Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

National/Federal Organizations:

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children birth to age 8. It has 80,000 members and offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics related to early education.

The US Department of Education community of practice would be beneficial to an advocate of early education because it has the latest news on education and displays many policies and practices and information on funding.

 The National Association of Child Care Professionals, the nation's leader among associations serving child care owners, directors, and administrators. The organization's goal is to improve, enhance and strengthen the credibility of the people who lead the child care industry by providing membership services and benefits. NACCP is the only association exclusively dedicated to child care management without regard to a center's tax status and corporate sponsorship.

Job Opportunities:

·         Instructional Specialist at University of Central Florida, 2^nd largest university in the U.S.

This is a lead teacher position in a preschool setting. Preferred candidates will have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or similar from an accredited institution. Additional preferences include those who have previous teaching experience with children between the ages of 2 through 5 years. Knowledge of high quality early learning environments and Project Approach curriculum preferred.

·         PARENT-INFANT CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR www.parentinfantcenter.org

The successful candidate will have:

Strong belief in and love of early childhood education •Able to work independently with close attention to detail °Excellent communication skills, verbal and written •Able to identify priorities, plan work schedule, meet deadlines °Honesty, integrity and commitment to confidentiality °Able to manage multiple tasks and frequent interruptions °Basic computer skills and familiarity with word processing, spreadsheets, accounting and database programs.

Qualifications •MA in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Nonprofit Management or related field. Five years’ experience working with both preschool and school age children in formal or informal educational settings. •Minimum of three years' experience in an executive position at a comparable non-profit organization.

·         Vice President, Young Children & Families

The Martha O’Bryan Center is looking for an experienced and creative leader to join our executive team. You will provide strategic leadership for our programs and Center-wide efforts around Young Children & Families. You will also work with leaders in the fields of parenting and early education locally and nationally to strengthen the network of services available to the students and families in Nashville 

REQUIREMENTS:

Required: Experience managing teams of exempt-level professionals in a human services organization or school. Strongly preferred: Master’s degree (M.A. or M.S. ) from a college or university in counseling, psychology, education or social work, with a minimum of five years of experience with children/family programming in a supervisory capacity.

Local and State ECE Community

Local or State Organizations:

• The SCEA organization is the South Carolina Education Association, a professional association for South Carolina educators. It is the leading advocate for educational change in South Carolina providing legislative initiative, professional development, and  support and guidance for a career in education. This is a large organization that has many members. I feel like it is a helpful place to find information on leading education topics and issues.
• The Children’s Trust of South Carolina is a nonprofit organization that works to make sure parents have access to the services needed to make a difference in the lives of their family. This organization provides numerous programs that promote safety, prevention, and advocacy for children and their families. This organization may be able to offer resources and information for the families affected by my Capstone challenge. Hopefully, this will be an organization that can help me and the families that I will be focusing on throughout my Capstone project.
• My local YMCA is an organization that focuses of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The YMCA believes that the values and skills learned early on are vital building blocks for life. My family spends a good bit of our time at our local YMCA, and I would like to volunteer more time to this organization.

Jobs of Interest:

• Director of Early Childcare Center: A bachelor’s degree or two year degree in early education; experience working in child care setting and/or school setting, management experience would be a great addition
• Early Education Center Owner: A bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in early education; experience working in childcare setting and/or school setting, management skills, director experience in childcare center
• Children’s Services Coordinator at Children’s Attention Home:  A Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services, Education, or a related field OR work equivalence is required.  Prior experience with a children’s service’s-related group home or similar organization is preferred but not required.