Health Professional Development Specialist, National Center on Head Start Early

ICF is actively searching for a highly qualified early childhood health professional to fill the role of Health Professional Development (PD) Specialist within the National Center on Head Start Early Learning, Health, and Family Engagement (ELHFE). The Health PD Specialist will play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based professional development to Office of Head Start (OHS) Regional Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Specialists as well as Head Start and Early Head Start (HS/EHS) program staff. This position is responsible for ensuring that all training initiatives support the comprehensive implementation of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), OHS priorities, and align with comprehensive health services, including health, behavioral health, mental health, nutrition, oral health, safety, trauma, and wellness.

The ideal Health PD Specialist is a dynamic educator and trainer with a passion for advancing child and family well-being. They possess deep expertise in Head Start standards and adult learning principles, coupled with a proven track record of facilitating engaging, comprehensive, and culturally responsive professional development. The candidate is adept at working independently in a remote environment, thrives in collaborative settings, and is committed to ongoing professional growth and program excellence.

The Health PD Specialist reports directly to the Health PD Lead. This role collaborates extensively with PD teams across Early Learning and Family Engagement, supporting integrated and consistent messaging throughout the TTA system.

This is a home-based position, requiring up to 50% travel for center events, partner meetings, conferences, and other relevant activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitate Professional Development: Develop and deliver developmentally appropriate professional development opportunities (both in-person and virtual) for Head Start programs and TTA staff, ensuring that content integrates trauma-informed and adversity-responsive practices, and aligns with current best practices and compliance standards.
• Deliver Professional Development to Support Recipients in Providing High-Quality Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety Services: Key focus areas include:
• Child and adult mental health promotion
• Behavioral health supports
• Safety practices and injury prevention
• Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery
• Oral health and nutrition
• Developmental and sensory screening
• Staff wellness
• Evidence-Based Training: Provide engaging, research-driven, and culturally responsive training to a variety of HS/EHS stakeholders, including health managers, mental health consultants, home visitors, disability coordinators, and family service teams.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders to foster comprehensive health services and support effective program implementation.
• Adult Learning: Apply principles of adult learning theory to create impactful training sessions and professional development experiences that build staff capacity.
• Continuous Improvement: Monitor, assess, and evaluate the effectiveness of professional development initiatives, utilizing data-driven insights and participant feedback to drive improvements.
• Resource Review: Participate in field testing, content review, and the revision of professional development materials to ensure quality and relevance.
• Maintain Expertise: Stay current with emerging research in health, behavioral health, mental health, nutrition, oral health, safety, trauma, wellness, Head Start regulations, and best practices in adult education.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, nursing, behavioral health, social work, health education, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience delivering professional development and training and technical assistance in the health-related services field and Head Start programs.
• Strong knowledge of HSPPS, health requirements, and comprehensive services.
• 1+ years of experience supporting a variety of cultural and linguistic communities.
• 1+ years of experience training a variety of audiences in virtual and in-person environments.
• 1+ years of experience with adult learning theory, with a track record of successful application.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public health, nursing, behavioral health, social work, health education, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience working with the Head Start TTA system.
• Experience with trauma-informed practice, behavioral health promotion, or emergency preparedness.
• Experiencing supporting AIAN or MSHS programs.
• Fluently bilingual (Spanish).