Job Description 

Position Title: Innovation Associate
Location: Remote work based in Michigan with occasional travel within the state
Schedule: Monday through Friday 

Salary Range: $60,670 - $67,411
Class: Non-Exempt 

Position Summary: 

Are you passionate about creating positive change for young children and families? As an Innovation Associate working with Michigan’s Regional Child Care Coalitions, you will play a vital role in supporting an innovative project which is designed to build childcare supply through collaborative partnerships with economic development organizations. In this position, you’ll work with economic development organizations, early childhood organizations, municipal leaders, parent leaders, and child care employers to provide consultation and resources that help them bring their innovative child care solutions to life. You will serve as a first point of contact for grantees, assuring they have the information, resources and capacity needed to effectively implement their regional childcare action plans. Whether it’s designing and facilitating training and technical assistance opportunities, coordinating resources, or collaborating with diverse stakeholders, you’ll be at the heart of meaningful change in Michigan’s childcare infrastructure.  

Responsibilities include: 

• Supporting economic development and early childhood organizations to design, implement and scale innovative solutions 
• Designing and facilitating individual and group capacity-building opportunities for the Regional Child Care Coalition grantees. 
• Preparing reports that document impact and support increased investment in childcare innovation.  
• Coordinating with internal and external capacity-building partners to advance the goals of grantees. 

 Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Relationship management: Cultivate and manage new and existing relationships with  partners at the national, state, regional and local levels of the early childhood system. 
• Support data collection, research activities, and development of high-quality reports, policy analysis, issue briefs, explanations, and presentations. 
• Plan, coordinate, and provide all forms of capacity building for grantees. 
• Develop and implement work plans for projects, track and review grantee deliverables, and create written materials necessary to support effective implementation by grantees. 
• Provide ongoing communications and coordination with capacity building partners and contractors. 
• Assist with the coordination and implementation of internal and external continuous improvement and evaluation activities. 

Requirements, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent experience 
• Business degree or a community business development degree/ experience, urban development or community economic development background preferred.  
• Three (3) years of related experience 
• Proficiency in assessing capacity needs, engaging stakeholders for capacity development, and identifying strengths. 
• Skilled in formulating, implementing, and evaluating capacity development strategies and responses. 
• Expertise in designing and executing data collection methods, including surveys, interviews, and observations, to gather qualitative and quantitative information. 
• Exceptional Service: Consistently provide outstanding service to internal and external stakeholders by understanding their needs and solving problems effectively.  
• Clear Communicator: Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and professionally both verbally and in writing. 
• Attention to Detail: Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail while managing multiple tasks, projects, and timelines. 
• Creative and Resourceful Problem Solver: Ability to use data and analytical skills to proactively identify opportunities, set priorities, and solve problems. 
• Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills. 
• Cultural Competency & Inclusive Collaboration: Ability to partner with racially and ethnically diverse colleagues and community members. 
• Remote Work Proficient: Proficient in remote technologies including conference calls, online meetings, and webinars. This includes supporting dispersed teams and maintaining a remote workspace to ensure productivity and collaboration. 
• Proficient in communication and data collection tools such as Constant Contact and Survey Monkey. 
• Software Proficiency: Proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe and web-based applications. 
• Decision Making: Ability to work independently and make decisions aligned with general program goals, objectives, and policies.  

Physical Requirements: 

• Talking - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to others accurately. (4-5 hours daily) 
• Hearing - Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations sound. (4-5 hours daily) 
• Walking - Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. (1-2 hours daily) 
• Standing – In one position, particularly for sustained periods of time. (1-2 hours daily) 
• Visual Acuity – Viewing objects with close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. (5-6 hours daily) 
• Office Setting - Sedentary work in which exerting up to 10 pounds of force is occasional and a negligible amount of force is frequently or constantly used to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. 

Work Location  

Remote work based in Michigan with occasional travel within the state or to other geographical areas for projects, ECIC meetings and to meet the needs of the organization.  

Early Childhood Investment Corporation provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment.