The Professional Development Network (PDN) of External coaches collaborates and plans with both the State Leadership Team (SLT) and Program Leadership Teams with designated Internal coaches to ensure that fidelity is achieved within the pyramid model framework. A primary responsibility of the External Coach is to train and support the program’s internal coach(es) on the use of practice-based coaching to ensure the high-fidelity use of the evidence-based practices (EBPs). This position is telework eligible within the state of Utah. 

Responsibilities/Scope:

• Collaborate with leadership teams to plan, implement, and evaluate professional development activities
• Establish collaborative coaching partnerships with external and internal coaches
• Collect, enter, and report data on practitioner implementation of practices
• Provide support to the internal coach in conducting, summarizing and interpreting practitioner observations to develop recommendations for practice implementation with coaches
• Collaboratively develop action plan for practice implementation with internal coach
• Observe internal coach(es), use evidence-based coaching strategies, and provide feedback on practice implementation
• Provide internal coaches with resources, materials, tools for assessing the classroom practitioners and/or home visiting practitioners, and recommendations to strengthen the program including implementation of pyramid model practices
• Collect and summarize data on coaching contacts, interaction, and coaching strategies used in the support of coaches
• Interpret practice implementation data and make recommendations to the leadership team on professional development needs and focus areas for individual practitioners and the program
• Train internal coaches and behavioral specialists to build program capacity by establishing and supporting high-fidelity implementation of the pyramid model in implementation and demonstration sites
• Provide ongoing support to program leadership teams by attending meetings and assisting with data use and decision making

External Coach Activities

• Participation in state training and technical assistance events, leadership team training, coach training, data coordinator training, practitioner training
• Review research and training materials related to the selected EBPs
• Provide program coaching to support implementation site leadership teams:
  • Plan, attend, and support monthly SLT meetings
  • Assist implementation site with professional development, practice-based coaching activities, and annual report development
  • Provide assistance to data coordinator in using data systems and preparing data for review by SLT
  • Support SLT in using data for decision-making and reporting evaluation results
• Plan and assist in the development of a professional development plan for state training activities
• Provide train-the-trainer events to build state training capacity
• Provide coach-training events to build practice-based coaching capacity
• Provide data coordinator training to build data-based decision making capacity
• Provide ongoing, scale up and sustainability consultation and guidance to trainers and coaches within the state (some travel required)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor degree in early childhood
• Experience leading or participating in collaborative teams
• Experience providing technical assistance
• Experience as a teacher, service provider, or administrator in early childhood settings
• Experience with observational assessment tools
• Experience with coaching and/or mentoring with adult learners

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in early childhood, early childhood special education or related field; a bachelor's degree with related experience may be considered.
• Five years experience working with infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers and their families
• Training across diverse early childhood settings, e.g., home visiting, Head Start, Child Care, District Preschool
• Practice based coaching experience
• Experience working with children with disabilities
• Experience in providing Professional Development
• Preference will be given to dual language speakers
• Experience working with children and families of diverse cultures

Skills/Competencies:

• Knowledge of early intervention and/or early childhood practices
• Experience in a classroom and/or home visiting practitioner role
• Willingness to be trained in selected Pyramid Model strategies and practices.
• Understanding of adult learning principles and collaborative teaming
• Experience in providing professional development to practitioners
• Experience in providing resources and materials to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in data-based decision making
• Experience with the use of practice observation or assessment tools
• Experience in using distance technology

Along with the online application, please attach:

1. Resume to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV”
2. Pyramid External Coach Application Form will be sent to applicants to complete after application on USU site

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

The Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice (IDRPP) is Utah’s federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). The IDRPP opened its doors in 1972 and was the first UCEDD program in the U.S. to focus on the educational and social needs of children and adults with disabilities. Over the past 50 years the IDRPP has grown into one of the largest UCEDD programs in the nation and is recognized as a pioneer in research, training, technical assistance, and services for children and adults with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who serve them.

The IDRPP is committed to hiring people with disabilities, veterans, and diverse individuals from all communities and backgrounds.  We value visible and invisible differences, and we recognize that diversity makes us stronger.  We welcome applicants who bring something different and unique to our organization.  We value creativity, loyalty, and hard work.  We believe that we can change the world and make it a better, more inclusive place for everyone, and we want to hire people who also believe that they can make a difference.

Mission:

We are working together to create inclusive communities and improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities and their families through sustainable innovation, collaborative research, responsive service, and interdisciplinary training and education.

Values:

We Innovate: We lead by developing dynamic, sustainable, forward-thinking programs and services.

We Include: We demonstrate how to effectively work toward inclusive communities in our planning, programs, and services. We celebrate diversity in ability, race, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, sexual orientation, politics, and religion. 

We Collaborate: We forge partnerships. Working together makes us more effective and responsive to the current needs of our clients and communities.

We Care: We do what we do because we care. We are making the world a better place for people with disabilities and their families.

Funding Statement

The Institute for Disability Research, Policy, & Practice is one of the largest research and outreach centers at USU, and we are largely funded through grants, contracts, and fee-for-service programs. All staff positions at the IDRPP are contingent upon funding, and all senior staff at the IDRPP with graduate degrees are responsible for helping to generate funding to support our operations and growth.

College Highlights

The Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services is home to eight departments and is committed to providing the best learning opportunities and educational research in the state of Utah. Our programs are strengthened by an on-campus elementary laboratory school and five stand-alone centers, including the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence. The college offers clinical services to the community across the human lifespan and provides students with real-world service and research opportunities.

Utah State University (USU) was founded in 1888 and is Utah’s land-grant and space-grant university. USU is one of only 146 research institutions in the U.S. classified as R1 “very high research activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. As one of the two premier research institutions in Utah, USU provides a high-quality education at an affordable price. With its main campus in Logan, the university serves approximately 27,500 students, including 24,255 undergraduates and 3,171 graduate students. USU Online has served students from all 50 states and 55 countries for 25 years.

USU’s statewide system features three residential campuses, 30 total campus locations, and 23 Extension education centers. The university employs 903 full-time faculty members, 124 executive administrators, and 1,649 full-time support staff. USU offers 115 undergraduate majors, as well as 91 master’s and 42 doctoral degrees. Learn more about USU.

A core characteristic of USU is engagement with communities and people in economic development, improvements to quality of life, and human capital. Through the practical application of knowledge, the University and its faculty engage and share expertise with the state, nation, and world, preserving the historical land-grant tradition of partnering with communities to address critical societal issues in the interest of the public good.

The USU main campus is located in beautiful Logan, Utah, a city of about 50,000 situated in a picturesque mountain valley about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City. Outstanding recreational opportunities abound in the nearby mountains and proximate region.

USU is sensitive to the needs of dual career couples and provides a Dual Career Assistance program to support careers for partners who are also seeking employment.

USU endeavors to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access in all aspects of employment to qualified persons with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact the university’s ADA Coordinator in the Human Resource office at 435-797-0122 or submit a request at hr@usu.edu.

USU Land Acknowledgment

Please visit our website to learn about Utah State’s land acknowledgment of the eight tribes of Utah.

Notice of Non-discrimination

In its programs and activities, including in admissions and employment, Utah State University does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy, Title IX, or any other federal, state, or local law.

The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations and/or USU’s non-discrimination policies:

Executive Director of the Office of Equity Matthew Pinner, discrimination@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 401, 435-797-1266

Title IX Coordinator Matthew Pinner, titleix@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 404, 435-797-1266

Mailing address: 5100 Old Main Hill, Logan, Ut 84322

For further information regarding non-discrimination, please visit https://equity.usu.edu/, or contact:

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 800-421-3481, OCR@ed.gov

U.S. Department of Education, Denver Regional Office, 303-844-5695, OCR.Denver@ed.gov

*updated 11/2022