Position Type:
Administrator/Director
Date Posted:
8/18/2026
Location:
IU Countywide
Closing Date:
09/18/2026
A vacancy exists for a Director of Early Head Start and Infant-Toddler Programs within the CCIU's Division of Student Services. These positions will be providing services/located in the 5 counties closest to Chester County, including Chester, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Delaware, and Berks Counties. The home base for this position will be the Gordon Early Literacy Center in Coatesville, PA.
Are you motivated to create brighter futures for students, families, and the entire community? If so, we want you on Team CCIU! At the CCIU, we pride ourselves on the creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit that our employees bring to their work every day, and we know that achieving success together takes a team approach!
We strive to hire exceptional, motivated, and passionate individuals that help us achieve our vision of acting as educational leaders who contribute to a better Chester County and beyond.
If you are looking for an exciting, challenging opportunity to grow your career, don't wait apply today to make Team CCIU even stronger tomorrow!
Summary:
The Early Head Start Director provides executive-level leadership, administration, and oversight for CCIU programs and services for pregnant participants, infants, toddlers, and families, with a primary service focus on children from birth to age three. The Director has overall responsibility for Federal Early Head Start and related infant-toddler services supported through federal grant funding and Pennsylvania Child Care Works (childcare subsidy). CCIU is authorized to serve Early Head Start participants across a 16-county service area, requiring leadership of a geographically dispersed service model in which a significant portion of services is delivered through partner agencies, childcare providers, community sites, and other locations outside of directly operated CCIU settings. The position oversees combined federal grant and childcare subsidy resources totaling approximately $10 million annually and is accountable for programmatic performance, regulatory compliance, fiscal stewardship, staff leadership, partner performance, service quality, strategic planning, and achievement of grant and organizational outcomes. The Director is responsible for the full scope of Early Head Start comprehensive services, including infant-toddler development and education; prenatal supports as applicable; health, dental and nutrition services; mental health and social-emotional supports; family and community engagement; eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment and attendance (ERSEA); services for children with disabilities; transitions; data and reporting; child care partnerships; facilities and safety; professional development; and continuous quality improvement. Effective collaboration with partner agencies is fundamental to the success of this position and to ensuring consistent, high-quality services across the full service area.
Essential Job Responsibilities:
Program Leadership and Administration
Provide overall leadership, direction, and administration for CCIU's Federal Early Head Start grants and related infant-toddler services supported through childcare subsidy and federal funding, with a primary focus on pregnant participants and children from birth to age three and their families.
Maintain responsibility for the successful operation and performance of an Early Head Start and infant-toddler service portfolio totaling approximately $10 million annually.
Establish a unified vision and strategic direction for Early Head Start services across a 16-county service area while maintaining the requirements of each funding source, service model, and partnership agreement.
Translate federal, state, and organizational requirements into effective operational systems, policies, procedures, and expectations for staff.
Develop annual and multi-year program priorities based on child and family outcomes, community needs, monitoring results, program data, funding requirements, and organizational goals.
Ensure that program structures, staffing, resources, and services remain responsive to the changing needs of children, families, employees, and communities.
Lead continuous quality improvement efforts and establish systems for identifying program strengths, areas of risk, and opportunities for improvement.
Comprehensive Services
Provide executive oversight for the full range of Early Head Start comprehensive services for pregnant participants, infants, toddlers, and families, ensuring that education, health, nutrition, mental health, family services, disabilities, ERSEA, and other component areas operate as an integrated system across directly operated and partner-based settings.
Ensure high-quality implementation and coordination of infant and toddler development and education; prenatal and postpartum supports as applicable; health, dental and nutrition services; mental health and social-emotional supports; family engagement and family services; parent leadership; ERSEA; disabilities and inclusive services; child safety and supervision; transition services; community partnerships and referrals; and other comprehensive services required by Early Head Start and applicable childcare subsidy requirements.
Ensure comprehensive services are individualized and responsive to the strengths, needs, culture, and circumstances of children and families.
Establish systems that promote effective communication and collaboration among education, family services, health, mental health, disabilities, enrollment, and administrative teams.
Ensure families receive coordinated services and that program systems minimize fragmentation, duplication, and inconsistent expectations.
Regulatory and Grant Compliance
Maintain comprehensive knowledge of and ensure compliance with the Head Start Act, Head Start Program Performance Standards, OCDEL requirements, DHS requirements, CCIU policies, and all other applicable federal and state regulations.
Establish and oversee comprehensive monitoring systems to ensure ongoing compliance across all grants, locations, classrooms, service areas, and administrative functions.
Lead preparation for federal and state monitoring, audits, reviews, and other oversight activities. Coordinate preparation and monitoring activities with partner agencies and partner sites so that records, environments, staff practices, and service delivery meet applicable standards across the service area.
Develop and oversee corrective action and quality improvement plans when monitoring or program data identify areas of noncompliance or concern.
Ensure required policies, procedures, service plans, written plans, and internal controls are current, consistently implemented, and regularly reviewed.
Ensure accurate and timely completion of required federal and state program, enrollment, child outcome, fiscal, and performance reporting.
Fiscal and Grant Management
Provide programmatic oversight and stewardship of an annual grant portfolio totaling approximately $10 million.
Collaborate with CCIU Business Services and Student Services administration in the development, monitoring, and management of grant budgets.
Ensure program expenditures align with approved grant applications, program priorities, applicable regulations, and the needs of children and families.
Monitor expenditures, staffing allocations, contracts, purchasing, and other resource decisions to support fiscal responsibility and maximize the impact of available funding. This includes monitoring resources and agreements associated with partner-based service delivery and childcare subsidy funding.
Lead or significantly contribute to continuation applications, competitive grants, amendments, funding requests, and other required grant documents.
Identify funding opportunities and partnerships that support program sustainability, expansion, innovation, and improved services.
Participate in long-range fiscal and program planning to ensure services remain sustainable and responsive to community needs.
Personnel Leadership and Organizational Development
Provide direct and indirect leadership to a multidisciplinary workforce responsible for education, family engagement, health, mental health, disabilities, ERSEA, data, and program operations.
Supervise and evaluate assigned administrators, supervisors, specialists, and other staff.
Establish clear expectations and accountability for program leaders and ensure supervisory structures support consistent implementation across programs and locations.
Lead recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding, development, and retention strategies for key program personnel.
Ensure job descriptions, staffing structures, supervisory assignments, and employee responsibilities align with grant requirements and program needs.
Develop leadership capacity among supervisors and other program leaders to strengthen succession planning and organizational sustainability.
Promote a collaborative culture focused on accountability, communication, problem-solving, professional growth, and shared responsibility for children and families.
Ensure staff receive training, coaching, professional development, and technical assistance necessary to meet program requirements and deliver high-quality services.
Education and Child Outcomes
Provide leadership for high-quality infant-toddler and infant-toddler services across funded programs.
Ensure implementation of research-based curricula, assessment systems, instructional practices, classroom quality measures, and individualized supports.
Establish systems for analyzing child assessment, classroom quality, attendance, behavioral, and other program data to inform instructional and program decisions.
Ensure appropriate supports are provided to children with disabilities and children experiencing developmental, behavioral, social-emotional, or other challenges.
Develop meaningful partnerships with childcare providers, Early Intervention, school districts, and community organizations to strengthen continuity of services and successful transitions for children as they approach age three and move from Early Head Start into preschool, special education, Head Start, Pre-K Counts, childcare, or other appropriate settings.
Family and Community Engagement
Ensure family engagement is embedded throughout program planning and service delivery.
Oversee systems supporting Family Partnership Agreements, parent education, family goal-setting, referrals, community resources, father engagement, and other family support activities.
Ensure meaningful parent leadership and participation in Early Early Head Start governance, including effective engagement of the Policy Council.
Establish, maintain, and strengthen formal partnerships with childcare providers, community agencies, health and mental health providers, social service organizations, school districts, higher education institutions, and other organizations across the 16-county service area. Partner relationships are essential to program reach, service delivery, recruitment, enrollment, coordinated comprehensive services, and continuity of care for infants, toddlers, and families.
Ensure partner agencies and community partnerships expand access to high-quality birth-to-three services, support family needs, and maintain consistent expectations for quality, compliance, communication, data, and service delivery across locations.
Governance and Stakeholder Communication
Ensure Early Early Head Start governing bodies receive timely, accurate, and meaningful information necessary to fulfill their oversight responsibilities.
Work collaboratively with the Policy Council and CCIU Board and administration to support shared governance and compliance.
Present program information, outcomes, risks, needs, and recommendations to executive leadership, governing bodies, staff, families, community organizations, and funding agencies.
Represent CCIU Early Head Start and infant-toddler programs with federal, state, regional, and local stakeholders.
Serve as a visible and responsive program leader for families and staff and ensure concerns are addressed appropriately and promptly.
Data, Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
Establish a culture of data-informed decision-making across all programs and service areas.
Ensure systems are in place to collect, analyze, validate, and report accurate program data.
Oversee use of child, family, workforce, enrollment, fiscal, compliance, and program quality data to evaluate effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
Lead or oversee required community assessments, self-assessments, annual reports, program improvement planning, and other evaluation activities.
Use program data and stakeholder feedback to recommend changes in staffing, service delivery, professional development, resource allocation, and program design.
Ensure identified concerns result in clearly defined actions, responsible parties, timelines, monitoring, and follow-through.
Program Operations, Safety and Risk Management
Ensure effective operations across a geographically dispersed network of directly operated sites, partner childcare settings, community locations, and other service delivery environments throughout the 16-county service area.
Maintain systems to ensure the health, safety, supervision, and well-being of children.
Ensure appropriate response to significant incidents, family concerns, personnel issues, compliance concerns, and operational emergencies.
Collaborate with CCIU departments and external partner agencies to resolve operational needs, support partner-site implementation, maintain safe and appropriate environments, and ensure consistent adherence to Early Head Start and childcare subsidy requirements.
Identify emerging programmatic, fiscal, regulatory, personnel, and operational risks and communicate significant concerns to Student Services leadership.
Perform other duties as assigned in support of CCIU's Early Head Start and infant-toddler programs and Student Services Department.
Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
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Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Educational Leadership, Human Services, Public Administration, or a related field preferred; bachelor's degree in an appropriate field required
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Minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in Head Start, infant-toddler and infant-toddler services, human services, or another complex publicly funded program. Significant experience supervising professional and administrative staff and leading multidisciplinary teams required
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Demonstrated experience with federal and/or state grant administration, regulatory compliance, program monitoring, and budget oversight strongly preferred
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Experience with Early Head Start, Head Start Program Performance Standards, infant-toddler programming, childcare subsidy, and comprehensive birth-to-three services strongly preferred
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Experience administering geographically dispersed services and formal partner relationships strongly preferred
Professional or Other Required Clearances:
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Vaild Driver's License & access to reliable transportation required
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Current police, child abuse, and FBI fingerprint clearances within 1 year required
Salary Range:
2026-2027: Administrators, Level TBD/Anticipated: $105,000-$115,000/yr.
- Placement on band is based on years of direct experience in a comparable role.
260 day position, 7.5 hours per day, 5 days per week
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Equal Opportunity Employer
Chester County Intermediate Unit is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Chester County Intermediate Unit ensures equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. Chester County Intermediate Unit has a policy of active recruitment of qualified minority teachers and non-certified employees. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact the Department of Human Resources at 484-237-5085.
