Policy is crucial to scaling the solutions that improve outcomes for children — and that means kids in every state need relentless people who are passionate about making these policies reality. Here are some opportunities for people pursuing an early childhood policy career.
The Alliance has no current openings.
Our allies in both state and national organizations often share their early childhood policy openings with us, and we routinely post them here and on LinkedIn. Take a look at the the latest ones here, and follow us on LinkedIn so you don’t miss the perfect fit.
The Communications & Policy Associate will work in collaboration with the staff team to oversee and track communications and assist in advancing MCA’s policy and organizational goals.
Core components of this position include writing and editing, network and social media communications, media relations, and assisting in developing policy initiatives. Written and verbal communication skills are important in this position.
The Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships will play a crucial leadership role in
establishing strategic relationships with influential partners to build the Early Matters Texas
brand and supporting the growth of our current and future communities. This role includes
building new programs, partnering with our regions across the state to assist in local collective
impact, and grant writing support.
The Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships will be part of a small,
entrepreneurial team, helping build and shape a fast-growing statewide organization. Ideally
based in Dallas, the Director can live anywhere in Texas.
Reporting to the Communications Director, the Public Engagement Manager supports the development and implementation of the agency’s communications and public relations plans. This role is responsible for managing communications initiatives that engage internal and external audiences through channels such as social media, email newsletters, websites, print publications, presentations, and earned media. Provides back up to the Communications Director as needed.
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, aims to accelerate states’ implementation of evidence-based policies that help all children thrive from the start. The Communications team at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center disseminates the latest rigorous research and policy analysis to educate and impact policy action. They seek an experienced and creative writer to help translate complex research topics and findings into clear, easy-to-understand content, tailored to specific audiences.
This position reports administratively to the Communications Director and functionally to the Executive Director. Applicants from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. The center is committed to building an inclusive and diverse environment to continue to build a strong and equitable prenatal-to-3 system of care. This position can be performed remotely, and hybrid remote-work opportunities are available. Due to the nature of the role, applicants must be authorized to work in the US and not require sponsorship to be eligible.
The Government Affairs Manager is a member of the First Five Years Fund’s (FFYF) Government Affairs Team and contributes to the strengthening and expansion of federal early learning and care programs by performing a variety of congressional affairs activities.
The Senior Director of Operations (Senior Director) is a new role in a growing organization. A key member of the organization’s senior leadership team, the Senior Director leads all operational and administrative functions that support DC Action’s staff to further its agenda. Specifically, the Senior Director oversees human resources, financial management, grants management, facilities/office management, board engagement, and IT, with support from outsourced consultants. The successful candidate will be a seasoned operations leader with meticulous attention to detail, an orientation to action and results, an empathetic leadership style, and a proven track record of advancing cross-functional projects.
The Policy Director will provide vision and strategic direction for the NAFCC’s national policy agenda to achieve our mission. The responsibilities of the Policy Director include:
The Director of Early Care and Education (ECE) is responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction, oversight and management of First 5 Alameda County’s (Agency)’s ECE programs, including those associated with the implementation of local ballot measures related to early care and education, Family Friend and Neighbor (FFN) programming, workforce development, facilities, and quality supports. The Director partners with ECE stakeholders, including both licensed and unlicensed child care providers, community leaders, and families to ensure an equity-centered approach to program design and investment, and technology infrastructure to support the ECE system. As a strategic partner, the Director works collaboratively with colleagues to ensure intra-agency collaboration and cross-agency integration and alignment with organizational vision, strategic plan and commission-adopted programs and budgets.
MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to building and applying reliable evidence about effective education and social policy programs that can improve the well-being of people with low incomes, seeks a Director for the Families & Children policy area. This is a unique opportunity to positively impact family and child well-being through rigorous, evidence-based research. The Director manages a team of 40 professionals, including five direct reports, and oversees a $15-million budget derived from both public and private sources.
This role oversees two critical bodies of work: Family Functioning and Early Childhood Education, both dedicated to enhancing the structures and systems that support families and children’s earliest stages of learning and development. This position offers an exceptional opportunity to lead a team of skilled researchers and shape a research agenda that employs transformative strategies and cutting-edge scientific methods. The Director’s work will drive real-world applications and influence policy decisions, with the goal of creating significant, systemic impact on the lives of children and families.
The Vice President of Policy & Field Building will lead All Our Kin’s efforts to promote its policy and field building agenda with federal and state governments and among leading policy organizations, in addition to leading, promoting, and collaborating with our specialized site-level and technical assistance work. This position will advance All Our Kin’s mission and core values by providing strategic leadership for a policy, field building, and advocacy agenda that influences positive change in national and state level public opinion, engagement, policy and regulation that helps shape the future of family child care. The VP of Policy & Field Building will report to and work closely with the Chief Strategy Officer and will oversee all components of All Our Kin’s field building and policy work.
All Our Kin is seeking a highly organized, driven, and skilled leader to join the organization as the Vice President of NY Programs. The VP NY Programs will play a critical role in setting the vision and implementing All Our Kin’s mission in New York. This position will advance All Our Kin’s mission and core values by providing strategic leadership for a unified approach for growth and systems building in New York that influences positive change narrative and opportunities for home-based child care educators. The VP of New York Programs will report to and work closely with the Chief Strategy Officer and will oversee all components of All Our Kin’s direct service and systems building work in New York City.
The Executive Director of SC First Steps is responsible for the overall direction and management of the agency, balancing the need for consistent external engagement with partners, members of the SC General Assembly, the Governor’s Office, other state agencies, and families served with the need for thoughtful leadership of internal staff to ensure that programs and services delivered are sustainable and impactful.
The ideal candidate will be a visionary leader whose understanding of early childhood education systems and best practices enables inspirational leadership that encourages innovation and creative problem solving amongst staff and the system partners. Political agility and prior experience liaising with lawmakers could further enable success in this position. The ideal candidate will also exhibit excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively engage partners, staff, and stakeholders with diverse experiences and backgrounds around the SC First Steps mission. Additionally, experience in both state or local government as well as within the nonprofit sector would be highly beneficial in navigating this organization’s unique structure as both a state agency and nonprofit 501c(3) organization.
Reporting to FFYF’s Managing Director, Policy & National Partnerships, the Policy & Research Analyst is broadly responsible for conducting policy analysis and research, informing policy solutions, and developing resources to advance FFYF’s comprehensive federal policy agenda.
The Policy Fellow for Mental Health at Texans Care for Children is responsible for advancing policies that improve access to quality mental health services for children and families. To meet this responsibility, the Fellow, in partnership with the Director of Health Policy and members of the health policy team, will undertake policy analysis, draft policy briefs and outreach materials, participate in coalition meetings, and advocate during the 89th Texas legislative session.
Position Type: Full-time, Temporary. This is a two-year fellowship from August 2024 to July 2026.
The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) is seeking an Associate Director of Technical Assistance to co-construct CSCCE’s technical assistance strategy and to lead technical assistance activities to state and local policy leaders, including facilitating learning communities/communities of practice.
This position offers an exciting opportunity to join a team and organization nationally recognized for leadership in early care and education workforce research and policy.
New America’s Early and Elementary Education Policy program seeks a policy analyst who will work to help ensure that all children have access to a system of high-quality early learning opportunities from birth through third grade that prepare them to thrive in school and in life. The successful candidate will play a central role in advancing priorities and key projects for the Early and Elementary Education Policy program. The policy analyst will conduct research projects to identify policy solutions and effectively communicate those solutions to policymakers, educators, the media, and other key audiences through regularly writing blog posts, policy briefs, and participating in public events.
Through original and rigorous research and analysis, the Research and Evaluation team at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center builds the evidence base of the most effective policies and strategies for young children and their families, with a focus on implementation factors and equity. The center is looking for several energetic and experienced people for crucial data, research, and evaluation roles.
The Early Childhood Funders Collaborative is a network of national, regional, and local funders supports the healthy development and learning of children prenatal to age eight and their families, particularly low income and at-risk children, in the context of their communities. ECFC administers the Raising Childcare Fund, a fund that combines resources to re-grant to state-based grassroots organizing to advance more public investment and equity in childcare. The Associate Director of Philanthropy & Partnerships will work directly with national and local philanthropy, skilled organizers around the country, and national organizations as part of the growing movement to transform childcare. ECFC seeks an Associate Director for Philanthropy and Partnerships to work closely with the Director of the Raising Childcare Fund project to implement and continually improve RCCF strategy, to increase community organizing capacity and foundation commitment to resourcing groups, led by those with lived experience in the childcare system. The Associate Director will organize and facilitate peer learning among foundations to build knowledge of organizing and best practices in resourcing state ecosystems and social movement building. The Associate Director will be responsible, in close consultation with national movement partners, for managing the delivery of intentional and responsive technical assistance and skill-building opportunities matched to state organizations’ self-assessed needs and capacity. As part of a pooled fund that acts as an intermediary, the Associate Director will need to be comfortable with both sides of philanthropy as a grant applicant (fundraising) and a grants manager (issuing grants).
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is seeking a Senior Policy Specialist. NAEYC is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. NAEYC advances a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and supports all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
This position is responsible for providing capacity-building support, resources and policy guidance to key decision-makers and advocacy leaders at the state and federal levels in order to advance the early childhood education profession. It plays a leading role in supporting the Managing Director for Policy and Professional Advancement in implementing NAEYC’s federal and state policy agenda and advancing the profession.
Children First plays a leadership role in setting and advancing local and state policy priorities to create a high quality of system of supports for children under the age of five in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania counties. The organization is seeking a leader with a proven track record of effectively leading stakeholder processes and coalitions to effect public will to improve public policy. Ley duties include leading the development and implementation of advocacy strategies to advance state and local policy priorities that meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and pre-school aged children by developing messaging documents, recruiting community leaders to participate in our advocacy, and creating and expanding broad based coalitions. The policy director will also mobilize people in Children First’s early childhood networks and parents/caregivers to shape health policy through civic engagement
The Early Educator Investment Collaborative (The Collaborative) is a group of national Early Childhood Education (ECE) focused funders who envision a country in which opportunity and achievement gaps no longer exist so that all students, especially children from families with low incomes and children of color, make significant and sustained gains in cognitive, social, and emotional development. The Program Assistant will support the Director with a wide range of administrative and communications support. The Program Assistant will also provide support to The Collaborative’s Steering Committee. This position will be 37.5 hours per week from the employee’s home office.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has an opportunity for a policy professional with comprehensive knowledge of child and family well-being, coupled with specific expertise in early childhood and child care programs, systems, governance, workforce and financing. The organization is looking for someone who excels in policy research, analysis, and writing. The Senior Policy Specialist produces policy-oriented publications, leads the planning and execution of meetings and educational events, and provides direct assistance to state legislators and legislative staff. As a valued member of the Children and Families team, the Senior Policy Specialist plays a significant role in fostering a culture of program innovation and excellence. This position reports to an associate director of the Children and Families Program. No supervisory duties are expected at this time.
Trust for Learning seeks a Director of Policy and ExternalCommunications to manage the organization’s external communications and policy strategies to support, amplify, and promote ideal learning environments for all children. The Director will work collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders, including grantee partners, think tanks, and government agencies to support and amplify ideal learning approaches, practices, and policies. In collaboration with the Chief Policy and Strategy Officer, The Director will contribute to the development of Trust for Learning’s proactive policy agenda with specific focus on state and federal early learning programs and issues regarding children, birth to age eight.
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is looking for a team member who will lead their policy work and be responsible for developing and implementing AACF’s policy agenda by providing support and guidance to the policy staff. The policy director will also be responsible for policy issues that are not supported by other policy staff members. AACF’s mission is to ensure all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential.
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