The Education Secretariat is committed to equity and valuing the unique and diverse characteristics and experiences of every member of its workforce. We encourage an authentic workplace where colleagues show up as their full selves, where collaboration, innovation, and connections are key to realizing our mission that all children, youth, and families thrive socially, academically, and economically. We seek teammates who are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued and engaged. We encourage you to apply and identify your strengths in these areas.

In 2005, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to focus a department’s work wholly on early education and care. The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is one of three education agencies within the Executive Office of Education (EOE).

EEC provides a broad array of services including:

1. Financial assistance and support to families, including:

• Financial assistance for vulnerable families, to help them afford quality education and care for their children. For example, in FY19, $572 million was dedicated to financial subsidies to underwrite the cost of program attendance for 78,121 children ages 0-12.
• Targeted initiatives for programs to focus on family engagement at the community-level, partnerships with local school districts, and efforts to build the early education and care support infrastructure required at the local level for families to thrive.

2. Oversight and support for providers, including:

3. Certification and support to thousands of educators, including:

EEC maintains 10 separate technology systems to support this broad portfolio of work, creating disjointed experience for stakeholders, many of whom are non-native English speakers or not proficient with technology, who must navigate multiple systems. In line with the Strategic Action Plan for the Department, EEC and EOE are committed to a human-centered future for the Department. By reducing the complexity of our online presence, we hope to simplify the experience of attaining or providing child care in Massachusetts. Additionally, EEC seeks to develop, or improve upon, key metrics to measure and track the progress it is making toward serving these stakeholders, inform policy decisions, and inform the allocation of EEC resources.

EEC is working to modernize our service delivery model to ensure families are at the center of everything we do. The Project Manager will support the Director of Project Management and Strategy in implementing the new methodology for how people, process, and technology operate in the Department.

The Project Manager will operate as an internal project management consultant focused on supporting the various high-priority projects in the Department as assigned by the Director. Based on assignment, they will dive deep into specific areas of the business and support a cohesive implementation to interconnect the work and projects.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Management

Change Management and Implementation Within EEC

• Through collaboration with senior agency leadership, strategize and manage cross-agency policy implementation and change management initiatives.
• Implement organizational processes to enable success across EEC, including developing and maintaining project management processes and methodologies, and systems to capture lessons learned from past projects to improve overall project management approach.
• Support and guide implementation of policy decisions through coordination with the Training Unit for successful stakeholder adoption.

Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

(Required)

• Strong interest in the challenges of public-sector service design
• 2-3 years of professional experience in a related field (management consulting, operations management, strategy consulting, project management)
• Demonstrated experience managing projects with diverse sets of stakeholders and delivering impact within complex / matrix organizations
• Proven experience developing and implementing new business processes and solutions involving technology solutions
• Strong experience developing and articulating a vision and translating that vision into practical actions, steps, and results
• Proven communication at all levels of the organization
• Strong personnel management, vendor management and business relationship management experience aligning scope, timelines, budgets, and team efforts towards high impact solutions

(Preferred, but not required)

• Previous Public Sector experience
• Experience (or willingness to learn) running SQL queries to support data analysis efforts
• Familiarity with (or willingness to learn) Agile development methodologies including Scrum
• Experience with process mapping and business process redesign
• Master’s Degree in public policy, public administration, or related field
• Versed in IT Transformation assessments and implementations

Questions regarding this position or the application process should be directed to Dawn.E.DeRoche@mass.gov.

Comprehensive Benefits

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

Want the specifics? Explore our Employee Benefits and Rewards!