The Department of Community and Human Services values diverse perspectives and life experiences. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with lived experiences.  

Best Starts for Kids (Best Starts) is King County’s community-driven initiative to support every baby born and child raised in King County to be happy, healthy, safe, and thriving. Initially approved by voters in 2015 and in place since 2016, Best Starts invests in comprehensive supports for children, youth, young adults, families and caregivers, catalyzing strong starts in early childhood, and sustaining those gains as children progress to adulthood. Best Starts was renewed by voters in August 2021. Implementation of Best Starts is guided by the Best Starts Implementation Plan, approved by the King County Council in November 2021 for 2022-2027 (www.kingcounty.gov/beststarts).  

This renewed Best Starts Levy funding provides a new opportunity for King County to lead in strengthening child care as critical infrastructure. Best Starts will partner with one or more intermediaries to administer subsidies to expand access to child care at licensed centers or family child care sites for children aged birth to 12 and their families. In addition, Best Starts will implement a Best Starts for Kids Workforce Demonstration Project to provide a salary supplement to low-paid child care providers working with children aged birth to 12 in King County. 

The Child Care Workforce Program Manager is responsible for providing planning and implementation support and management of a workforce demonstration pilot project funded through the Best Starts for Kids Levy. The pilot project will provide a wage supplement to approximately 1,400 child care workers and explore the impact of increased wages on retention and continuity of care.  

This position will be responsible for working in collaboration with the Child Care Policy Lead on program planning and design, partnership management, leading Request for Proposals (RFP) and evaluation process(es), managing and monitoring large contract(s) with external partner(s), collecting data on programming, and providing updates to internal and external stakeholders. In addition, this position will provide policy support as needed on child care topics relevant to Best Starts for Kids and King County program implementation and may interface with Department leadership and elected officials or staff.

This position reports to the Child Care Policy Lead within the Children, Youth, and Young Adults Division, and will collaborate closely with the CYYA Division Director, contract monitors, data and evaluation staff, government relations staff, and team members who lead or coordinate related strategies. 

Best Starts is jointly administered by DCHS and Public Health-Seattle King County (PHSKC). DCHS manages a wide range of programs and services to assist the county's most vulnerable residents. The department works to ensure equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy and connected to community. PHSKC is the metropolitan health department serving all of King County. The mission of PHSKC is to eliminate health inequities and maximize opportunities for every person to achieve optimal health.  

WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to all qualified candidates that meet the minimum qualifications. 

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Candidates who wish to be considered for this position must submit an online King County application and respond to the supplemental questions. Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the requested and relevant information in the online application and supplemental questionnaire. Applications and/or supplemental questionnaires that state, “see my resume” are considered incomplete and will not be considered to be competitive.

WORK SCHEDULE/CONDITIONS: This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and is not eligible for overtime. Typical hours are Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm. This position is represented by PROTEC17. 

Teleworking Requirement 

The work associated with this position will be performed predominantly by teleworking complemented with onsite work and meetings as needed. Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection (access may be supplemented in some situations) where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. Please note that when an employee conducts work that is likely to bring them in contact with another individual, safety precautions are required, including the wearing of masks in some situations. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.  

RECRUITER: Susan Churchill, susan.churchill@kingcounty.gov 

• Program design and management for Best Starts for Kids child care workforce demonstration pilot project. 
  1. Lead program design for and implementation of child care workforce demonstration (wage supplement) pilot project funded through Best Starts for Kids. Engage directly with child care providers and workers throughout the planning and implementation process to inform project priorities. 
  2. Assist with planning for and implementation of additional  King County child care investments as needed. 
  3. Build and maintain strong relationships and collaboration with key external partners, including child care providers, school districts, governmental agencies, philanthropic and non-profit partners, and labor organizations. 
  4. Continuously monitor child care landscape and proactively engage with stakeholders to ensure programming is responsive to changing need. 
  5. Provide ongoing support and technical assistance to contractor(s) and/or partner organization(s) implementing workforce demonstration project. 
• Development and execution of Request for Proposal (RFP) processes. 
  1. Engage the Best Starts child care programming workgroup, including members of the Children and Families Strategy Task Force, to plan for an RFP to manage the child care workforce demonstration project.  
  2. Draft and release RFPs, conduct information sessions, and support communications about RFP opportunities. 
  3. Coordinate RFP review panels and award process. 
  4. Communicate awards with Best Starts leadership, Council, and applicants. 
• Implementation and oversight of large contract(s) with external partner(s). 
  1. In partnership with Contracts and Procurement, negotiate, draft, and execute contract(s) for child care workforce demonstration project. 
  2. Monitor program progress and provide technical assistance to partner(s) through regular check-ins and as needed.  
  3. Ensure contract compliance, fulfillment of deliverables, and invoicing and payment. 
  4. In partnership with evaluation team, support data collection and prepare briefing materials as needed for internal and external partners. 
  5. Interface with finance, legal, and program staff to ensure efficacy and compliance with Best Starts funding and implementation requirements.
• Child care policy support. 
  • Prepare briefings on child care needs and programming. 
  • Provide support for King County child care program and policy planning and implementation, as needed. 
  • Participate in community work groups and task forces and serve as a representative for King County’s child care work in the absence of the Child Care Policy Lead. 
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Deep knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices, and understanding of the effects of place, race and policy and systems-based inequities on marginalized communities and populations. 
• A combination of at least four years of education and experience within child care, early childhood development, early supports for infants and toddlers, workforce development, or a closely related field, with at least 2 years leading a project or program. 
• Experience in policy analysis, strategic planning, and partnership development, especially in highly political content areas. 
• Ability to identify intersecting issues, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration across internal and external partners, prioritizing strategies to promote equity. 
• Demonstrated skill in planning, evaluating and managing a multi-million dollar budget and/or large and complex contracts.  
• Ability to work with creativity and flexibility, both independently and as a team member; to work under deadlines and on several tasks simultaneously; and, to organize and prioritize quickly in response to changing needs.  
• Experience creating multi-use spreadsheets, synthesizing complex data for decision making, and preparing visual and written documents for specific users.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS 

• Experience leading workforce development projects, salary supplement or wage ladder programming, community engagement, or other relevant systems and supports for workers, especially early learning or child care providers. 
• Established relationships and demonstrated skills in partnering with key stakeholders in a highly political environment, including child care providers, school districts, governmental agencies, philanthropic and non-profit partners, and labor organizations. 
• Experience interfacing with and briefing elected officials and their staff. 
• Experience coordinating and collaborating with labor organizations. 

Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement

King County Executive Branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are the successful candidate for the position you applied for, the County will send you a conditional offer letter.

As a condition of employment, prior to a final offer of employment, you will be required to:

• submit proof of vaccination, or
• have an approved request for medical or religious exemption and an approved accommodation. Philosophical, political, scientific, or sociological objections to vaccination will not be considered for an exemption or accommodation.