Senior Department Director

The Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

INCCRRA is a statewide organization which in partnership with its 16 local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Agencies is a recognized leader, catalyst, and resource for making high quality, affordable early care and education and school-age care options available for children and families in Illinois.

INCCRRA traditionally partners with the state on projects to incubate and support local collaboration, promote equity, and improve access to comprehensive services. INCCRRA will serve as the home for the state office of the regional and community infrastructure for early care and education services. The Senior Director of Professional Opportunities & Development will organizationally report to the Executive Director of INCCRRA.

Role Summary:

The Senior Director of Professional Opportunities & Development will perform design, implementation, management, and administration activities important to the business and effective operations of the department and agency. The Senior Director of Professional Opportunities & Development will support the Professional Opportunities & Development Department goals by providing day-to-day management for this team, manage budget for department, build relationships within the agency and with funders, and commit to equity, collaboration and maintaining knowledge of credentialing systems.

What's in it for you?

At INCCRRA we offer a teamwork environment with great benefits.

Some of those great benefits include:

• Competitive employee wages
• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life/Disability/Competitive 403(b) Match
• Paid time off summary:
• 13 days of PTO & 12 sick days within the first full year of employment.
• 3 Floating Holidays every calendar year in addition to your accrued time.
• 10 paid holidays off per year as well as employee birthday off.
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $2,500 per fiscal year.
• Healthy work-life balance with flexible work hours.
• Hybrid work environment following 90 days of

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the preparation of department or program, budgets, contracts, reports, and other documents.
• Capacity to guide and create a unified and unifying vision for the Professional Development Advisory Council to ensure it continues to be an asset to IDHS and a driver of change in the state.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of Illinois state systems/how they operate as well as the key aspects of work among various agencies. Agencies such as the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois Community College Board, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Human Services, Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development as well as key leader agencies: McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership, Latino Policy Forum, Start Early, ILAECTE, the national Competency-Based Education Network etc.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with staff at all the Illinois State agencies, faculty from both public/private two/four-year institutions, as well as internal relationships at INCCRRA.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of Illinois' existing credentialing system and capacity to understand interaction of credentials with other state work underway internally and externally (e.g., higher education, training systems, professional educator licensure/PEL, etc.)
• Ability to identify and build relationships with potential and existing external grant/funders. Securement of external philanthropic grant funding to advance key aspects of credentialing and related systems as needed.
• Knowledge of levers for change and understanding when to push and when to step back; relationships will be key to gaining knowledge and knowing the landscape. Ability to accelerate change by utilizing behind-the scenes relationships and drivers.
• Ability to ensure department/team has the necessary skillsets and knowledge and the "will" to be successful/meet deadlines/deliverables. Capacity to identify and implement innovative work practices that ensure high-quality services.
• Responsible for the department or program budget and approves expenditures.
• Prepares monthly, quarterly, year-end or other custom statements, reports and applications.
• Provides training and complex technical assistance to staff, childcare practitioners, CCR&R and state government staff, educators and others as required.
• Develops department or program policies and procedures.
• Performs special projects that involve broad functions and processes. A decision regarding what needs to be done includes undefined issues and elements, requiring extensive probing and analysis to determine the nature and scope of the problems.
• Occasional evening or weekend meetings may be required.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities we are looking for:

Knowledge Requited by the Position:

Knowledge of an extensive body of rules, procedures or operations requiring extended training and experience to perform a wide variety of interrelated or nonstandard procedural assignments and resolve a wide range of problems, supplemented by skill gained through job experience to permit independent performance of recurring assignments and knowledge gained through relevant graduate study which has provided skill in carrying out assignments, operations, and procedures. Knowledge of a wide range of concepts, principles and practices and the skill to apply this knowledge to difficult and complex work assignments and the development of new methods, approaches, or procedures. Work requires continuing efforts to establish concepts, theories, or programs, or to resolve unyielding problems. Assignments are characterized by breadth and intensity of effort and involve several phases being pursued concurrently and sequentially with the support of others within and outside the organization. Face-to-face contacts and telephone dialogue are with high-ranking officials from outside the agency at both regional and national levels.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Master's Degree and eight years related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Collaboration mindset
• Innovative thinking aptitude
• Philanthropy experience
• Management experience

Supervisory Duties:

The position has supervision responsibility for both full and part-time staff within the entire department. This position requires you to travel as needed and report to the Bloomington Office on a regular basis.

**We are actively recruiting for this role and will not wait for the closing date of this posting before interviewing or identifying a candidate in which to make an offer to. Therefore, the posting may close prior to the date listed. This is a Senior Level position and recruitment times will vary.

**We would like to see cover letters and resumes attached to your application. If there are any questions, please email aschroeder@inccrra.org