The Bainum Family Foundation is a dynamic and growing independent foundation currently located in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, a few blocks from the metro. Privately funded, the Foundation operates and supports educational programs and projects assisting underserved children and youth. Among the largest foundations in the Washington DC Metro Area, the Bainum Family Foundation offers competitive employee compensation and benefits programs and encourages employee learning through a generous professional development program. We believe in the benefits of education and invest accordingly, both in our partners and in our employees. We are an ideal workplace for talented professionals seeking to grow professionally and contribute to meaningful changes in the DC metro area.

PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• In conjunction with the Senior Director, leads the development and implementation of programmatic-level Early Learning strategies, specifically focused on policy, and the connection to practice and research strategies.
• Works closely and collaboratively with other members of the Early Learning team to connect policy and practice efforts and initiatives.
• Assists with ensuring advocacy and policy activities and strategies are in alignment with best practices/latest research across the broader early childhood field.
• Promotes a policy strategy that results in a birth-to-three system for the District of Columbia.
• Provides substantive and strategic analysis to Foundation staff and external partners on local government budgets and legislation; and national legislation that will have local implications.
• Under the guidance of the Senior Director, leads the implementation of the Foundation’s local and national advocacy and policy efforts, including coordination and management of the DC Birth-to-Three Policy Alliance, and other coalition-building efforts.
• Creates, maintains, and improves project plans, protocols, and review systems to ensure that technical assistance and other supports to ensure successful management and implementation of the Foundation’s policy strategy.
• Supports the Foundation’s efforts to liaise with agencies and key community partners to support the advocacy and policy work, including the Birth-to-Three Policy Alliance.
• Participates in the development of annual program budget. Responsible for ensuring policy programmatic initiatives meet budget parameters.
• Participates in communication to stakeholders regarding the Foundation’s early learning strategy, including supporting efforts to ensure meaningful stakeholder and community engagement in the design and execution of the Foundation’s strategies.
• Translates lessons learned from implementation of practice and programmatic strategies to effective policy, advocacy, and knowledge building strategies.
• Attends external meetings to provide summaries and follows up to ensure next steps are aligned with strategic initiatives.
• Manages strategic partnerships between the Bainum Foundation and Early Learning partner(s). Duties to include ensuring partner resource needs are met, serving as key point of contact for program operations, reviewing reports, compiling evaluation metrics, and identifying program improvements.
• Authors and supports the dissemination of internal and external policy and advocacy materials, including legislative analyses, policy reports, op-eds, testimony.
• Supports an active and engaged learning community of internal Foundation staff regarding early learning policy.
• Oversees the maintenance of program/project data entry, data integrity and data management in the GIFTs database.

OPERATIONS AND TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Plans, designs, and provides training to staff and partners that promote best practices in early learning.
• Participates in the evaluation of the delivery of services, the quality of partnerships, and the validity of data gathered for programmatic decision making.
• Provides research on requested topics and assists with the preparation of board reports.
• Serves as a key strategic partner to the Senior Director of Early Learning regarding productivity, quality, and partner customer service standards.
• Contributes insights and recommendations to the Senior Director of Early Learning and the Vice President about program improvements and how to trouble shoot challenges based on data and feedback.
• Contributes insights and recommendations to the Senior Director of Early Learning and the Vice President and on recruitment and cultivation of an early learning team within the Foundation to support the sustainability of the early learning program strategy.
• Attends conferences and training events to maintain currency on topics related to early learning. Specifically, maintains a comprehensive understanding of the federal context, and how those trends inform the decisions made at the state and local levels.
• Participates in the overall evaluation of the impact of the Foundation’s early learning strategy in collaboration with the Senior Director of Evaluation.
• Prepares regular reports pertaining to the early learning program strategy, including analyzing and interpreting data from program partners and other sources.
• Carries out special projects as needed.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Equivalent combinations of work experience and training that provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities will also be considered.

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10 years of overall experience in Early Childhood education required.
• General knowledge of the principles and best practices in early childhood education.
• Experience providing technical assistance to policy makers and advocates.
• Experience in coalition building/coordination/management, including management of an advocacy campaign strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of the early childhood policy required; specific experience in policy state and local context required and experience within the District of Columbia preferred.
• Must be able to read, write and speak the English language at a college level, perform mathematical calculations required for the position and learn to interpret and comprehend company policies and procedures.
• Ability to convey necessary information accurately, listen effectively, and ask questions when clarification is needed.
• Can effectively cope with change and work independently.
• Proficient collaborative, interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to complete projects accurately and within deadlines.
• Readily learns and adopts new technologies that are critical to evolving business needs; is open to building new technical skills, knowledge or capabilities that can benefit business and/or personal performance.
  
  

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described below are representative of the requirements by an employee for successful perform of the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may occur to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may regularly be required to talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and use hands.  The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk.  The employee may be required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment described below is representative of what an employee may encounter while performing the duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may occur to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The work environment is that which is typical of an office setting. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.