Education Manager, Head Start & Child Services

Are you passionate about educational excellence and preparing children for lifelong success? Pathways for Children is seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to serve as our Education Manager, Head Start & Child Services. In this critical leadership role, you will guide and support the educational services of our Head Start and Early Head Start programs, ensuring high-quality learning experiences that promote school readiness and positive outcomes for children ages birth to five.

As a member of both the Head Start Management Team and the broader Pathways Leadership Team, you will lead curriculum implementation, classroom quality initiatives, educator development, coaching systems, and school readiness efforts across multiple program sites. This is an opportunity to influence the educational experience of hundreds of children while mentoring and developing a talented team of education professionals dedicated to making a difference for families in our communities. Based on the Head Start Education Manager job description.

Location: Gloucester, MA (with travel to program sites throughout the North Shore)

Schedule: Full-Time, 35 Hours per Week

Salary: $72,000-$79,000 annually, based on education and experience

What You'll Do

• Lead and continuously improve Head Start and Early Head Start education and child development services.
• Oversee curriculum implementation, child assessment, school readiness, and use of child outcome data to improve instruction and program quality.
• Ensure educational practices align with Head Start Program Performance Standards, Massachusetts EEC regulations, and applicable early learning frameworks.
• Lead partnerships with LEAs and receiving schools, including kindergarten transition and educational alignment.
• Partner with colleges, universities, and internship programs to strengthen educator recruitment and workforce development.
• Lead the education team and coaching system and supervise Education and Site Supervisors and Education Coach.
• Monitor classroom quality, curriculum fidelity, CLASS practices, and education-related improvement activities.
• Provide leadership for staff recruitment, professional development, credentialing, coaching, and career development.
• Participate in program monitoring, self-assessment, planning, compliance, and continuous quality improvement.
• Collaborate across departments and with families and community partners to support coordinated services and school readiness.
• Oversee education-related staffing, schedules, budgets, documentation, and reporting.

Why Join Pathways?

When you join our team, you're joining a mission-driven organization committed to supporting children, families, and employees through meaningful opportunities for growth and impact.

We offer:

Professional development and leadership training opportunities

Career advancement pathways within the organization

A collaborative and supportive leadership team

 An inclusive workplace grounded in our core values of: 

Respect 

Trust 

Collaboration

Opportunity

What do you need?

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or a related field with relevant experience.
• Minimum of five years of early childhood teaching experience, including infant and toddler experience.
• Demonstrated experience providing leadership, supervision, coaching, or professional development to early childhood educators.
• Knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice, early childhood curriculum, child assessment, school readiness, and instructional quality.
• Knowledge of Massachusetts EEC regulations and Massachusetts Early Learning Standards.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of Head Start Program Performance Standards preferred.
• Experience leading educational services across multiple sites or programs.
• Head Start and/or Early Head Start leadership experience.
• CLASS reliable rater certification.
• Experience with coaching models, school readiness initiatives, and quality improvement systems.

What Do We Offer?  

• Internal Growth
• We believe in developing talent from within and creating pathways for employees to advance their careers.
• Professional Development
• Ongoing training opportunities provided at no cost, plus tuition reimbursement for eligible employees.
• Comprehensive Benefits
• Generous Health and Dental Insurance
• Life Insurance

Pathways for Children provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.