Quality Improvement Specialist

Make a Difference from Day One — Join Programs for Parents (PFP)

Are you passionate about making a meaningful impact in the lives of children and families? At PFP, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to a mission-driven nonprofit that helps ensure every child gets the best possible start in life.

We serve Essex County, NJ by empowering families, supporting childcare providers, and advocating for quality early childhood education. Our work encompasses providing education and referrals, promoting best practices, and connecting families with essential financial resources to help them thrive.

We believe that the people who support our mission deserve support too. That’s why we prioritize employee well-being with a competitive benefits package for full-time team members, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 403(b) retirement with employer match
• Life insurance and short-term disability
• Generous paid time off- vacation, sick, personal, and self-care days

Join a team that values compassion, community, and collaboration. Together, we’re building brighter futures — one child at a time.

As the Quality Improvement Specialist (QIS), you will be responsible for providing program support to child care practitioners and Family Child Care (home-based) providers. You will provide training, mentoring, and technical assistance to prepare childcare providers for participation in Grow NJ Kids (GNJK), New Jersey's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Essential duties and responsibilities include:

• Recruit and provide outreach to programs and providers.
• Implement Phase 1 of technical assistance protocols in accordance with State regulations for center-based programs and Family Child Care providers.
• Collaborate with State quality partners.
• Participate in committee/focus group/workshops to give feedback about necessary program support.
• Attend professional development trainings on coaching, mentoring, formative assessments, and other topics deemed appropriate and intended to enhance the technical assistance provided.
• Register and track all training and professional development activities in internal and external databases.
• Promotes and provides information about GNJK initiatives.
• Assists programs with navigating state systems and databases.
• Work collaboratively with Technical Assistance Center to ensure the successful transition of programs to Phase 2 of the GNJK protocol. 
• Delivers services and activities outlined in QIS Roles and Responsibilities and Protocol documents. Ensuring all benchmarks are achieved in the QIS Role and Responsibilities and Protocol documents.
• Tracks all QIS activities (including recruitment activities) and outcomes and submits monthly Department reports and quarterly State reports.
• Other duties as assigned to support department goals.

Knowledge and Abilities (Competencies)

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Knowledge of child development programs and licensing requirements
• Knowledge of principles, theories, practices, methods, and techniques used in early childhood classroom instruction
• Ability to work with diverse communities, including understanding cultural differences, socioeconomic factors, and other barriers to engagement and participation.
• Ability to inspire and support child care providers, ensuring that the programs achieve quality ratings
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision
• Able to prepare and maintain records, files, and reports without errors
• Ability to read, understand, analyze, interpret, and implement applicable policies, procedures, and state mandates
• Flexible and sensitive to changing situations and needs, by organizing and prioritizing work based on the needs of the agency
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Publisher, and Excel
• A genuine passion for providing quality child care to children.

Education and Experience:

• Must be able to communicate fluently in Spanish (verbally and in writing)
• Bachelor's Degree Required (Master’s Degree Preferred in a relevant field such as Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, or Childhood Education
• Minimum 3 years of experience as an early childhood professional, director, or provider
• Minimum instructor-level education and training in accordance with NJ Workforce Registry
• Must have experience with formative assessments, training, and provision of technical assistance

Physical Tasks:

• Ability to walk and climb stairs; lift to 25 pounds
• Ability to travel within NJ (use of personal vehicle, valid driver's license, registered and insured vehicle required)