Director of Operating Grants Program

The Opportunity

Reporting to the VP of New Ventures, the Operating Grants Program Director will provide strategic and operational leadership for a major component of Hively’s administration of the Measure C Subsidized Child Care and Minimum Wage Floor Administrator program, overseen by First 5 Alameda County. The Operating Grants program (one arm of the initiative) is designed to help stabilize child care providers and support a more fairly compensated workforce through wage enhancements. This program is anticipated to have an annual budget of $50 million, and support more than 900 child care provider sites across Alameda County. As a core leader of this new initiative, the Operating Grants Program Director will be accountable for spearheading the launch of this initiative, which will include an intensive ramp-up period for 6+ months, as the team grows and early pilots are conducted. In addition, the Director will be responsible for the continuous improvement of the program as it grows over time. This includes overseeing child care provider engagement, the application and eligibility processes, grant calculations, contracting, payment administration, compliance, technology and data systems, appeals, reporting and coordination with a diverse group of interest groups. 

The ideal candidate is an experienced public-program leader who can operationalize complex policy into clear, equitable, and workable systems. They are equally comfortable working at the strategic level with public sector and community partners and in the operational details required to administer a high-volume, high-accountability funding program.

What you will do:

Program Leadership and Strategy

• Lead the implementation, scaling and refinement of the Operating Grants program, serving an estimated 225 center sites (~1,900 teaching staff) and 700 Family Child Care (FCC) owners (~400 assistants) across Alameda County.

• Translate contractual and implementation requirements and guidance from First 5 Alameda County into clear program policies, workflows and standard operating procedures.

• Establish clear decision-making, escalation, and accountability structures for the Operating Grants program.

• Lead and develop a team of program staff, fostering high performance, accountability, and professional growth while overseeing priorities and resolving complex operational issues.

• Oversee the full grant lifecycle, including provider outreach and application, eligibility determination, grant calculation, contracting, payment, compliance monitoring, appeals, renewal, and closeout.

• Support the design of an accessible, equitable, and low-barrier provider experience that accommodates differences in language, abilities, technology access, and digital literacy.

• Support the development and management of subcontracts with Alternative Payment (AP) agencies and technology partner(s).

• Identify and oversee the long-term implementation of complementary training and technical assistance offered to providers, in support of the program.

Financial Oversight and Compliance

• Partner with Finance, Compliance, and program leadership to establish strong fiscal controls, accurate payment processes and audit-ready documentation.

• Oversee complex grant calculations, including wage enhancement differentials designed to support the applicable wage floor, wage compression/compaction adjustments, and allowable operational costs.

• Oversee budget tracking, forecasting, reconciliation, and expenditure monitoring for Operating Grants funds.

• Ensure compliance with applicable First 5 requirements, Hively policies and procedures and contractual obligations.

• Track grant disbursements alongside Program Area 1 (Contracted Slots) to ensure total implementation fits overall budget thresholds

Data, Technology & Reporting

• Partner with internal teams and an external technology partner to establish secure, reliable, and timely data flows supporting eligibility, grant calculations, payments, compliance, and reporting.

• Report against a First 5-provided Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework to assess program performance and inform continuous improvement.

• Analyze and report program outcomes across relevant dimensions, including geography, provider type, language, and other appropriate demographic or equity indicators.

Communications, Partnerships and Community Engagement

• Support program communications, in collaboration with Hively’s Marketing, Communications and Development team and in accordance with First 5 communications guidance.

• Build strong working relationships with community-based organizations, child care providers, government partners, and other interest groups.

• Represent Hively in workgroups, planning sessions, provider meetings and convenings, public forums, and other external settings.

• Develop strategies for obtaining provider and community feedback, and incorporating meaningful insights into program design and continuous improvement.

What you should bring:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business, Social Services, or related field (Master’s preferred).

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience managing complex public-sector, nonprofit, grantmaking, subsidy, or benefits programs.

• Experience leading and developing large, diverse teams while fostering an inclusive and high-performing environment.

• Demonstrated experience designing, administering and overseeing large-scale funding, grant, wage enhancement, subsidy, or public-benefit programs with significant financial and compliance requirements.

• Strong understanding of program operations, financial controls, compliance, risk management, and audit processes.

• Experience translating complex policies, regulations, or funding requirements into practical operational systems and procedures.

• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, dependencies, and competing stakeholder needs.

• Demonstrated commitment to equity-centered program design, including experience developing accessible, service-delivery processes for diverse, multilingual, and historically under-resourced communities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to exercise sound judgment, navigate ambiguity, identify risks, and make timely decisions in a complex and evolving program environment

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Experience providing strategic leadership, aligning teams with organizational goals, and leading change. 

• Flexible, curious, and entrepreneurial mindset

• Experience administering or implementing technology platforms used for grants, benefits, case management, eligibility determination, or other public programs.

• Knowledge of Alameda County’s early care and education ecosystem, First 5 Alameda County, and key systems and partners.

• Experience administering programs involving wage enhancements, wage floors, wage compression/compaction, payroll structures, or workforce compensation.

• Experience working with multilingual communities and designing culturally responsive provider engagement strategies.

• Experience administering publicly funded programs subject to rigorous audit, documentation, privacy, and reporting requirements.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit at a desk, conference table or in meeting rooms of various configurations for extended amounts of time

• Ability to stand for extended amounts of time

• Manual dexterity to use a telephone and computer

• Facility to hear and understand speech at normal room levels, and to hear and understand speech on the telephone

• Facility to speak in audible tones so that others may understand clearly in normal conversations and over the telephone 

• Physical agility to lift and carry up to 20 pounds and to bend, stoop, walk and reach overhead

• Physical agility to push/pull, squat, twist and turn

• Mental acuity to perform the essential functions of this position in an accurate and timely fashion; to make good judgments and decisions; and to evaluate the results of decisions and judgments