Lead Expert - Early Childhood Education

The Lead Expert – Child Journey provides senior technical and strategic advice to the Director of the Child Journey Department while managing and taking full ownership of assigned projects, initiatives, programs, and special assignments. The role combines subject-matter expertise with hands-on management responsibility. It is accountable for developing recommendations, translating them into practical implementation plans, coordinating stakeholders, managing delivery, resolving challenges, monitoring performance, and ensuring that approved initiatives achieve their intended outcomes.

The Lead Expert works across the following sections:

• Registration and Child Affairs
• Special Education Services
• Care and Protection Support Services
• Family Support Services
• Community Impact and Support

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Advise the Department Director on early childhood education, child development, wellbeing, safeguarding, inclusion, family engagement, registration, health, nutrition, and community support.
• Manage assigned projects, programs, initiatives, and special assignments from concept development through implementation, evaluation, and completion.
• Take full ownership and accountability for project scope, deliverables, timelines, quality, risks, resources, documentation, and outcomes.
• Translate strategic priorities, research findings, and expert recommendations into practical policies, programs, frameworks, and implementation plans.
• Support the Department Director in managing departmental priorities, annual plans, operational requirements, and high-priority assignments.
• Coordinate projects and activities across the Department’s five sections and other relevant organizational units.
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams, working groups, specialists, consultants, service providers, and external partners.
• Develop project plans, implementation schedules, action trackers, performance indicators, risk registers, and progress reports.
• Monitor delivery, identify delays or risks, implement corrective actions, and escalate significant matters with practical recommendations.
• Review proposals, policies, plans, programs, and reports and provide evidence-based technical and managerial advice.
• Lead or support the development and implementation of policies, standards, procedures, operational frameworks, guidelines, and service models.
• Conduct research, benchmarking, and analysis of local, regional, and international early childhood practices.
• Advise on child-centred, play-based, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate approaches for children from birth to four years.
• Support initiatives relating to early learning, developmental screening, early intervention, school readiness, child transitions, and talent development.
• Advise on services for children of determination, children with developmental delays, and children with learning, behavioural, or communication needs.
• Promote the integration of child safeguarding, health, nutrition, physical activity, emotional wellbeing, and family support within the child journey.
• Ensure that approved recommendations, decisions, and projects are implemented, monitored, evaluated, and formally completed.
• Prepare executive reports, briefing papers, presentations, policy papers, recommendations, and decision-support documents.
• Represent the Department in meetings, committees, workshops, consultations, and project groups when delegated by the Department Director.
• Perform other related duties, projects, and assignments as directed by the Department Director or senior management.

Core Competencies:

• Strategic and technical advisory capability.
• Project and program management.
• Ownership and accountability.
• Early childhood education expertise.
• Leadership and professional influence.
• Strategic and analytical thinking.
• Results and delivery orientation.
• Planning and prioritization.
• Problem-solving and sound judgement.
• Stakeholder and relationship management.
• Collaboration and multidisciplinary working.
• Adaptability and resilience.
• Professional integrity and confidentiality.
• Commitment to child safety, inclusion, wellbeing, and service excellence.

Qualification:

• Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Development, Education, Child Development, Psychology, Special Education, Social Work, Educational Leadership, Public Policy, Public Administration, Project Management, or another relevant discipline.
• A doctoral degree in a relevant field would be an advantage.
• Professional certification or advanced training in early childhood education, child safeguarding, inclusive education, early intervention, developmental assessment, quality management, educational leadership, or monitoring and evaluation would be an advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in a senior expert, advisory, project-management, program-management, policy-development, or leadership role.
• Experience in early childhood education, child development, nursery services, child wellbeing, inclusive education, family support, child protection, social services, or a related field.
• Experience developing and implementing early childhood policies, programs, frameworks, standards, or service-improvement initiatives.
• Experience preparing executive reports, policy papers, presentations, and evidence-based recommendations.
• UAE or GCC government-sector experience is preferred.
• Experience within a nursery, early childhood, education, or child-services organization is highly desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Full professional proficiency in English is required.
• Professional proficiency in Arabic is strongly preferred.
• Bilingual Arabic–English candidates with strong verbal, written, presentation, and report-writing capabilities will be given preference.