Southwest Human Development is seeking a passionate and creative Director to lead its Services for Children with Disabilities (SCD) Department. This position is the ideal opportunity for an experienced and visionary leader to help build and advance cutting-edge initiatives supported by a recent MacKenzie Scott philanthropic award.

Southwest Human Development (SWHD) is Arizona's largest nonprofit dedicated to early childhood development, with a mission to strengthen the foundation Arizona’s children need for a great start in life. The organization’s recent philanthropic award is being used to launch a Birth to Five Center of Excellence. The Center is focused on comprehensive and integrated developmental disabilities and mental health services and support for young children ages 0-5 and their families, and will serve as a national model for integrated services. The funding is also supporting the continued development of our innovative Smooth Way Home program, which addresses the needs of fragile infants and their families as they transition home from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.

SWHD’s vision is a positive future for every child, with a goal of helping children establish a healthy foundation by preventing problems before they arise, or when they already exist, intervening as early and effectively as possible. The agency, with a staff of almost 900 serving 140,000 young children and their families each year, has long been recognized as a leader in providing comprehensive services for children ages birth through five and their families in six primary categories: Child Development and Mental Health; Easterseals Disabilities Services; Early Communication, Language and Literacy; Head Start and Early Head Start; Family Support and Child Welfare; and Professional Education and Training.

SWHD’s goal is to be a leader in the effort to transform care. This position is a great opportunity for an innovative and forward-thinking leader to join the team at an exciting time.

The Position
The Director will lead all aspects of the Services for Children with Disabilities Department, with clinical and administrative oversight of all department programs.

In addition, the Director’s major areas of focus will include:

• Developing and driving a strategic, and future-focused vision to help the Services for Children with Disabilities Department pursue opportunities for growth and to reflect and incorporate current trends in the fields of disabilities services, inclusion, early care and education, and infant mental health.
• Providing leadership to and managing the efforts of the department team members through mentorship, guidance, and professional development.
• Building collaborative relationships with community partners to advocate for and develop policies, programs, and service delivery systems that meet the needs of all children.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Departmental Management: Setting strategic goals and ensuring operational excellence and success for SCD Department programs: including: Birth to Five Center of Excellence; First Things First Inclusion Coaching Program; First Things First Parent Coaching Program; Nurse Family Partnership Program; Arizona Department of Health Services High Risk Pregnancy Program; Smooth Way Home Program (support for NICU babies and families transitioning home from the hospital); and Head Start/Early Head Start Disabilities Services.

Service Vision and Design (internal and external): As a key member of the Southwest Human Development Executive Leadership team, the Director will participate in agency planning and development activities as well as a variety of intra-agency collaboration and professional development projects. This role will also focus on building collaborative relationships with community partners to advocate for and develop policies, programs, and service delivery systems which meet the needs of young children and their families.

Extensive Field and Systems Knowledge: Experience with an integrated medical, developmental, and behavioral health approach to supporting young children ages 0-5 years with a wide range of developmental delays and disabilities. Knowledge and experience in designing programs that promote full inclusion through access, participation, and systems level support.

Essential Qualifications:

• At least 8 years direct experience providing clinical/educational/special education services to young children ages 0-5 (and their families) who have a wide range of developmental delays and disabilities. Preference for experience with children with or at risk for autism and/or fragile infants.
• At least 8 years of experience in grant writing, program development, supervision, program management (including budget development/oversight), related to the target population.
• At least 5 years of experience in a senior leadership position. Experience with the Reflective Supervision model, and the principles of relationship-based work preferred.
• Master’s degree in psychology, speech/language pathology, mental health, early childhood education, special education, or related field. Ph.D. preferred.
• Familiarity with the field of infant and early childhood mental health preferred.
• Knowledge and commitment to family-centered, team-based, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed service delivery models for this population.
• Leadership capacity to work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural staff around program transformational change.

SWHD takes the health and safety of our employees and the communities we serve very seriously. We strongly believe vaccination is a critical safety measure to protect each of us and the communities we serve. The COVID vaccinations have proven to be highly effective at protecting people from getting COVID-19 or from getting severely ill from it.

All candidates must meet SWHD vaccination standards, including the COVID vaccine, for their program.

Compensation: DOE

About Southwest Human Development:

Southwest Human Development’s mission is to strengthen the foundation Arizona’s children need for a great start in life: our vision is a positive future for every child.

Southwest Human Development’s Core Values embody the agency’s commitment to services that uplift the lives of children, families and other care providers, and the communities in which they live. These values are intended to guide the professional development, ethical conduct and skilled practice of all of our staff, whatever their specific role within the agency. All staff are valued as making essential contributions to strengthening the foundation that Arizona’s children need for a great start in life.

Core Values:

• High Quality and Ethical Services
• Learning as a Lifelong Process
• Promoting Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion
• Working in Partnership with Families, Caregivers and Community Providers
• Reflective Practice in Support of Relationship-Based Work
• Innovative Responsiveness to Community Needs
• Responsible Stewardship

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)