Workforce Development Strategist

Position: Workforce Development Strategist 

Full-Time | Salary Range: $45,000 - $48,000 

Culture:
Trying Together’s mission is to support high-quality care and education for young children.

Trying Together is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that supports the work of early childhood by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the adults who interact with them. A fast-paced organization, Trying Together looks for dedicated and passionate staff who bring positivity to their work and a solution-oriented sensibility.

Trying Together encourages its team, partners, and communities to interact compassionately and honor the range of cultures, ideas, and identities that root each person. Young children develop and learn by example; this means that children whose early learning environments reflect just actions, equitable opportunities, diverse representation, and inclusive approaches experience healthier interactions and build relationships that enable them to thrive.

Trying Together is an equal opportunity employer. Trying Together does not discriminate and encourages qualified candidates of any gender, race, class, sexual orientation, faith, disability, or age to apply. All candidates will be evaluated on a merit basis.

Purpose:
Working closely with the Director of Quality Initiatives, and Quality Initiatives Professional Learning and ELRC teams, the Workforce Development Strategist is responsible for researching trends and developing, facilitating, and evaluating comprehensive Workforce Development opportunities for early education and school-age professionals that are aligned with the field’s interests, needs, and trends as well as the organization’s mission, vision, and efforts. This is a full-time position that includes occasional evening and weekend hours, as well as light travel. The Workforce Development Strategist reports to the Director of Quality Initiatives and is considered an active team member of the Trying Together Quality Initiatives department.

Responsibilities: 

• Commitment to racial equity and inclusion and a willingness to do the ongoing personal work to bring about a more just society by actively participating in professional growth opportunities.
• Actively work with peers to create a culture of belonging at Trying Together.
• Willingness to disrupt practices that do not honor children’s, families’, educators’ and colleagues’ humanity.
• Participate in the development, coordination, facilitation, and evaluation of sequential, Trying Together workforce professional learning opportunities for early educators, such as the Child Development Associate credential (initial and renewal), PA School-Age Professional Credential and workforce Apprenticeship. The facilitation of such opportunities includes in-person, virtual, and online professional development coursework as well as participant and program coaching and mentoring. 
• Be familiar with and assist in the coordination of professional development participants’ access to T.E.A.C.H., the PA CDA voucher system, PASSHE PDO, and other available professional development resources.
• Develop, facilitate, and evaluate professional development opportunities for early learning professionals and stakeholders on relevant topics that meet the needs of the field, including but not limited to: developmentally appropriate practice, child development, family-child program relationships, and professionalism within early learning programs.
• Aide in the reflection and evaluation of projects and programs, working directly with other team members to ensure that Trying Together programs and resources pertain to the mission and vision of the organization and more importantly reflect the needs and interests of the communities at large.
• Support the Coaching and Mentoring efforts of the Trying Together ECE Apprenticeship Program. Maintain all coach and apprentice documentation, support apprentice and mentor registration and progress, and track apprentice on-the-job learning competencies.
• Collaborate and work with other Quality Initiatives team members, consultants, and volunteers, as well as Trying Together staff.
• Participate in organizational team and all-staff meetings as well as other organizational initiatives that relate to the Workforce Development Strategist’s current work efforts and responsibilities.
• Be familiar with and oversee the support of early learning programs seeking national accreditation (NAEYC, NECPA, NAFCC).
• Complete on site, face-to-face program visits offering support and strategies for continuous quality improvement.
• Has effective organizational skills, with the ability to multi-task and pay attention to detail.
• Has strong oral and written communication skills; public speaking expertise is required.
• Maintains confidentiality and values the notion of respect among colleagues.
• The Workforce Development Strategist will be required to abide by the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct for Early Childhood Professionals.
• Is flexible and open to quick changes being made to better meet the needs of program and project audiences as well as perform other duties to support Trying Together efforts, as assigned.
• Experience in developing and facilitating professional development opportunities including coursework for the Child Development Associate credential. 
• Experience in developing individualized education plans for early educators as well as appropriately assisting, coaching, and mentoring educators through the completion of such plans. Workforce apprenticeship knowledge and experience is highly preferred.
• Experience in supporting early learning programs in the continuous professional development of program staff; program leadership experience is highly preferred.
• Has experience as or working with home-based child care providers.
• Has experience with various educational professional development frameworks and standards such as: The Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators (PA PSCECE); Coaching Powerful Interactions; The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum; The Danielson Framework for Teaching; and the NAEYC Standards for Programs Preparing Early Childhood Professionals. 
• Is familiar and has experience with Pennsylvania Keystone STARS, Head Start, NAEYC Performance Standards, and PA Early Learning Standards.
• Has the ability to ask questions whenever unclear about a concept, task, or activity.
• Has the ability to travel throughout the region to attend meetings, visit early education facilities, and perform other duties to support Trying Together efforts, as assigned.
• Is familiar with and can manipulate typical organizational technology.
• Work collaboratively across departments within Trying Together to meet the mission and accomplish the work.
• Participate in initial and ongoing professional development for the purposes of continuous learning and expanding one’s professional knowledge base.
• Consistently use the NeonCRM platform to build relationships with constituents, record data that measure project performance, and support continuous quality improvement in the organization's resources and services.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field (with a minimum of six early education credits). A Master’s degree is preferred.
• Experience in public speaking, particularly in the provision of professional learning utilizing adult learning principles.
• A current PA Quality Assurance System (PQAS) instructor certification is highly preferred.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends.

Required Clearances:

• Clean Act 33 Child Abuse Clearance.
• Clean Act 34 PA State Police Clearance.
• Clean Act 73 Federal Criminal History Clearance.
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Verification.
• Valid Driver’s License and proof of insurance.

Required Training: 

• Mandated Reporter Training (must be completed in the first month of placement).
• NeonCRM Training (required and recommended online courses must be completed in the first three months of placement).
• PQAS Professional Development Instructor Certification (must be obtained within the first year of employment for staff with a Bachelor’s Degree).

Benefits: 

• Competitive compensation and benefits package. 
• Appreciative inquiry and strengths-based review process. 

Interested Applicants:

Applicants can apply below and upload their cover letter, resume, and three work-related references. Phone calls will not be accepted. Posting will remain open until filled.

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