Best Starts is hiring a Sustain the Gain (5-24) Policy and Program Manager IV 

The application deadline is July 6, 2024 at 11:59 pm Pacific.  

We are seeking a Sustain the Gain (5-24) Policy & Program Manager IV to provide high-level project management to Best Starts for Kids implementation activities with an emphasis on developing strong partnerships with other County departments and community stakeholders to create opportunities for collaboration and alignment. This position will also conduct policy analysis and develop recommendations on policies impacting children and youth in King County, with an emphasis on young people ages 5 to 24 years old.  

Job Duties 

• Serve as Policy and Program Lead for Best Starts 5-24 Strategies: Youth Development, Positive Family Connections, Liberation and Healing from Systemic Racism, Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline, School-Based Screening and Brief Intervention for Referral to Treatment/Services, Expanded Learning, School-Based Health Centers, Healthy and Safe Environments, Child and Adolescent Immunizations, and Transitions to Adulthood. This includes RFP development and execution, budgetary, contract monitoring, problem-solving, and responding to public records requests. 
• Frame budgetary, statutory, and operating conditions for Sustain the Gain (5-24) program strategies. 
• Work closely with the Invest Early (Prenatal to 5) Policy and Program Manager, Best Starts Implementation Manager and Co-Leads to assure processes, policies and strategy implementation alignment across all domains. 
• Interact closely with staff within DCHS, PHSKC and other departments to support effective policy execution and communications on issues related to Best Starts, with an emphasis on investments for 5 to 24-year-old young people. 
• Provide leadership for the 5-24 program strategy area managers: convening regular team meetings, assuring program strategy area managers have the tools and training they need to implement their strategies, developing and maintaining consistent internal and external messaging, and assuring alignment across the 5-24 strategies. 
• Create opportunities for families and youth to participate in planning and engagement activities for Best Starts. 
• Monitor and research local and national trends to ensure currency of knowledge, and that policy development, service delivery design and initiatives impacting King County’s Best Starts Sustain the Gain investments are responsive to and reflective of current practices and contextual factors. Work with internal and external topic area leads and partners, assuring that implications to King County are analyzed and understood. 
• Work collaboratively with internal and external evaluation projects including but not limited to the school partnership evaluation (including partnering with the evaluation team to develop tools as needed). 
• Supervise the work of multiple professional staff, including quality assurance, hiring, recommending effective discipline or termination and developing training expectations. 
• Participate in interagency as well at local/state committees and task forces and to the public, providing information regarding Best Starts. Establish and maintain relationships with partners in key community agencies to promote Best Starts goals and objectives. 
• Convene and/or participate in planning and community stakeholder engagement activities related to advancing Best Starts in King County. 
• Create an environment that fosters open communication, teamwork, commitment to quality service, and a culture of learning and continuous improvement. 
• Perform other related duties as assigned. 

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills 

• Deep knowledge and understanding of Best Starts for Kids Sustain the Gain strategy investments for young people ages 5 to 24 years old. 
• Experience with policy development and execution related to implementation of large initiatives such as Best Starts, identifying intersecting issues, conflicts or complex programs, and opportunities for collaboration across County departments and with external partners. 
• At least two (2) years of experience in cross departmental program and policy management with government agency. 
• At least three (3) years of experience leading Request for Proposal development, launching and implementation with program managers and community partners for multiple youth-related strategies. 
• Strong background providing functional leadership to staff and community partners representing a broad range of programming for children, youth, and young adults. 
• Deep knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices, and understanding of the effects of place, race and policy & systems-based inequities on marginalized communities, especially young people. 
• Recent experience working with youth development sector in King County and Washington State. 
• Knowledge of County and State functions, organization, and structure, including legislative and budget processes related to local government. 
• Skill in negotiation, problem solving and conflict resolution, customer service and interpersonal relationships and the ability to handle multiple competing priorities and sensitive situations. 
• Ability to work with a variety of individuals from diverse backgrounds and build consensus among a diverse group of individuals with varying opinions. 
• Knowledge of project and resource management techniques and principles, analysis, planning and organization. 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including presentation and facilitation. 

Learn more and apply here! 

Best Starts for Kids 

Building on the deep knowledge, connections, and skills within King County communities, and backed by what science and research tells us about human development, the Best Starts for Kids King County initiative meets children and families with the right services at the right time. The first Best Starts for Kids levy, approved by King County voters in 2015, reached 490,000 of King County’s youngest children and their families and 40,000 youth and young adults, catalyzing strong starts in a child’s earliest years, and sustaining those gains through to adulthood. In August 2021, King County voters chose to renew the levy with over 62% approval for another six years. The plan for Best Starts for Kids 2.0 will maintain current Best Starts for Kids investments in promotion, prevention, and early intervention, while deepening our investments to address critical needs in our community. View the Best Starts for Kids Implementation Plan: 2022 – 2027.