WXXI Education is seeking to hire a full-time Ready To Learn Statewide Partnerships Manager.
This is a grant-funded position with WXXI Education, as part of the national Ready To Learn initiative’s Statewide Supplemental grant. The position and grant will run until September 2025.
The Ready To Learn (RTL) Statewide Partnerships Manager will collaborate with the WXXI Education team to create sustainable early learning statewide relationships that combine the strengths of the national Ready To Learn resources with statewide early learning initiatives.
The ideal candidate has a wealth of experience working with young children (ages 2 to 8 years old) and supporting the diverse adults who care for them (early childhood educators, childcare providers, early learning programs, parents and caregivers, librarians, multi-generational family units, and other caring adults), specifically in high-need and under-resourced communities. Someone who understands the role of developmentally-appropriate educational media in early learning spaces and is passionate about collaborative statewide partnerships to improve early learning.
Position Responsibilities:
- Report to and collaborate with WXXI’s Manager of Educational Training & Family Engagement, as part of WXXI’s Ready To Learn: Learning Neighborhood and Statewide Supplemental Project grants, both funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and U.S. Department of Education.
- Collaborate with New York State early learning partners and PBS Stations to:
- Raise awareness of early learning opportunities and issues in local communities
- Lift up examples of successful collaborative partnerships from across the state
- Build statewide awareness of PBS KIDS and Ready To Learn assets and content
- Develop a statewide Plan of Action that aligns with state needs and Ready To Learn priorities
- Expand upon existing RTL Learning Neighborhood Partnership engagement model in other communities across the state
- Identify where Ready To Learn strengths and state needs intersect, and opportunities for collaborative impact
- Work to build relationships and make connections to combine the strengths of Ready To Learn with statewide early learning initiatives. (i.e. increase access to high-quality early learning experiences and resources, promote intergenerational learning, increase early learning instructional quality through developmentally-appropriate resources, increase home and community early learning opportunities)
- Build on the Learning Neighborhood Partnership model, being used on a local level here in Rochester, Buffalo, and New York City, to help coordinate a variety of family and early childhood engagement experiences alongside a group of community partners in other communities around the state.
- Facilitate and/or coordinate virtual/in-person professional development, when needed (such as NYS-conferences, train-the-trainer opportunities).
- Work with WXXI Education team to track project efforts (engagement, expenses, partners), as well as required grant reporting (monthly/annual narrative reports, quarterly/annual fiscal reports).
- Learn about best practices for using educational media, specifically from PBS KIDS, to support early learning.
- Assist with communication and promotion of collaborative messaging around early learning priorities.
- Curate, customize and/or develop developmentally-appropriate materials that are appropriate for statewide distribution through partnership channels.
- Work with Ready To Learn national evaluation team to collect feedback throughout the project (i.e. surveys, focus groups, assessment tools).
- The position involves both in-person and virtual engagement, possible travel to different community sites in New York State, possible evening and weekend work, and lifting of training materials.
Qualifications:
- Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in early education, education, sociology, psychology, social work, or a related field; and, 3+ years experience in education and/or community programs, which involves families, parents/caregivers, childcare, early learning, and focus on young children;
or
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in early education, education, sociology, psychology, social work, or a related field; and, 5+ years experience in education and/or community programs, which involves families, parents/caregivers, childcare, early learning, and a focus on young children;
and
- Experience creating and maintaining community partnerships, collective action work, and strategic relationships;
- Experience engaging and empowering high-need families and organizations;
- Experience working as an educational coach or facilitating professional learning opportunities as a trainer and train-the-trainer in-person and virtually
- Ability to travel locally and statewide, when needed;
- Ability to work with multi-cultural communities, with cultural competencies in collaborating with people of different cultural backgrounds and life experiences;
- Strong computer and technology skills;
- A clean valid NYS driver’s license;
- COVID vaccine requirement
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to create and maintain good working relationships with a variety of diverse internal and external team members
- Strong organizational, time management and project management skills
- Ability to multi-task effectively and meet deadlines
- Demonstrated flexibility and ability to effectively solve problems
- Must be detail orientated, meticulous with professional standards for task execution;
- Enthusiasm and commitment to collaborative work
- Passion for early learning and support of families
- Should possess an interest in public media, educational media resources, PBS KIDS, developmentally-appropriate practice, appropriate uses of technology as an early learning tool.
- A sense of leadership, initiative, and collaborative ownership of project success
- Strong commitment to collaboration, diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion
- Able to work independently as well as collaboratively
WXXI is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. This policy expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic predisposition, gender identity or expression, carrier status, domestic violence victim status, veteran status or status as a member of any other protected group or activity.
