Lead Associate, School Age Programs, Central or Southern California (P2)

Save the Children US; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 65,450 - 73,150; Full time

Job summary

Save the Children is seeking a Lead Associate, School Age Programs in California, overseeing program implementation and partner management across Central and Southern California. You will train staff, visit sites, and coordinate with state and national teams to expand the organization’s portfolio while delivering high-impact literacy and numeracy programs for children.

The role requires residency in Central or Southern California, up to 60% travel, and strong collaboration skills with schools,

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent with at least 3 years of relevant literacy/reading and/or math/numeracy education experience.
• Residency in Central or Southern California.
• Willingness and ability to travel within Central and/or Southern California up to 60% of the time.
• Proven interpersonal communication and public speaking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, retain, and nurture long-term partnerships with schools, districts, community-based organizations, and other external partners.
• Proficiency in MS Office.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Responsibilities

• Guide and support program staff to ensure quality implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of program models according to standards.
• Provide in-person and remote training and technical assistance; maximize use of technology.
• Visit assigned sites for observation, coaching, and mentoring; travel within California required.
• Communicate with leadership about implementation challenges and successes and resolve issues.
• Support State Director and Assistant State Director in identifying and assessing new sites; provide start-up support including staffing and materials.
• Assist partner management with annual planning, budgeting, and reporting; manage sponsorship and emergency/disaster communication.
• Engage in local and state community activities, partnerships, and media/donor opportunities to highlight Save the Children.
• Coordinate with California colleagues to ensure continuity of programs; stay current on national standards and best practices.
• Share knowledge with national program team and provide field stories.

Skills

Public speaking

Partnership development

Cross-cultural communication

Travel readiness

Diversity and inclusion

Education

High school diploma

Bachelor’s degree in education

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Save the Children For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life. To have access to education. To be in a safe environment, protected from harm. We work in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach places – over 100 countries, including the U.S. No matter what your role is, when you join Save the Children, you’re creating positive, irreversible change for children, and the future we all share.

The Role

As the Lead Associate, School Age Programs, you’ll be integral to our work in helping vulnerable children achieve a brighter future. You will be responsible for supporting regional expansion and engagement in the center and south of the State, and ensuring programs are implemented effectively and achieving results for the children we work with. Working on-site and remotely, you will provide training, technical assistance, and management support to a portfolio of program partners. This includes connecting with potential partners, overseeing program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation at your assigned partner sites. You will report directly to the Assistant State Director and will work collaboratively with state and national colleagues to build Save the Children’s portfolio in California and continuously improve our programmatic work across the state.

Location

Remote – Central or Southern California

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Program Implementation (50%)

• Guide and support program staff to ensure quality implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Save the Children’s program models according to established standards.
• Provide in-person and remote training and technical assistance for program staff; maximize the use of technology to do so.
• Visit each assigned site in compliance with the program model to conduct observation, coaching, and mentoring. Complete site visit reports. Travel throughout Central and/or Southern California will be required for each of the site visits.
• Regularly communicate with the Assistant State Director and National Advisors about program implementation challenges and successes and how to resolve complex issues.

Partner Operations and Management (25%)

• Support the State Director and Assistant State Director with identification and assessment of new sites in Central and/or Southern California.
• Provide new sites with start‑up support including hiring and training program staff, technical assistance, acquiring technology and program materials, and Partner Portal.
• Support partner management, including annual partner planning, subaward budget and spending, grant budgets and reports, annual district/site stakeholder meetings, partnership performance management, sponsorship, and emergency/disaster communication and reporting.

Local and State Relationships/Advocacy (10%)

• Support State Director and Assistant State Director, and program partners as appropriate, with local, regional, and state community engagement activities, community partnerships/coalitions, and state level relationships.
• Support program partners with media and donor opportunities to highlight Save the Children.

Continuous Improvement (15%)

• Coordinate with other California-based Lead Associates, School Age Programs to ensure continuity of programs across the state.
• Stay current on relevant national standards and best practices.
• Share knowledge and experience with the national program team and program specialist colleagues.
• Provide stories from the field to national program team.
• Support State Director and Assistant State Director with VIP visits and related duties.

Required Qualifications For The Role

• Minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent, plus at least 3 years of relevant experience delivering literacy/reading and/or math/numeracy primary education programs.
• Residency in Central or Southern California.
• Willingness and ability to travel within Central and/or Southern California up to 60% of the time.
• Proven interpersonal communication and public speaking skills, with demonstrated ability to convey a clear understanding of issues related to poverty in rural communities.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, retain, and nurture long‑term partnerships with external partners including schools, districts, community-based organizations, tribal groups, among others.
• Professional proficiency in MS Office.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining an environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Preferred Qualifications For The Role

• A bachelor’s degree in a field related to education with an emphasis on elementary education.
• Experience in training, coaching, and mentoring adults.
• Experience developing and implementing training, including distance learning.
• Experience in expanded learning settings, programs and funding in California, including but not limited to ELOP, ASES, Community Schools, and the like.
• Spanish or other language skills will be considered an asset.
• Existing knowledge of regional stakeholders, collaboratives, coalitions, and decision‑makers in the primary education sector in Central and/or Southern California.

Compensation

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $72,250 - $80,750 base salary
• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $65,450 - $73,150 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $59,500 - $66,500 base salary

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location. The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location. More information on job structure is available here.

About Us

We are looking to build an inclusive team at Save the Children. We offer a range of outstanding benefits to support this goal:

• Flexible schedules and time off: flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: a variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: a retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to [e-mail].