The Education Secretariat is committed to equity and valuing the unique and diverse characteristics and experiences of every member of its workforce. We encourage an authentic workplace where colleagues show up as their full selves, where collaboration, innovation, and connections are key to realizing our mission that all children, youth, and families thrive socially, academically, and economically. We seek teammates who are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued and engaged. We encourage you to apply and identify your strengths in these areas.

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is an Agency within the Executive Office of Education and reports to the Board of Early Education and Care. EEC’s vision is that children, youth and families reach their full potential now and in the future. To achieve that vision, EEC’s mission is to create the conditions for children, youth and families to thrive socially, academically and economically.

EEC is the lead agency for all early education and care services and funding in the Commonwealth, charged with administering the federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) monies provided to Massachusetts. This block grant provides child care subsidies to more than 50,000 low-income families to help ensure they can work and stay employed, while ensuring that children are getting the high-quality early education needed to prepare them for success in school and in life.

EEC is focused on strengthening and promoting the diverse early education and care sector in Massachusetts. EEC licenses, monitors, and provides technical assistance to the nearly 9,000 early education and care programs and agencies that serve children and youth, including family child care programs and center-based programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, out-of-school time programs, residential group care facilities, temporary shelters, and placement agencies for foster care or adoption services.

The Commonwealth’s early education field is in the midst of a workforce crisis, with programs struggling to fill educator vacancies to maintain required ratios. A priority of the Board of Early Education and Care as well as the Commissioner, a vision for the future of the workforce and a strategy to improve upon the current system must be developed to strengthen the childcare field and ensure programs can operate effectively and with a quality agenda. The Associate Commissioner for Workforce Development will play a key role in developing programs and policies to respond to the crisis while also supporting the ongoing development and implementation of supports already in place.

This position reports to the Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development, Program Supports and Innovation in the areas related to management, coordination, creation and implementation of workforce development efforts. The Associate Commissioner is responsible for the design and implementation of EEC’s efforts to support the early education and care workforce. This position will supervise EEC's workforce development and qualifications staff and will work in conjunction with other Associate Commissioners and cross-functional project teams drawn from across the Innovation and Supports Division to develop supports that create a strong workforce, quality programs and meaningful opportunities within the early education and care infrastructure needed for children to be successful and ready for school.

The Associate Commissioner for Workforce Development is a skilled manager with expertise in developing quality professional development programs that coordinate across institutions of higher education and other professional development resources to build educator competencies and ensure programs have access to well qualified educators necessary to support high quality programs. As part of the Department of Early Education leadership team, he/she will be accountable for managing EEC’s strategic efforts to support the workforce, including designing and building capacity in the system so that workforce partnerships can be built across sectors of early education and higher education such that practitioners have the right skill sets to provide quality educational opportunities for young children. He/she will also be responsible for managing relevant qualification review processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide vision and leadership for workforce development initiatives and strategies for the Department through management and oversight of the Workforce Unit. Ensure that this unit is one that integrates, supports and improves the qualifications and competencies of practitioners working with children in early education and care and out of school time programs. Activities include developing the workforce agenda for the Department that is responsive to current needs, identifies opportunities for enhancement and provides specific and measurable outcomes towards meeting the goals of this plan; supervise the Workforce Unit team, participate in workforce related committees, events and activities that inform or communicate the Department’s workforce goals, and participate in the Division Leadership Team in a manner that furthers integration of workforce-related issues into the work of the other units.

• Other units in the agency provide supports to programs around quality improvement that include job-embedded supports like coaching for educators. As a member of the Division Leadership Team, the Senior Associate Commissioner is expected to work across units and across other divisions of the agency to fully integrate and align workforce efforts within these other activities across the Department; develop positive and effective working relationships with team members, as well as members of the Division Leadership Team; and promote unified leadership with them, the Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner and EEC Leadership.

• Provide leadership, management and supervision of grants, contracts and policy development efforts in support of meeting the agency’s goals for a well qualified workforce. These projects include but are not limited to the management of teacher qualification expectations and review process (including the development of new credential system), and grants/contracts supporting access to credit bearing coursework (including the Career Pathways grants with the community colleges).

• Lead the development and implementation of all current and future educator qualification review processes and manage the staff responsible for reviewing field qualifications.

• Coordination and consultation with external partners supporting EEC’s workforce agenda, including but not limited to DHE, EOE, institutions of higher education, philanthropic efforts to experiment with effective workforce supports and systems of feedback from program leaders about field needs. An ongoing plan for external engagement and feedback across stakeholders will be expected of this position.

• Other duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in public policy, public administration, early education, or a related field
• Ten (10) years of experience working in early childhood education and/or public policy, preferably with experience working in higher education, knowledge of the early education and out of school time service delivery system and the public education system
• Knowledge of child growth and development, early childhood education and the workforce development needs of the early education and care educators and program leaders
• Knowledge of and experience with coaching, mentoring and reflexive supervision approaches to professional support of the workforce and principles of adult learning
• Experience designing and leading initiatives designed to support educator professional growth with ongoing attention to effectiveness and calibration.
• Experience teaching adults and supervising practicums, preferably through work with institutions of higher education
• Familiarity with the K-12 educational system including special education for children ages 3 - 8.
• Familiarity with the higher education system, particularly the Massachusetts community colleges.
• Demonstrated success in managing projects from inception to implementation
• Experience using data to inform program design
• Ability to create and manage change including leading the agency in redefining program processes.
• Ability to set priorities and identify and implement strategies.
• Ability to facilitate and support team building activities,
• Ability to design and implement operations and agency process improvements and redesign processes.
• Ability to interpret policies and procedures in response to requests for information.
• Ability to interpret the Department’s policies and procedures to the legislature, provider agencies, and advocacy groups.
• Ability to carry out major long range and short-term strategic planning.
• Ability to achieve the Department’s program and goals through effective program planning and coordination.
• Ability to anticipate and analyze difficult situations and take appropriate actions.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral presentations.
• Ability to mediate conflict, coordinate competing interests, work under time constraints.
• Ability to work with high-level state and local officials and other interested.
• Ability to properly assess the impact of outside parties.

Questions regarding this position or application process should be directed to Jacqueline.A.Thistlewood@mass.gov

Comprehensive Benefits

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

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