Manager of Parent Program & early Family Foundations

ABOUT US

The Primary School is creating a new school model that brings together all of the adults in a child’s life, including parents, educators, and medical and mental health providers, starting from a very early age. We recognize the entrenched racism that exists within our public systems and the unjust impact this has had on families of color. Our aim is that children and families most impacted by systemic poverty and racism receive the multidisciplinary support they deserve to be well, learn, and thrive. 

Long-term, we hope to create a game-changing school model that can be replicated across the country. As we continue to learn and grow, we plan to share what we’ve learned and pursue policy and systems change on a local, state, and national level. We are proud to receive funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a major national philanthropy.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

• We start early. We start working with children as young as 8 months and provide full-time school starting at age three to reach them at a critical stage in development. 
• We partner with parents. We believe that when parents thrive, children thrive, so we support the wellness and growth of parents alongside the growth of their children.
• We integrate services. Our unique model unites health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and holistic system of care around a child’s full needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four year olds. We have grown to serve over 300 children and their families through a birth to three program, parent wellness program, full-day preschool, and elementary school, which will grow through eighth grade. In 2021, we opened our second site in the East Bay.

ABOUT OUR EAST BAY SITE

We opened our second site with a founding class of four-year-old children and families who started preschool in August 2021. Drawing on key learnings from our first site, core components of the model include partnering closely with parents throughout their child’s development and supporting parent wellness; coordinating early screening and developmental support and offering a full-day school; and working with existing health care providers in the community to coordinate care for children.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Manager of Parent Program and Early Family Foundation will play a critical role in managing the innovative aspects of our work at The Primary School in the East Bay site. The role will include working directly with parents, ensuring high-quality programming, collaborating with the school and health programs, and developing direct reports (capacity building, coaching and training).

This role reports to the Executive Director of East Bay and has dotted lines to the Director of 2Gen Programming at the Central Office.

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: Hybrid

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program management: 

• Build and manage systems and resources to ensure efficient and timely operation of program activities.
• In partnership with the Executive Director, set and manage programmatic annual goals, the arc of programming, and Key Performance Indicators for the program.
• Ensure Key Performance Indicators and metrics of success are being consistently met.
• Work with program leaders to refine and implement the program as designed.
• In partnership with Central Office and as approved by East Bay leadership, iterate on components of select programming to improve how that programming meets the needs of families receiving the programming and staff tasked with implementing the program
• Ensure smooth collaboration between Parent Wellness Coaches, the School Team, Operations, Health, and members of the Pre-K Prep team. 
• Troubleshoot and problem-solve cross-program issues as needed

Administration and operations:

• Work with the Executive Director-East Bay and functional experts to ensure smooth day-to-day program operations, including scheduling, program assignments, ordering materials and supplies, space planning, program budgeting and expense management.
• Lead staffing planning and coordination of parent coach hiring.

People management: 

• Directly manage and coach a growing team of coaches and Pre-K Prep staff
• Demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion when managing others.
• Facilitate a high degree of collaboration between direct reports and other programs’ staff
• Support teams’ effectiveness and efficiency through regular check-ins, combining accountability with coaching and development
• In partnership with Director of 2Gen Programming and East Bay Executive Director, identify opportunities for professional development, plan team-building experiences and support leading team meetings and team retreats

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-10 years of experience supporting adults who have experienced trauma and/or crises, in the mental health, public health, education, and/or social services fields.
• Ability to lead and coach others to deliver group-based and individual programming.
• Team first mindset; experience collaborating across internal and external stakeholders.
• Embody empathy and embrace cultural differences, recognizing how to navigate groups and individuals representing a range of needs, abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Ability to stay organized and manage time across multiple priorities.
• Highly self-aware, self motivated, and humble.
• Recognize that working with families often requires work on evenings and weekends.
• Successful record of developing and managing staff in a strengths-based approach to working with families.
• Ability to anticipate and address problems and navigate your team towards effective solutions.
• Adaptable and flexible; comfort with ambiguity and environments that change course as needed.
• Able to work at the times that work for families (some evenings and occasional weekends).
• Belief in the mission of The Primary School and that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion when managing others.
• Track record of successful implementation of programs and management of complex projects

A Plus If

• Experience working in the East Bay Community
• Expertise in child development and/or adult wellness practices or mental health.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

COMPENSATION

Annual salary range begins at $78,200-$87,650; compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), 401k retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit. TPS will cover 93% of the total premium cost for individual team members in our HMO and PPO plans, and 95% for individual team members in our HDHP plan. TPS also covers 50% of enrolled partners and/or dependents' costs on all three of our medical plans (HMO,PPO, HDHP). Please note that in order to be considered for this position, you must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. We are unable to offer sponsorship. 

To ensure fair and equitable compensation for all of our employees, The Primary School has a no-negotiation policy on all offers extended. Final offers are determined using role descriptions, job market data, internal parity, and semi-annual benchmarking. Our goal is that this policy, paired with ongoing transparency in our compensation process, will make TPS a more fair, inclusive, and diverse workplace.