Early Support for Infants & Toddlers (ESIT) Lead (PPM III)

King-County,-W; Tukwila (WA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

King County's Department of Community and Human Services seeks ESIT Lead professionals in the Developmental Disabilities and Early Childhood Supports Division. The ESIT Leads plan, implement, and continuously improve King County’s ESIT program, serving birth to three-year-olds with delays or disabilities and their families in compliance with IDEA Part C.

Positions will be filled as two career service roles (and one SDA/TLT) with a hybrid telework/onsite schedule, primarily based in Tukwila,

Qualifications

• Experience with early childhood supports for children with delays or disabilities.
• Ability to work across King County ESIT partnerships and funders.
• Commitment to equity, social justice, and disability justice principles.

Responsibilities

• Plan, implement, and continuously improve the ESIT program per IDEA Part C.
• Lead ESIT service delivery, quality assurance, and language/accessibility efforts.
• Collaborate with diverse teams and families to improve outcomes.

Education

4+ years education/experience in early childhood development

Job description

The Department of Community and Human Services values diverse perspectives and life experiences. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with lived experiences.

King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and connected to community.

Individuals interested in joining our team must be committed to promoting racial, social, and economic equity for all people in King County by participating in equity, race and social justice (ERSJ) trainings, applying knowledge of ERSJ principles to your work, and continually reviewing “intent versus impact” of ERSJ efforts and revising as necessary.

This position will serve in the Developmental Disabilities and Early Childhood Supports Division (DDECS) and work as part of Best Starts for Kids implementation efforts in partnership with DCHS and Public Health – Seattle & King County. The Division’s Early Childhood Team vision is: We engage with curiosity, humility, and creativity to change prenatal to five systems to work equitably for all our children, families and communities in King County.

The Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) Lead position(s) are responsible for planning, implementing, and continuous improvement of King County’s Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program, annually serving almost 8000 birth to three-year-old children with delays or disabilities and their families, in compliance with Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The ESIT Lead positions work with a partnered leadership approach and report to an Early Supports Supervisor. Each position may have a particular focus of assignments, such as:

• ESIT Service Delivery Lead
• ESIT Quality Assurance Lead
• ESIT Language and Accessibility Lead

WHO MAY APPLY

This position is open to all qualified candidates who meet the minimum qualifications. Interviews for this selection process will take place on or around 9/25/2026.

WORK SCHEDULE/CONDITIONS

This recruitment is being used to fill two (2) career service positions and one (1) Special Duty Assignment (SDA) or Term-Limited Temporary (TLT) position anticipated to end 24 months from the start date, but subject to change dependent on operational need. These positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and are not eligible for overtime. Typical hours are Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm. This position is represented by Protec17.

MISSION CRITICAL POSITION STATUS

This position has been designated Non-Mission Critical. Unless otherwise directed by the County Executive, department director or agency head, all employees, regardless of designation, are expected to report to work or request leave during an emergency or inclement weather. For more detailed information, please visit HR Policy County Operations During Emergency Situations and King County Guidelines for Workforce Management in an Emergency.

TELEWORKING REQUIREMENT

This position requires a mix of telework, onsite work at King County offices in downtown Seattle, Tukwila, or Northgate, and attendance at meetings throughout King County. The primary onsite location is 645 Andover Park West, Tukwila, WA 98188. Employees in this position will work onsite at the Tukwila location on Mondays, Thursdays, and the first and third Fridays of each month.

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.

• Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

RECRUITER

Greg Mallory, [e-mail]

• Build strengths-based, racial equity-centered relationships, disability justice, and continuous improvement efforts across Early Support for Infants and Toddlers, including developing, leading, and/or supporting the King County team’s:
  1. Priority goal centering Black/African American excellence;
  2. Strategic priorities to support child and family well-being, engage families as experts and leaders, deepen community partnerships, expand language access, strengthen inclusive workforce, and improve transitions;
  3. Efforts to strengthen racial equity in access, services, and outcomes for infants, toddlers, and their families, including children’s progress on social-emotional outcomes;
  4. Holding of family and community groups that center voices and experiences of people most impacted, including provider meetings, the King County Interagency Coordinating Council, workgroups, and listening circles.
• Co-manage and implement County Lead Agency responsibilities as required by the Washington State ESIT program and other funding partners:
  1. Encourage positive, collaborative relationships and partnerships with current, potential, and new ESIT contractors, local communities, and King County, regional and statewide programs, partners, and funders.
  2. Embed racial equity, disability justice, and reflective, evidence-based and/or promising practices and assure compliance with federal, state, and county requirements.
  3. Create meaningful program policies, procedures, guidance, and technical assistance in alignment with goals, funding, and requirements.
  4. Lead coordination of services and effective teaming across ESIT providers, including with children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing and/or Blind/Low Vision children and their families, providers, and systems partners.
  5. Improve services for families who live in more isolated areas or experience early traumas such as hospital stays, substance exposure, child welfare system involvement, houselessness, and domestic or community violence.
• Analyze data, manage budgets, develop requests for proposals, write, review, and monitor contracts, approve invoices, and engage with planning and evaluation activities in alignment with team members and with the support of fiscal, contracts, and evaluation partners.
• Collaborate with dynamic, multilingual, culturally diverse work teams focused on family-centered, strengths-based practices, data-informed innovation, cross-systems partnerships, trauma recovery and resilience.
• Engage with or provide leadership to cross-strategy, division, department, and Best Starts efforts bringing ESIT, racial equity, disability, and social justice priorities, such as Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work and cross-divisional workgroups.

• Deep knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices, and understanding of the effects of place, race, and policy and systems-based inequities on marginalized communities and populations.
• A combination of at least four years of education and experience within early childhood development, early supports for children with delays or disabilities and their families, with at least 2 years leading projects and/or strategies in collaboration with local, regional, or state partners.
• Demonstrated knowledge of systems serving children and families, including people with developmental disabilities.
• Ability to identify intersecting issues, multiple perspectives, and opportunities for collaboration, including strategies to promote equity and to advocate for process improvements.
• Ability to work independently with attention to detail, to work under deadlines and on several tasks simultaneously, and to organize and prioritize quickly in response to changing needs.
• Skills and abilities to work collaboratively with people with diverse needs and perspectives, including families, service providers, partners, co-workers, and funders.
• Ability to facilitate participatory meetings with diverse groups, and to design group and individualized learning supports using adult learning approaches.
• Ability to share complex information to support decision-making, including skills to prepare visuals, written documents, presentations, and spreadsheets.
• Ability to travel throughout the County in a timely manner.

Desired Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge & Skills

• Lived experience and/or work experience with early childhood supports for children with delays or disabilities and their families.
• Experience supporting families’ home cultures and languages and centering racial and disability justice.
• Capacity and skills to plan, lead, and/or support strategic King County ESIT priority centering Black/African American excellence.
• Experience with interpreting complex state and federal early childhood program requirements and leading continuous improvement efforts.
• Bilingual skills and knowledge.

Are you ready to make a difference?

King County's Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values unite us

King County serves residents with a relentless sense of urgency, delivering on commitments with transparency and accountability. We are action-oriented, creative problem solvers who collaborate across roles, engage directly with communities, and challenge the status quo to achieve meaningful impact. As a unified team, we uphold high ethical and stewardship standards, embrace change, stay curious, and continuously improve. Across all interactions, we listen first, act quickly, and stay aligned as a team to earn and sustain public trust. Learn more about our Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values here and visit our Why work at King County page here.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on sex, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age except by minimum age and retirement provisions, pregnancy, status as a family caregiver, parental status, marital status, military status or status as a veteran who was honorably discharged or who was discharged solely as a result of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, citizenship or immigration status, genetic information, or other protected class. However, to the extent that distinction or differential treatment on the basis of citizenship or immigration status is authorized by either federal or state law, regulation, or government contract, it is not an unfair practice.