Chief of Early Learning - (Program Manager III) - 61110039
First Steps · Richland County, SC · South Carolina
- Role
- Program manager
- First seen
- Jul 9, 2026
- Closes
- Not listed
- Salary
- Full-Time - $92,300.00 - $175,400.00 Annually
Apply on the South Carolina portal
Applications go through the state’s official system — CivicWorks only tracks the posting.
Summary
The Chief of Early Learning (Program Manager III) leads strategy, performance, and accountability for South Carolina's publicly funded four-year-old classrooms, focusing on improving measurable school readiness outcomes through data-driven decision-making and continuous quality improvement. This position reports to the Agency Director, supervises programmatic and administrative staff, and ensures high-level collaboration between SC First Steps and the SC Department of Education. The role manages budget development, provider performance, workforce development, and statewide continuous quality improvement frameworks while translating complex data and research into actionable policy recommendations.
Key qualifications
- Master's degree in early childhood education, public health, public administration, business education, or related field
- Knowledge of early childhood legislation, CLASS assessment, and Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA)
- Advanced proficiency in budget development and data analysis tools (Excel, Power BI) for performance monitoring
- Minimum 5 years of leadership experience in education with demonstrated system-level change through data-driven decision-making
- Proven ability to manage and braid public and private funding
- Advanced written and oral communication skills with diverse stakeholder groups
Summarized by CivicWorks from the state’s posting — check the official listing for full details.
Tracked by CivicWorks from South Carolina’s public career portal. Posting data refreshes daily; this page disappears when the posting closes.