Job Description

Job Location: 730 Capital Area - Austin, TX 78753,

Position Type: Full-Time, Education Level: Bachelors Deg. or Equivalent Experience,

Travel Percentage: Frequent Local Travel (up to 50%),

Job Category: Community Development & Family Services, The Early Care and Education Specialist (ECES) is a relationship builder and valued member of the Texas Rising Star (TRS) program, responsible for developing and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with child care providers. The ECES supports providers in achieving, maintaining, and increasing quality through individualized mentoring, technical assistance, training, resource assessment, and connection to appropriate resources and supports.

The ECES conducts on-site and virtual mentoring and technical assistance visits with child care providers participating in or interested in Texas Rising Star certification. Through ongoing relationships, the ECES works collaboratively with providers to identify strengths, assess needs, establish quality improvement goals, and implement strategies that support continuous improvement and successful participation in Texas Rising Star.

The ECES is organized, responsive, and prepared; communicates in a professional and supportive manner; and works effectively with providers, team members, management, and community partners. The position requires the ability to build trust, adapt support to the individual needs of child care programs, maintain accurate and timely documentation, understand and communicate program requirements, and contribute to the successful delivery of quality initiatives that support early care and education programs.

Positive Outcomes

• Early Care and Education Specialists feel supported, prepared, and accountable, resulting in strong staff performance, professional growth, and consistent delivery of quality services.
• Child care providers receive consistent, knowledgeable, and responsive support, resulting in an increased number of programs achieving, maintaining, and improving quality.
• Quality programs and initiatives are successfully implemented and managed to address identified child care program needs, meet program expectations, and support positive outcomes for children and families.
• Strong, positive relationships are built and maintained among staff, child care providers, vendors, community partners, and Child Care Services, strengthening collaboration and the overall effectiveness of the program.

Qualifications: Essential Functions

• Develops and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with assigned child care providers to support engagement, trust, and continuous quality improvement.
• Supports child care providers participating in or interested in Texas Rising Star (TRS) by providing information, guidance, and individualized assistance throughout the certification and quality improvement process.
• Provides individualized mentoring, technical assistance, training, and resources to support providers in achieving, maintaining, and increasing quality through Texas Rising Star.
• Conducts on-site and virtual mentoring, technical assistance, monitoring, and other provider visits as assigned and in accordance with Texas Workforce Commission, Board, and program requirements.
• Works collaboratively with providers to identify strengths and areas for improvement, establish quality improvement goals, and develop and implement strategies that support provider progress.
• Provides clear, accurate, and knowledgeable guidance regarding Texas Rising Star standards, requirements, and quality improvement practices.
• Conducts follow-up visits and provides technical assistance related to Service Improvement Agreements (SIAs), as applicable.
• Maintains accurate, complete, and timely provider records, case notes, visit documentation, and other required information in CLI Engage and applicable program systems in accordance with established procedures and timelines.
• Monitors provider progress, follows up on identified needs and action items, and communicates concerns, barriers, or significant changes to the Supervisor as appropriate.
• Collaborates with Early Care and Education Specialists, Child Care Services staff, management, and community partners to coordinate services, share resources, and support effective program operations.
• Follows established policies, procedures, and program guidelines and participates in meetings, trainings, and other activities to maintain knowledge of Texas Rising Star, quality initiatives, and the Workforce Solutions system.
• Identifies and documents opportunities to improve processes, provider services, and overall program effectiveness.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Additional Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily in the volume required by the program. Time based (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual) volume, quality, and customer satisfaction expectations and goals may be set for individual aspects of the job by the direct supervisor dependent on the program needs or requirements.

Education

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, family and consumer sciences, or a related field.

or

Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university with at least 18 credit hours in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, family and consumer sciences, or a related field, including at least 12 credit hours in child development.

or

Associate's degree in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, family and consumer sciences, or a related field, with at least two years of experience working in an early childhood program.

Experience

1-3 years of experience working directly in an early childhood program, including child care, Early Head Start, Head Start, or prekindergarten through third grade.

1-3 years of experience working in or supporting a Texas Rising Star certified child care program or other early childhood quality improvement initiative.

Skills

• Technological Proficiency: Demonstrated experience using Office 365 applications (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint) and Microsoft Teams in a professional setting. Proficient in navigating case management or customer service platforms with the ability to learn new systems quickly. Comfortable using technology to manage client records, communicate with team members, and support service delivery.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills; ability to manage multiple priorities independently.