ICF’s Early Education Services Line of Business seeks an experienced Tribal Technical Assistance Specialist to serve as a Tribal Subject Matter Expert for Fiscal Management and Internal Controls. The Tribal Child Care Capacity Building Center (TCBC) provides high-quality training and technical assistance (TTA) that improves the capacity of Tribal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs that reflect the diversity of languages and traditions that exist in Tribal cultures. The programs are geographically diverse and provide comprehensive services to children and families that are culturally responsive and respectful of Tribal sovereignty. This role will provide ongoing, prompt, and accurate programmatic assistance to federal staff and CCDF grantees with high-quality services and products that exceed expectations. The ideal candidate will have both a background and experience in Child Development or Early Childhood Education with knowledge of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations and program implementation, with a focus on Fiscal Management and Internal Controls. The role will provide support and technical assistance to grantees by delivering training and technical assistance activities aligned with the approved Financial Management and Internal Controls Training and TA Plan. The role will be responsible for the design, development, and implementation of training and technical assistance using research-based practices that reflect the diversity of languages and traditions that exist in Tribal cultures.
The position is full-time and home-based with up to 25% travel required to provide technical assistance to assigned Tribes and to attend related conferences and meetings.
Key Responsibilities:
- Support Office of Child Care (OCC) designated priorities and special projects, including development of training and technical assistance (TTA) materials (e.g., issue briefs, handouts, brochures, presentation kits, and webinars).
- Serve as the content lead for Fiscal Management and Internal Controls to support all Tribal CCDF programs.
- Deliver in-person and virtual presentations with confidence by understanding content, participating in a dry-run prior to the presentation, articulating clearly and smoothly, using appropriate body language, and incorporating concrete examples and stories to illustrate points and maintain audience attention.
- Work with team members to develop and execute targeted and universal training events (national and cross-regional face-to-face trainings and webinars, peer learning groups, and communities of practice), including coordinating the event production calendar and tracking logistics for the events.
- Provide training at state, regional, or national conferences or meetings and technical assistance to individual Tribal organizations.
- Assist in the development of a menu of TTA offerings related to the area of fiscal management and internal controls.
- Respond to information requests from Tribal Lead Agency CCDF Administrators and their staff, OCC staff, OCC TA providers, and other interested parties regarding Tribal CCDF issues, including developing an approach to address the requester’s needs and submitting to OCC for approval.
- Assist all TA Specialists with TA related to Fiscal Management and Internal Controls using the resources developed.
- Work with other OCC TA providers to prioritize and develop or adapt written TA materials to assist Tribal CCDF Administrators in advancing the goals of OCC and the Lead Agency.
- Initiate frequent and ongoing communication with the assigned team regarding tasks and activities.
- Participate in research tasks for the preparation of resources. Contribute to the development of work products by suggesting new and creative approaches for sharing information.
- Review programmatic status reports, program data, and other resources in support of client priorities and tasks.
- Support implementation of webinars and special training events or other activities as requested by OCC, using a variety of modalities including Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms.
- Coordinate with leadership and technical assistance teams to identify ways to address administrative and programmatic improvements in a coordinated, comprehensive, and holistic manner.
- Review, interpret and use a broad array of data to identify trends, and assist the client in using the information to establish objectives for change. Identify steps and processes needed for implementation.
- Maintain a consistent work schedule and communicate with the supervisor any changes to the schedule that impacts availability during regular work hours.
This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, public policy, public administration, or management.
- 5+ years of demonstrated experience in early childhood education, public policy, public administration, or management working with children and families from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.
- 5+ years of experience with Tribal CCDF regulations, Head Start Performance Standards, and applicable federal, state, Tribal, and local laws and rules and regulations, especially related to the Tribal CCDF Plan Preprint.
- 5+ years of experience offering TTA within early care and education including consultation, presentation, and facilitation.
- 2+ years prior experience developing relevant training and resources and facilitating content delivery to Tribal communities.
- 2+ years prior experience with content knowledge related to Fiscal Management and Internal Controls.
Preferred Skills:
- Master’s degree early childhood education, public policy, public administration, or management.
- Experience within federally recognized Tribes and Tribal Nations.
- Experience in a leadership position within a CCDF/Head Start Program or similar position.
- Experience serving as a Tribal CCDF Administrator or Co-Administrator.
- Experience supporting the implementation of the CCDF program at the federal, state, or Tribal level.
- Experience providing training using instructional design, adult learning principles, and Indigenous knowledge to develop the TTA approach.
- Experience at Tribal, state, or national level with policies, early care and education regulations, and systems, particularly the implementation of the CCDF or other state early learning programs.
- Experience with leading small, collaborative workgroups or task forces to develop projects or resources.
- Proficient in MS Office Applications (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, SharePoint, Teams) and other E-learning, virtual event, and project management tools including Smartsheet.
Professional Skills:
- Excellent verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
- A team player with the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to apply detailed knowledge of organizational procedures to make independent decisions and serve as a credible resource for a senior project team.
- Ability to work with all levels of internal staff, as well as outside clients and vendors.
- Flexibility to handle multiple priorities.
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