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Director, Public Affairs – Educare Los Angeles

About the job

Job Description

Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach

Public Affairs Director

Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach (ELALB) is an early development and education demonstration school, funded through a public-private partnership focused on uplifting best practices in the LA region and across California. Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach is part of the National Educare Learning Network (ELN). Collectively, the ELN schools and national evaluation partner use data on the implementation of best practices to advance quality early learning, lift the existing quality work and serve as a platform to drive change among policymakers, business leaders and early childhood education providers.

Position:

The Public Affairs Director’s principal function is to lead ELALB’s fund development efforts. The Public Affairs Director will cultivate local, state and national partnerships and with the support of the Educare Advisory Board, work towards raising operational resources. The Public Affairs Director will serve as liaison to the Long Beach Education Foundation (Foundation) and the ELALB Advisory Board. Director will work in close partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and UNITE-LA, to effectively execute ELALB’s mission.

UNITE-LA shall serve as employer of record for the Public Affairs Director and will report to both the Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at UNITE LA and LBUSD Director of Head Start Program. The Public Affairs Director will coordinate recurring team check-in meetings to support the implementation of ELALB’s goals and objectives. In addition, the Public Affairs Director will also report to the Educare Advisory Board.

Responsibilities include:

Resource Development

· The Public Affairs Director shall engage in various fund development activites to ensure that the Educare quality gap funding is secured ($3M). The Public Affaris Director will track all private (non-LBUSD) grant funding sources and prepare proposals and reports required by funders, cultivate funders through networking and secure prospective funders. The Public Affairs Director will work with the Director of Head Start, Educare Principal, LBUSD Fiscal Officer and LBUSD Head Start Accountant to develop the operating budget. The budget will be shared with the EAB.

· The Public Affairs Director will research and identify potential private and public sources of funds and, with the support of partner agencies and the Foundation’s Board, support the fundraising strategies for ELALB, including grant writing, major donor campaigns and special events.

· Identify and secure in-kind and other resources to support Educare’s families and mission.

Policy and Advocacy

· Work to position ELALB as an influential stakeholder in early childhood education at the local, state and national level, including supporting the Family Ambassador Program. This includes:

· Local Policy: Representing Educare within the L.A. County Policy Roundtable, L.A. County Child Care Planning Committee, the Long Beach ECE Committee, and other County and Long Beach-wide ECE efforts that could be influenced by Educare.

· State Policy: In partnership with Educare CA Silicon Valley, develop statewide policy priorities, investments and system change opportunities.

· Federal Policy: Actively participate in Policy Work Group for the Educare Learning Network. Participate on national policy calls, provide comments on federal policies impacting 0-5 programs.

· Promote Educare best practices with other local education agencies and work with mixed-delivery system leaders across Long Beach, L.A. County and CA to elevate partnerships, leverage resources and create solid relationships that will be mutually beneficial to Educare, external partners and the overall ECE priorities that align across Educare and other stakeholders. Provide direct support to community beyond Educare’s walls.

· Represent ELALB within the early childhood stakeholders and the broader community through social media, web page, and newsletters.

· Collaborate with the Local Evaluation Partner (ELP) and school leadership to develop an annual report.

Leadership

· Develop working relationships with Educare teachers, staff and parents in order to help inform a genuine narrative of the programmatic success and effectiveness at Educare. Facilitate the development of a culture of excellence, collaboration, quality assurance and continuous improvement across the various partner agencies and programs on site through a visible and passionate focus on the children and families served by ELALB.

· In collaboration with the Educare Advisory Board Chair, School Principal, and Director of Head Start, support the governance activities of the Board, coordinate the quarterly EAB meetings (include agenda development, logistics, announce and keep minutes), promote successes via social media, web page and newsletters.

· Participate in Educare Learning Network (ELN) activities, support ELALB partner agency utilization of ELN resources, and represent the needs and concerns of the ELALB to the national network. Serves as a liaison between the ELN, school leadership and Educare Advisory Board of Directors.

· In collaboration with partners, help develop and promote ELALB as a teaching laboratory for public and private early childhood education and care providers, support the programmatic research, documentation and dissemination of ELALB’s best practices.

Qualifications:

ELALB Advisory Board seeks a seasoned, responsible, collaborative, focused individual, with outstanding, verbal and written communication skills and high level of accuracy. Experience in and knowledge of fund development and or grant writing is required. The successful candidate will be highly organized, self-motivated, detail-oriented, creative, strategic, professional and able to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines. Excellent writing, analytical, and research skills are essential. Candidates must have a high level of computer literacy, including experience using online databases and other sources to locate financial and philanthropic information, and possess exceptional interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with all levels of staff, Board members, donors, and prospective donors. The ideal candidate understands and embraces a diverse community (race/ethnicity, income levels, etc.), and carries first-hand experience and a passion for supporting vulnerable communities.

Bachelor’s degree required, Master preferred or 10 years of experience in development.

Compensation

This is a full-time non-exempt position with a starting salary of $90,000-$110,000, commensurate with experience. Our competitive benefits package includes paid sick leave, vacation, and work-life harmony time, in addition to a robust paid holiday schedule; 401(k) participation with employer contribution; competitive health, vision and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, and more. UNITE-LA promotes a culture of work-life harmony with flexible schedules and offers employee growth development plans to support pathways forward.

Location

This position is based in Long Beach AND Los Angeles, CA. While UNITE-LA’s staff works mostly remotely, Educare’s staff is required to be in person. Due to the joint nature of this position, the Educare Public Affairs Director will be on-site at Educare approximately 60% of each week, in order to develop working relationships with Edcuare teachers, staff, and parents to inform a genuine narrative of programmatic success and effectiveness at Educare. Occasional travel is required for in state and out-of-state conferences. At this time, UNITE-LA is requiring all staff who represent the organization in-person (whether in the office, at off-site meetings, or for travel) to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, including a booster if eligible, or to present a valid religious or medical exemption to Human Resources.

To Apply

Interested candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter summarizing your qualifications for the position to earlyed@unitela.com using the email subject line “Educare Public Affairs Director.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

UNITE-LA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to developing and sustaining a diverse workforce, because we believe that it makes our organization stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Job posted: 2023-05-07