Managing Consultant, Early Childhood Programs Leader

Mathematica; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Mathematica is seeking a Managing Consultant to lead and support federal early childhood and human services projects in the United States, focusing on Head Start and related initiatives. You will oversee teams, manage complex tasks, and develop data-informed solutions for clients.

This role emphasizes strong client engagement, program monitoring, and continuous improvement through change management and human-centered design, with opportunities to mentor staff and contribute to high-impact policy

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• At least 6 years of progressive experience in early childhood programs, preferably Head Start.
• Experience with federal discretionary grants management and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to lead activities, manage multidisciplinary teams through project lifecycles.
• Ability to aggregate, analyze, synthesize, and present data from multiple sources.
• Experience designing and facilitating change management and human-centered design.
• Experience using a variety of web-based data management software packages.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with federal, state, and other clients and partners and works with them to identify needs, develop solutions, and strengthen program capacity.
• Collaborates with clients to develop and implement program improvement strategies and technical assistance plans based on data, evidence, and subject matter expertise.
• Leads and coordinates multidisciplinary teams to implement, monitor, and advise on federal and state policies and programs, including early childhood initiatives such as Head Start and Early Head Start.
• Supports federal discretionary grants management, program and financial management, regulatory compliance monitoring and oversight, and related technical assistance activities.
• Aggregates, analyzes, and presents information from multiple sources to assess program performance, identify trends and challenges, and develop actionable recommendations for clients and stakeholders.
• Applies change management, continuous improvement, participatory, and human-centered design approaches to develop solutions that address client and program needs.
• Plans and facilitates webinars, meetings, trainings, and small-group discussions with government clients, program staff, and other partners.
• Authors and reviews high-quality technical assistance and client-facing products, including memoranda, standard operating procedures, data dictionaries, implementation guides, presentations, and other materials.
• Uses web-based and other data management and project management tools to support project implementation, monitoring, analysis, and reporting.
• Supervises and mentors staff, delegates and reviews work, and supports the professional development of team members.
• Performs additional duties as assigned.

Skills

Project management

Team leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Policy analysis

Strategic thinking

Communication

Change management

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Master’s degree in early childhood education, human services, public administration, or related field

PMP certification encouraged

Job description

Mathematica is seeking a Managing Consultant to lead and support federal early childhood and human services projects in the United States, focusing on Head Start and related initiatives. You will oversee teams, manage complex tasks, and develop data-informed solutions for clients.

This role emphasizes strong client engagement, program monitoring, and continuous improvement through change management and human-centered design, with opportunities to mentor staff and contribute to high-impact policy