Director of Smart Start Strategy and Impact

The Guilford County Partnership for Children (GCPC) is a local non-profit organization strategically directing over $17M annually for young children and families in Guilford County. The majority of GCPC’s funding comes from state and federal funding through contracts with the NC Partnership for Children (NCPC) and the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). Additional funding comes from local foundations, corporate, and individual giving. GCPC is part of North Carolina’s nationally recognized, statewide Smart Start network. Our mission is to ensure that all Guilford County children prenatal to age five are emotionally, intellectually, and physically ready for success in school.

SUMMARY

The Director of Smart Start Strategy and Impact ensures an equitable, data driven, and evidence-based approach to Smart Start resource allocation, oversight, support, and program impact.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assists the Executive Director in planning and developing strategies to achieve the Partnership’s goals.
• Supports the development of cooperative relationships with other child serving agencies and organizations in Guilford County
• Provides oversight, technical assistance, and training as needed for funded direct service providers serving children prenatal to age 5 (not yet in kindergarten) and their families.
• Leads program monitoring and evaluation, along with contracted staff, of Smart Start funded activities in accordance with NCPC requirements.
• Leads the development of funding applications and provides technical assistance to applicants throughout GCPC’s bidding process
• Reviews and approves monthly invoices to monitor pace of spending, to assure alignment with contracted activities and to identify and report any potential reallocation needs or need to request additional back up documentation.
• Completes the annual submission of activities, updates contract activity descriptions as needed, submits quarterly counts and outcome data, and maintains documentation of Evidence-based and/or Evidence-informed programming.
• Coordinates the Smart Start Program, Planning, and Accountability (PP&A) committee and prepares related meeting documents in collaboration with the Executive Director and Committee Chair.
• Prepares Requests for Proposals as needed for Smart Start allocations and/or contractors and coordinates response process.
• Develops an annual budget for Program Coordination services and recommends revisions as needed.

EVALUATION

• Provides expertise on the needs of young children and their families, maintains knowledge of the availability of resources to support young children and offers assistance to address unmet needs.
• Oversees and coordinates the evaluation of all GCPC Smart Start funded programs to include data collection, analysis, and reporting to staff, the GCPC Board, and NCPC.
• Reviews data quarterly to develop a quarterly report for Executive Director and the Smart Start Program, Planning & Accountability (PP&A) Committee that includes a summary of performance by direct service providers. Quarterly report will indicate general progress, concerns, challenges and/or recommendations for additional technical assistance.
• Monitors and maintains macro and micro early childhood system data for Guilford County. Develops and shares an annual “Guilford County Early Childhood System data snapshot” with Board of Directors, PP&A and within the GCPC Annual Report.
• Ensures compliance with NCPC reporting requirements.

CONTRACTS

• Supports the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations, ensuring the annual contracting process for DSPs happens in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Assists the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations with the amendment/revision process for DSPs.
• Ensures compliance with the rules set forth by the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), federal, and state funding agencies.

OTHER

• Support a collaborative systems-building mindset within the local early childhood community.
• Actively participate in leadership team meetings, staff meetings, Board meetings and other events upon request.
• Any other projects as assigned by the Executive Director.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Strong knowledge of best practices within early childhood services, supports and practices including systems building.
• Ability to collect and analyze data and present information effectively and concisely, written and orally.
• Superior organizational and time management skills
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Board and committee members, supervisor, peers, and community partners
• Understanding of the organization's position regarding the achievement of its goals and mission and its compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; ability to analyze, interpret, recommend, and implement policy and procedural guidelines.
• Excellent computer skills.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret data, financial reports and legal documents
• Ability to provide coaching and leadership development to funded and community partners.
• Strong communication, facilitation and presentation skills.

DEMONSTRATED CHARACTERISTICS

• Results-oriented with an aptitude suited for working under deadline pressure.
• Relates well with others and promotes a positive demeanor.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to cultural diversity and an understanding of equity
• Demonstrates sound judgment.
• Problem-solver, innovative, and forward thinking.
• Self-motivated with demonstrated high maturity level.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
• A minimum of five years experience within a non-profit organization preferred; or a combination of non-profit and private industry experience.
• Experience administering grants and/or managing budgets ranging in size from $25,000 to $1M.
• Experience with coordinating and evaluating programs for reach and impact.
• Experience working with a diverse group of stakeholders and partners.

The Guilford County Partnership for Children is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. GCPC makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.