Director of Talent Ecosystem Strategy

Organizational Overview: Early Matters San Antonio (EMSA) ensures access to high-quality early learning and development for every family by catalyzing the power of people, partnerships, and investment, to make San Antonio the best place in the country for economic mobility, powered by children and families.

Operating as a collective impact organization, Early Matters San Antonio convenes partners from across the early childhood ecosystem to dramatically increase access and quality for our earliest learners. Inclusive of providers, parents, funders, higher education institutions, nonprofits, school systems, government, and community leaders, the Early Matter Partners align on a common agenda and goals, key indicators, and a coordinated and strategic approach to system improvement laid out in the community-developed strategic plan.

Early Matters San Antonio is a part of Texas A&M San Antonio’s Institute for School and Community Partnerships. It is a model institute partnering with the Texas A&M University San Antonio and area partners. The Institute’s mission is to transform students through innovative practices, research, and policy. The Institute serves as the employer for the Early Matters San Antonio team members.

Position Overview: The Director of Talent Ecosystem Strategy will serve as both a systems-level strategist and a relationship-builder, ensuring that the early childhood education (ECE) workforce infrastructure is aligned, navigable, and scalable, ensuring that the educators working with our youngest learners are top quality, well-trained, build extended careers in the field, and are compensated appropriately. This role will lead and facilitate a strategic initiative to strengthen and sustain the early childhood education workforce pipeline across San Antonio. This includes working with partners to: develop recruitment efforts, build a cohesive educational pathway through articulation agreements and strategic professional development offerings, supporting coaching and retention strategies, and identifying policies that can increase wages. While the breadth of the early childhood ecosystem is the charge, special attention will be given to the highest need areas of infant/toddler educators and training early childhood educators on how to best work with children with special needs.

This role requires systems-level thinking, citywide facilitation, partnership with a wide array of partners, cross-sector collaboration, strong project management skills, and cross-sector collaboration. Deep understanding of the early childhood talent landscape is preferred.

This is a grant funded position with 3 years of funding approved at this time.

Key Responsibilities

1. Talent Ecosystem Strategy

• In line with the community developed Impact Plan, engage local entities to refine and implement a regional early childhood workforce strategy that involves high schools, higher education, community-based organizations, local government entities, professional development providers, and statewide systems.
• Identify key challenges and opportunities in the local early childhood workforce pipeline, including recruitment, career advancement, compensation, and credentialing.
• Facilitate the Professional Pathways Workgroup, aligning strategies, actions, and systems across partners and bringing the Professional Pathways portion of the Impact Plan to fruition.

2. Career Pathway Development

• Develop and maintain a map of professional pathways into ECE, including credentials, certifications (e.g., CDA), degree pipelines, and micro-credentialing opportunities.
• Develop supports for early childhood professionals, helping individuals understand and advance along ECE career paths.
• Ensure that pathways are aligned with TECPDS and other state-recognized tracking systems.

3. Articulation Agreement Leadership

• Lead and manage the creation of at least three articulation agreements between institutions of higher education, certificate awarding organizations, and school districts by the end of Year 1.
• Coordinate conversations and negotiations with higher ed institutions, ensuring alignment with TEA, credentialing systems, and institutional policies.
• Leverage learnings from comparable models (e.g., University of Houston and Dallas College) to build local frameworks that promote stackable credentials and long-term academic progression.

Recruitment & Retention Strategy

• Design and implement a recruitment and retention plan for early childhood professionals, with a specific focus on:
• Working to further leverage and support the Teachers for Tots program.
• Training programs for educators working with children with special needs.
• Analyze causes of workforce turnover and develop strategies to support educator retention, including collaboration with programs offering incentives and bonuses.
• Identify current gaps in recruitment pipelines and partner with high schools (e.g., CAST Teach), community colleges, and career exploration programs (e.g., Café College).
• Use data to monitor recruitment and retention outcomes and adjust strategies accordingly.

4. Community and Organizational Partnerships

• Build and maintain relationships across education, nonprofit, and workforce sectors to identify and promote mutually beneficial collaborative efforts.
• Collaborate with coaches, trainers, and program leaders to align pathway efforts with in-practice support and coaching systems.

5. Data and Technical Infrastructure

• Collect and analyze metrics related to ECE talent pipelines (e.g., number of high schoolers earning CDAs, educator retention rates, source of new entrants).
• Track training completion and professional development data in TECPDS.
• Identify system barriers and co-develop actionable solutions to improve access and career mobility.
• Use data insights to guide continuous improvement and long-term strategy development.

6. Sustainability and Funding

• Identify and pursue funding opportunities (grants, workforce development funds, public allocations) to support credentialing, retention bonuses, and coaching systems.
• Understand and leverage business and policy perspectives to ensure long-term viability of talent development systems.

Qualifications

This is an outstanding opportunity to play a critical role in improving access to high quality early learning and development across San Antonio. In addition to a commitment the purpose of Early Matters San Antonio, the ideal candidate must have:

· Bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree is preferred.

· Experience in talent work, preferably at the system level.

· Strong community engagement and facilitation skills.

· 5-10 years of relevant experience in one of the following areas: talent development/pipelines, collective impact, community/economic development, or education.

· Experience in bridge-building with different groups and stakeholders.

· Experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team and ability to work in a complex environment requiring significant collaboration.

· Strong planning and organizational skills, with the ability to think strategically in the design, integration, and execution of programs.

· Effectiveness in written and oral communication; ability to communicate complex issues to various audiences.

· Familiarity with San Antonio and understanding of the local community.

Preferred Skills

· Experience with collective impact.

· Familiarity with social investments is preferred.

· Skills in facilitation and experience in conflict resolution.

· Experience in a start-up or entrepreneurial environment.

· Deep understanding of the early childhood talent landscape is preferred.

Reporting

The Early Matters Director of Talent Ecosystem Strategy will report to the Early Matters San Antonio Senior Director of Operations and Systems Alignment.

Compensation

Compensation for the role is competitive and commensurate with experience. In addition, the Early Matters Director of Talent Ecosystem Strategy will be provided with a comprehensive benefits package. All grant funded positions are term limited and contingent upon grant funding. This position is located in San Antonio, Texas. In-person work environment will be the norm with occasional remote work allowable.

Application Instructions

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $80,000.00 – $100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Apply through our posting on Indeed.