Family Engagement Professional Development Specialist, National Center on Head Start Early Learning, Health and Family Engagement

Family Engagement Professional Development (PD) Specialist

ICF is actively searching for a highly qualified parent, family, and community engagement professional to fill the role of Family Engagement PD Specialist within the National Center on Head Start Early Learning, Health, and Family Engagement (ELHFE). The Family Engagement PD Specialist will play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based professional development to Office of Head Start (OHS) Regional Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Specialists as well as Head Start and Early Head Start (HS/EHS) program staff. This position is responsible for ensuring that all training initiatives support the comprehensive implementation of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), consistent with the Head Start PFCE Framework, and OHS priorities, including support of strong family partnerships, community engagement, parent leadership, and two-generation strategies.

The ideal Family Engagement PD Specialist is a dynamic educator and trainer with a passion for advancing strong family partnerships. They possess deep expertise in Head Start standards and adult learning principles, coupled with a proven track record of facilitating engaging, comprehensive, and culturally responsive professional development. The candidate is adept at working independently in a remote environment, thrives in collaborative settings, and is committed to ongoing professional growth and program excellence.

The Family Engagement PD Specialist reports directly to the Family Engagement PD Lead. This role collaborates extensively with PD teams across Early Learning and Health, supporting integrated and consistent messaging throughout the TTA system.

This is a home-based position, requiring up to 50% travel for center events, partner meetings, conferences, and other relevant activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitate Professional Development: Develop and deliver developmentally appropriate professional development opportunities (both in-person and virtual) for Head Start programs and TTA staff, ensuring that content integrates trauma-informed and adversity-responsive practices, and aligns with current best practices and compliance standards.
• Deliver professional development aligned with the PFCE Framework: Key focus areas include:
• family partnerships and goal setting
• parent leadership and advocacy
• staff family relationships
• family wellbeing and economic mobility
• father engagement
• community partnerships
• culturally and linguistically responsive family engagement strategies
• Evidence-Based Training: Provide engaging, research-driven, and culturally responsive training to a variety of HS/EHS stakeholders, including family service workers, home visitors, parent leaders, coaches, supervisors, and community partnership staff.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders to foster comprehensive family engagement and support effective program implementation.
• Adult Learning: Apply principles of adult learning theory to create impactful training sessions and professional development experiences that build staff capacity.
• Continuous Improvement: Monitor, assess, and evaluate the effectiveness of professional development initiatives, utilizing data-driven insights and participant feedback to drive improvements.
• Resource Review: Participate in field testing, content review, and the revision of professional development materials to ensure quality and relevance.
• Maintain Expertise: Stay current with emerging research in parent, family, and community engagement, Head Start regulations, and best practices in adult education.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in social work, family studies, human development, education, public health, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience delivering professional development and training and technical assistance in the parent, family, and community engagement field and Head Start programs.
• Strong knowledge of HSPPS and the PFCE Framework.
• 1+ years of experience training a variety of audiences in virtual and in-person environments.
• 1+ years of experience working with diverse families and communities.
• 1+ years of experience addressing family wellbeing, economic mobility, or culturally responsive family partnerships.
• 1+ years of experience with adult learning theory, with a track record of successful application.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in social work, education, family studies, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience working with the Head Start TTA system.
• Experiencing supporting AIAN or MSHS programs.
• Fluently bilingual (Spanish).

Professional Skills:

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong facilitation, coordination, and problem-solving abilities.
• Capacity to collaborate effectively across diverse teams, organizations, and content areas.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently in a virtual environment.