Manager of Early Childhood & Family Engagement Programs

Family Nurturing; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Flexible hybrid work model

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts (FNC) seeks a Manager of Early Childhood & Family Engagement Programs to provide programmatic and operational leadership across Dorchester, Chelsea, Hyde Park, and Allston-Brighton, reporting to the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs.

You will supervise Site Coordinators, coordinate with managers across programs, ensure welcoming, culturally responsive services, develop site work plans, monitor outcomes, and elevate risks and opportunities for

Qualifications

• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in early childhood, home visiting, family support, parent education, developmental screening, community engagement, human services, or a related field.
• At least three years of supervisory or management experience leading coordinators, frontline staff, site-based teams, or multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience overseeing or coordinating multi-site programs and family-engagement services.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership and coordination for FNC’s early childhood and family-engagement programming across multiple sites.
• Supervise, coach, and support Site Coordinators with clear expectations and accountability.
• Coordinate with program managers to align family engagement, referrals, events, and community partnerships.
• Strengthen site-level protocols for family needs assessments, referrals, and documentation.
• Monitor enrollment, attendance, outreach, and outcomes across sites.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Program management

Cross-site coordination

Equity focus

Communication

Data collection

Education

Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related

Tools

ASQ training/tools

Job description

Manager of Early Childhood & Family Engagement Programs

• Supervisor: Senior Director of Family and Community Programs
• Supervising: Dorchester/Hyde Park Site Coordinator, Allston-Brighton Site Coordinator, Chelsea Coalition and Site Coordinator
• Status: Full-Time (40 hours/week); Exempt; Hybrid (with regular onsite presence across FNC locations)

About the Organization

Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts (FNC) advances the healthy development of children, caregivers, and communities through parenting education, early childhood engagement, family support, coalition building, and training for providers.

Each year, FNC engages more than 9,600 children, caregivers, and professionals across Boston, Chelsea, and beyond. Our work is grounded in equity, collaboration, family leadership, and our commitment to creating nurturing communities in which children and families can thrive.

About the Opportunity

The Manager of Early Childhood & Family Engagement Programs provides programmatic and operational leadership for FNC’s early childhood and family engagement work across Dorchester, Chelsea, Hyde Park, and Allston-Brighton. Reporting to the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs, the Manager supervises Site Coordinators and works collaboratively with the Nurturing Parenting Education Manager, Nurturing Training Manager, Citywide BFEN Manager, Dorchester Coalition Manager, and ParentChild+ Manager to ensure that families experience coordinated, high-quality, welcoming, and culturally responsive services.

This role supports the consistent implementation of early childhood and family-engagement activities across sites. These activities may include parent-child playgroups, family outreach, Welcome Baby services, developmental screening and referral coordination, family events, parenting education, parent leadership, resource navigation, and connections to FNC programs and community partners.

The Manager serves as a connector between site-based staff, peer managers, and organizational leadership. They translate organizational priorities into clear site-level plans; support Site Coordinators through supervision, coaching, and problem-solving; monitor program quality, participation, family feedback, and operational needs; and elevate emerging risks, barriers, and opportunities to the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Cross-Program Coordination

• Provide day-to-day leadership and coordination for FNC’s early childhood and familyengagement programming across Dorchester, Chelsea, Hyde Park, and Allston-Brighton.
• Supervise, coach, and support Site Coordinators; establish clear expectations, work plans, performance goals, supervision routines, and accountability structures.
• Work collaboratively with the Nurturing Parenting Education Manager, Nurturing Training Manager, Citywide BFEN Manager, Chelsea Coalition and Site Coordinator, Dorchester Coalition Manager, and ParentChild+ Manager, to coordinate family engagement, outreach, referrals, events, resource navigation, and community-based services.
• Build clear communication structures among program areas so families can access coordinated supports and staff understand how to connect families to the appropriate FNC program, site, coalition, or service.
• Convene or support regular cross-site and cross-program planning meetings to align calendars, outreach strategies, program activities, family events, referral practices, and emerging community needs.
• Ensure that site-based early childhood and family-engagement activities are consistent with FNC policies, program standards, approved work plans, grant requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Monitor enrollment, attendance, outreach, participation, family engagement, service delivery, site staffing, referrals, and outcomes across assigned locations.
• Support Site Coordinators in identifying and addressing barriers to participation, programaccess challenges, scheduling concerns, operational needs, and service gaps.
• Develop and implement practical solutions to strengthen program quality, consistency, accessibility, participation, and family experience.
• Coordinate cross-site planning while recognizing the distinct strengths, languages, cultures, resources, and needs of each community.
• Support the development of site work plans, program calendars, family-engagement strategies, outreach plans, and implementation timelines.
• Identify emerging community needs, program trends, partnership opportunities, and areas for improvement; bring recommendations to the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs.

Family Engagement and Early Childhood Practice

• Ensure Site Coordinators and family-facing staff provide welcoming, respectful, strengthsbased, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed services to families with newborns, infants, toddlers, young children, parents, and caregivers.
• Support the consistent implementation of early childhood and family-engagement activities, including parent-child playgroups, family outreach, Welcome Baby services, developmental screening, referrals, family support, parenting education, family events, and other site-based activities.
• Collaborate with the ParentChild+ Manager to ensure families who may benefit from ParentChild+ receive timely information, referrals, and smooth connections to the program.
• Collaborate with the Citywide BFEN Manager and coalition managers to connect families with relevant resources, family-leadership opportunities, community events, and partner services.
• Support Site Coordinators in providing information, referrals, and warm connections to FNC programs and community resources, including health care, Early Intervention, early education and care, food access, housing, behavioral health, child care, parenting supports, and other family services.
• Strengthen site-level protocols for family needs assessments, referral tracking, follow-up, documentation, and coordinated support.
• Create opportunities for family voice, feedback, leadership, and participation in program planning and continuous improvement.

Developmental Screening and Referral Coordination

• Provide oversight and quality assurance for Ages & Stages Questionnaires® processes, including ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 screening, scoring, family communication, documentation, referrals, and follow-up.
• Ensure Site Coordinators and relevant staff understand and use developmental-screening protocols, consent practices, confidentiality expectations, documentation requirements, and referral procedures.
• Support staff in discussing developmental screenings with parents and caregivers using clear, strengths-based, culturally responsive language.
• Monitor screening-completion rates, referral patterns, family follow-through, and outcomes to identify service gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Coordinate with the ParentChild+ Manager, Citywide BFEN Manager, coalition managers, FNC staff, Early Intervention, pediatric providers, early education and care programs, behavioral health providers, Family Resource Centers, and other community partners to strengthen referral pathways.
• Support timely follow-through on referrals, with appropriate family consent, and ensure families receive clear information about available services.
• Ensure Site Coordinators receive appropriate training and support related to infant and toddler development, developmental milestones, social-emotional development, screening tools, referral practices, and family engagement.

Parent-Child Playgroups and Early Learning Experiences

• Ensure consistent implementation of welcoming, safe, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate parent-child playgroups across FNC sites.
• Supervise and support Site Coordinators in planning playgroup schedules, lesson plans, activity calendars, materials, parent-engagement activities, and special events.
• Monitor playgroup quality to ensure activities promote positive parent-child relationships, child development, early literacy, language development, social-emotional learning, movement, sensory exploration, and family connection.
• Support staff in modeling responsive caregiving, positive discipline, child-led play, language-rich interactions, emotional regulation, and parent-child bonding.
• Ensure families receive practical child-development information, parenting resources, and opportunities to connect with one another.
• Coordinate with peer managers, FNC staff, and community partners to offer workshops, guest speakers, family events, early childhood activities, and other engagement opportunities.
• Support the purchasing, organization, maintenance, and appropriate use of playgroup materials, supplies, activity resources, and family engagement materials.

Site Coordinator Supervision and Development

• Provide regular individual supervision, coaching, feedback, and performance management to Site Coordinators in Chelsea, Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Allston-Brighton.
• Establish clear work plans, site priorities, expectations, schedules, communication routines, and accountability practices for direct reports.
• Support Site Coordinators in planning and managing site calendars, staffing coverage, outreach, family activities, referrals, documentation, supplies, and day-to-day operations.
• Facilitate regular Site Coordinator meetings, cross-site planning meetings, case consultation, and program planning meetings.
• Identify professional development needs and coordinate training, mentoring, peer learning, and coaching opportunities.
• Support recruitment, hiring, onboarding, retention, and staff-transition planning for Site Coordinator positions and other assigned staff.
• Foster a respectful, inclusive, collaborative, and mission-driven culture that values staff experience, parent leadership, cultural knowledge, and community connection.
• Promote leadership development by identifying opportunities for Site Coordinators to take on new responsibilities, cross-train, and build skills in program coordination, family engagement, and community partnership.

Data, Reporting, and Continuous Improvement

• In partnership with the Impact & Evaluation Specialist, ensure timely and accurate collection of data related to enrollment, attendance, outreach, developmental screenings, referrals, family engagement, playgroups, family events, program participation, and outcomes.
• Ensure Site Coordinators enter data accurately and consistently into FNC’s required systems, including databases, attendance tools, spreadsheets, and grant-reporting platforms.
• Review site and program data regularly with Site Coordinators and peer managers to monitor performance, identify trends, address data-quality concerns, and develop action plans.
• Participate in FNC quarterly data-review meetings and ensure Site Coordinators prepare relevant information, context, results, challenges, and proposed improvement steps.
• Use family feedback, staff observation, community input, participation data, and outcome measures to strengthen site programming and family experience.
• Support continuous-quality-improvement activities, including the development, implementation, and monitoring of site or program improvement plans.
• Prepare or contribute to internal reports, program updates, funder reports, dashboards, performance reports, and other documentation as requested.
• Ensure appropriate confidentiality, data security, informed consent, and documentation practices across all sites and assigned programs.

Site Operations and Collaboration

• Support effective daily operations at the Chelsea, Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Allston- Brighton sites.
• Work with Site Coordinators to oversee family-facing spaces, schedules, staffing coverage, program logistics, site supplies, safety practices, and local outreach.
• Collaborate with FNC operations, finance, facilities, human resources, communications, development, evaluation, and administrative staff to address site and program needs.
• Ensure Site Coordinators comply with FNC policies related to confidentiality, mandated reporting, incident reporting, health and safety, family privacy, and professional conduct.
• Represent FNC professionally at community meetings, partner meetings, public events, trainings, coalition activities, and other community-based initiatives.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with schools, early childhood programs, health-care providers, Family Resource Centers, Early Intervention providers, public agencies, neighborhood coalitions, and community organizations.

Budget and Resource Coordination

• Support the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs in monitoring spending, supply needs, staffing allocations, and budget performance for assigned sites and programs.
• Review site and program expenditures to ensure spending aligns with approved budgets, funder requirements, and FNC policies.
• Support Site Coordinators in planning and purchasing supplies, materials, food, transportation, activities, and family engagement resources.
• Identify anticipated resource needs, budget pressures, and potential variances; communicate these promptly to the Director.
• Support grant and contract compliance by ensuring expenses, documentation, staffing, and program activities align with approved scopes of work.

Organizational Leadership

• Participate actively in Family & Community Programs leadership meetings and agencywide planning.
• Help translate organizational priorities into clear, achievable actions for Site Coordinators and other assigned staff.
• Support organizational change through transparent communication, staff engagement, coordinated implementation, and thoughtful follow-up.
• Model FNC’s values of equity, inclusion, collaboration, accountability, family-centered practice, and continuous learning.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Senior Director of Family & Community Programs.

Qualifications

Required

• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in early childhood, home visiting, family support, parent education, developmental screening, community engagement, human services, or a related field.
• At least three years of supervisory or management experience leading coordinators, frontline staff, site-based teams, or multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience overseeing or coordinating community-based, family-support, early childhood, home-visiting, parent education, family‑engagement, or multi‑site programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of infant and toddler development, parent‑child relationships, family engagement, positive parenting, developmental screening, community‑resource navigation, and family-centered service delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise, coach, develop, and support Site Coordinators and other frontline staff while maintaining clear expectations, accountability, and a positive team culture.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with peer managers and cross‑functional teams in a shared leadership‑environment … 
• Experience with grant‑funded programs, contract requirements, program documentation, outcome tracking, data collection, and reporting.
• Ability to use program data, family feedback, staff observations, and community input to identify trends, guide decisions, and support continuous program improvement.
• Strong organizational, communication, facilitation, project management, relationship building, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with families, staff, peer managers, partners, and stakeholders from diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity, cultural humility, family leadership, trauma informed care, strengths‑based practice, and community‑centered service delivery.
• Proficiency with electronic documentation, data entry, virtual communication, basic spreadsheet use, and other standard computer applications.
• Ability to travel regularly among FNC sites, family‑serving locations, and community partner sites.
• Ability to work on occasional evenings and weekends.
• Successful completion of required background checks.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, social work, human services, public health, psychology, family studies, education, nonprofit management, or a related field
• Training or experience using Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, including ASQ-3 and/or ASQ:SE-2.
• Experience coordinating or overseeing ParentChild+, Welcome Baby, home visiting, parent education, parent‑child playgroups, Family Resource Center programming, or early childhood family‑engagement services.
• Experience working with families during pregnancy, the postpartum period, and the early childhood years.
• Knowledge of Boston‑area early childhood, health, behavioral health, Early Intervention, public benefits, housing, food‑access, and family‑support systems.
• Experience collaborating with schools, health‑care providers, municipal agencies, early education and care providers, neighborhood coalitions, Family Resource Centers, and community‑based organizations.
• Experience working in a multi‑site nonprofit, community‑based, family‑support, or early childhood organization.
• Bilingual or multilingual ability in a language spoken by FNC families.
• CPR/First Aid certification, or willingness to obtain certification.

Skills and Competencies

• Program management, implementation, and quality oversight.
• Collaborative leadership and cross‑program coordination.
• Peer partnership and shared accountability.
• Site Coordinator supervision, coaching, mentoring, and performance management.
• Early childhood and family‑engagement practice.
• Family-centered engagement and relationship building.
• Developmental screening, referral coordination, and follow‑up.
• Parent education, positive parenting, and parent‑child interaction.
• Playgroup quality, early learning, and family engagement.
• Cross‑site communication, systems building, and operational problem‑solving.
• Data collection, documentation, reporting, and continuous improvement.
• Budget awareness, resource coordination, and grant compliance.
• Partnership development, outreach, and community collaboration.
• Trauma‑informed, strengths‑based, culturally responsive, and equity‑centered practice.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time, exempt, hybrid position with regular onsite presence across all FNC locations. Evening and weekend hours are required on occasion to support programs, trainings, meetings, community events, and other organizational priorities.

Physical and Mental Demands

• Ability to sit, stand, bend, and engage on the floor with infants and toddlers during program observations, playgroups, family events, and site visits.
• Ability to lift, carry, and organize program materials and supplies weighing up to approximately 25 pounds.
• Ability to work in a busy, family-centered environment with children, parents, caregivers, staff, and community partners.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $75,001 - $85,000/year commensurate with experience. Family Nurturing Center offers a competitive benefits package, including comprehensive health benefits, generous paid time off, professional development opportunities, and a collaborative, missiondriven work environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

FNC recognizes the impacts of institutional racism and other structural inequalities. We believe “marginalized” communities are at the center of our organization and work. As such, People of Color, people with lived experience of immigration, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.