grants, ensuring compliance with AmeriCorps requirements (including eligibility, National Service Criminal History Checks, service hour tracking, prohibited activities, and grant reporting) and a strong experience for members, volunteers, and host sites.
14. Provide strategic direction for the Early Success Coalition as the backbone of a cross-sector network of more than 60 partner agencies; strengthen its shared goals, shared measurement, coordinated referral pathways and home visiting network to improve birth outcomes, reduce child abuse and neglect, and improve school readiness and third-grade achievement. Oversee parent education and family strengthening services, including Nurturing Parenting and the Parent Leadership Development Institute, ensuring parents are equipped as leaders and advocates and that parent voice informs program design, policy, and Coalition decisions.
15. Coordinate relationships with external research and evaluation partners and ensure evaluation plans are executed as planned; use findings to improve programs and communicate impact.
16. Develop, manage, and successfully meet budget objectives for the division, including monitoring monthly financials, grant spending, and match requirements to ensure programs operate within budgetary provisions.
17. Partner with the President/CEO and Development team to identify and secure public and private funding; lead program content for grant applications and renewals, cultivate funders and participate in fundraising activities and events that sustain early childhood programs.
18. Ensure timely and accurate preparation of narrative and statistical reports to funders, the Board, and state and federal agencies, and maintain records, files and data systems related to assigned programs and personnel.
19. Cultivate positive, trusting relationships with local, state and federal officials, funders, health systems, school districts, child welfare and early intervention partners, libraries, municipalities, and faith and community organizations.
20. Represent Porter-Leath at local, state and national meetings, conferences and policy tables, and advocate for policies and investments that strengthen families with young children.
21. Oversee content and ensure creation of high-quality marketing materials that promote program services to families and regularly share program outcomes with the community.
22. Personally conduct presentations, workshops, orientations, and staff development activities as needed.
23. Contribute to team effort by performing other duties as needed.

Requirements

 Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge and experience in leading high-quality early childhood and family support program administration.
• Knowledge of public systems that affect young children and families, including child welfare, health, early intervention and child care systems in Tennessee and Mississippi.
• Thorough knowledge of Memphis and surrounding areas, including the needs of children and families, to inform the development of programs that improve their lives and the overall community.
• Working knowledge of the following specific program models a plus:
  • evidence-based home visitation and parenting models, including Parents as Teachers and Nurturing Parenting, the federal and Tennessee home visitation landscape, and the Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework.
  • early literacy and the learning needs of young children that lead to kindergarten readiness and reading proficiency by third grade, including the Imagination Library model.
  • AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors program requirements, national service grants management, and volunteer and member management.
  • effective community collaboration practices, including a common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication and backbone support; skill in facilitating partners who do not report to the Vice President.
  • Parent Leadership Training Institute and Nurturing Parenting.
• Strategic thinking and planning skills to turn a vision into policies, logic models, work plans, and short- and long-range goals.
• Leadership and talent development skills to hire well, coach and develop, delegate effectively, give candid feedback, and build a culture of accountability.
• Analytical and data skills to set outcome measures, interpret program data and evaluation findings, and use them to make decisions.
• Financial management skills to oversee budgets with multiple public and private funding streams and to ensure grants compliance.
• Collaboration skills to work with a diverse group of program stakeholders, including parents, partners, funders, and public officials.
• Excellent oral communication and presentation skills, and excellent writing skills, including proofreading and editing.
• Organizational and change management skills to set priorities across multiple programs and complete a heavy workload in a timely manner.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and objectivity.
• Possess the ability to forge a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families, conviction about the capacity of people to grow and change, the ability to set limits and maintain the helping role of the employee, and the ability to intervene appropriately to meet the needs of the persons served and their families.

Physical Demands

Requires frequent sitting, handling objects with hands, talking, hearing reaching; requires standing, walking, and lifting up to 25 pounds. Requires the ability to see color/black-white information in print and/or electronic form.  Physical requirements also include the stamina to assist physically during training events.  Ability to listen for understanding.  Occasional-Routine deadlines; usually sufficient lead time; variance in work volume seasonal and predictable; priorities can be anticipated; some interruptions are present; occasional exposure to demands and pressures from persons other than supervisor. Infrequent overnight travel is required.  

Special Conditions

Maintain a valid driver’s license and good driving record with appropriate level of insurance. Ability to travel from administrative headquarters to program sites, partner locations, and community events across the Tennessee and Mississippi service areas on a regular basis. Some evening, weekend, and overnight travel may be necessary.  Functions on call for emergencies.