Application Opening: May 13, 2024

Application Deadline: May 28, 2024

Compensation Range: $109,122-$132,600 (Compensation database (https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/) )

Appointment: Full-Time, TPV- Temporary Provisional

Appointment Type: Temporary Provisional (TPV), temporary position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process. A provisional appointee must participate and be successful in a Civil Service examination for this classification and be selected through an open competitive process in order to be considered for permanent appointment. Provisional appointments may not exceed three (3) years.

About the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood 

The Department of Early Childhood (DEC) is a City and County of San Francisco Department dedicated to our young children's healthy development. As the City’s largest funder of early childhood, DEC is committed to creating a system that ensures every child can thrive and learn. We provide public investment, expertise, and leadership to put resources into the hands of those who care for our City’s youngest children. 

DEC results from merging two existing city departments, First 5 and the Office of Early Care and Education. Both First 5 and OECE have long histories of supporting young children and families in San Francisco through early care and education innovations, family support services, and programs to support children’s healthy development. They merged to expand their capacity and funding and to integrate the City’s early childhood services better.

Racial Equity Commitment 

The Department of Early Childhood condemns all forms of racism, sexism, homo/biphobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. It affirms that all people- including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color – have a right to be in our City and have a right to safe and affordable housing, neighborhoods free from pollution and violence, opportunities for educational advancement and wealth creation, healthy births, early childhoods with abundant opportunities to thrive free from the toxic effects of racism, and access to essential services such as parks, transportation, health care, and child care. The Department of Early Childhood is committed to the principles of racial equity and continues to implement new strategies to ensure that every child can learn and thrive.

Position Description

There are two Program Officer positions open within the Child and Family Well-being Division. One position is under the Cross-sector Programming Team, reporting to the Manager of Early Childhood Systems Integration with a focus on establishing and strengthening the early childhood systems of care across the sectors of health, early learning, and family support. The second position is under the Child Health Team, reporting to the Deputy Director of Child and Family Well-being. The Child Health Team has a focus on early identification and early intervention; maternal, infant and child health; and child mental health.  All Program Officers are expected to have expertise in early childhood and a strong base of program design, implementation, budget management, project management, evaluation experience, and technical skills. They must demonstrate the ability to effectively manage relationships, communicate professionally, develop community partnerships, facilitate collective problem-solving, and understand the unique responsibilities and accountabilities of representing a public funding agency. They should also be able to assist with Federal, State and local policy analysis, the planning and implementation of early childhood projects and initiatives within DEC.

The Cross-sector Strategic Initiatives Program Officer is responsible for helping to plan, design, and oversee a portfolio of work that incorporates a multi-sector strategy approach across pediatrics, mental health, family support, and early care and education settings to achieve better integrated and more accessible service systems for families of young children.

The Child Health and Pediatric Partnerships Program Officer is responsible for designing and implementing activities, programs, and initiatives that support pre-natal, post-natal, infant and toddler health and wellness, early identification and intervention, and pediatric quality improvement efforts.

The above areas represent new and evolving work for DEC and thus the roles, responsibilities, and duties may shift and change as the efforts change to better match our learning and the development of these new components.

Examples of essential functions of the positions include:

Systems and Partnership Level 

• Initiate and sustain collaborative partnerships and activities with DEC staff, City departments, and other early childhood stakeholders at local, regional, and state levels to ensure effective implementation of grant portfolio and promote integration with related efforts.  

• Integrate and align other Early Learning and Child and Family Well-being Division initiatives and efforts as needed; participate in department-wide planning, resource allocation, and organizational development.  

• Work with the Policy & Impact Division for internal/external research, analyze and synthesize trends and opportunities in early childhood and related fields to translate into potential opportunities for action and investment.

• Collaborate with DEC Program Officers on developments, challenges, and opportunities to advance the department’s program strategies.

• Act as a liaison with community and provider partner agencies and within the overall early childhood network of services and programs; convene and facilitate meetings between collaborative funders and partner agencies as needed.

• Develop and maintain coordination and partnerships with health care providers, Early Care and Education centers, Family Resource Centers, and other early childhood stakeholders to enhance program delivery and impact and ensure seamless continuum of care for children and families.

Grantmaking and Support

• Design, implement, grow and sustain initiatives that align with and further Child and Family Well-being Division and Department goals and objectives.

• Manage a grant portfolio for child and family health and well-being, in consultation with manager and deputy director, which includes oversight of budget utilization, services, activities, and performance of grantees.

• Negotiate terms and conditions for each provider partner agency grant in the assigned portfolio, including operating budgets, scopes of work, and performance metrics; support execution of final contracts in conjunction with the Finance and Operations Division, by ensuring that all required program related documents and procedures are complete. 

• Monitor expenditures related to approved budgets, reimburse authorized expenses, maintain supporting documentation of related contracts and financial/budgetary analyses to ensure grants stay within scope and cost.

• Collaborate with the Finance and Operations Division and provide program documentation and insights to inform mid-year and year-end budget reconciliation.  

• Oversee and manage the monitoring, compliance, and performance evaluation on grants, contracts and initiatives. This includes conducting on-site visits, supporting evaluation and data collection, tracking Key Performance Indicators/Metrics, and establishing and coordinating other methods and procedures to ensure accountability. 

• Manage, support, and participate in funding, proposal review, and selection processes by reading and scoring proposals, discussing potential funding decisions, and providing critical information about program and agency capacity, performance, and experience. 

• Collect data and information and prepare various reports, memoranda, and correspondences on initiative progress and status; recommend project or program modifications to assure initiative goal attainment, high-quality implementation of services, and contract adherence.  

• Provide troubleshooting, guidance, and technical support to portfolio of grantees and participating sites as needed; plan and develop needed training and technical assistance for the grantees to build capacity and enhance programming.

• Convene meetings and learning exchanges between provider partner agencies to share updates and relevant information, identify and resolve issues, review program achievement, recommend needed modifications, and support continuous quality improvement.  

• Conduct compliance activities, evaluation, and reporting for external grants received from local, state, and federal funding sources, as needed.

• As needed: oversee the work of external consultants; report to senior level and executive management; supervise staff.

Professional Development

• Engage in Department, unit and individual professional development and continuous learning, including participating in conferences and meetings, funder networks, and other field-building/professional development opportunities that will enhance prospects for leadership development and early childhood systems building.

• In partnership with supervisor, engage in on-going learning opportunities to enhance mutual development and address strengths and professional growth possibilities.

• Engage in training and development sessions with staff and other partners to enhance knowledge and skills in relevant program practices, and quality standards, and to foster learning exchanges across early childhood sectors and settings.

   

• The Program Officer may be required to work evening and weekends, and travel regionally and nationally.

• Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university AND three (3) years of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice; OR

2. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the following fields: public or business administration, urban planning, government, social work, education, finance, or criminal justice AND two (2) years of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, criminal justice; OR

3. Possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university in public policy, planning, social work, public administration, finance, education, criminal justice, or business administration; AND one (1) year of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and /or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice; OR

4. Possession of a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited college or university AND one (1) year of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice.

SUBSTITUTION:

Verifiable administrative/professional experience involving community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice may substitute for the educational requirement in Minimum Qualification #1 on a year-for-year basis.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience managing programs, budgeting processes, and staff in a complex environment.

• Strong familiarity and/or work experience with the following settings and programs: maternal child health, pediatric, medical/health care, early intervention and/or child development programs.

• Experience leading or participating in collective impact initiatives; ability to understand collaborative dynamics, and proven success in minimizing barriers and maximizing levers for change toward a common vision.

• Experience with human centered design or other similar evidence-backed problem solving and design theory approaches.

• Graduate degree in social work, child development, education, public health, and/or public administration preferred.

• Bilingual Chinese, Spanish, or African American Vernacular English (AAVE) preferred, but not required.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• 24 months of experience with the development, implementation, monitoring, and support of programs and services that focus on strengthening families; early care and education; prevention and early intervention; health and well-being.

   

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements (or contact HR Analyst for information).

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility or disqualification.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process (https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process)

• Conviction History

• Employee Benefits Overview (https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview)

• Equal Employment Opportunity

• Disaster Service Worker (https://sfdhr.org/disaster-service-workers)

• ADA Accommodation

• Veterans Preference (http://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#veteranspreference)

• Right to Work

• Copies of Application Documents (https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#copies)

• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

HR Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the HR Analyst Lynn Tran at lynn.tran@sfgov.org.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.