Associate Executive Director SEIT / Pendency Programs

Job Overview

The Associate Executive Director, SEIT / Pendency Programs is the senior second-in-command to the Executive Director and is responsible for translating executive strategy into disciplined day-to-day execution. The role owns operational performance across intake, service activation, provider deployment, documentation discipline, family and stakeholder responsiveness, quality assurance, and internal management routines. The Associate Executive Director must be able to operate independently, make sound decisions within delegated authority, and assume leadership of the division when the Executive Director is unavailable.

Responsibilities

1. Executive Partnership and Delegated Leadership

· Serve as the Executive Director's principal operating partner and second-in-command for the SEIT / pendency division.

· Translate strategic priorities into weekly and monthly operating plans, owners, milestones, and measurable outcomes.

· Lead divisional operations during the Executive Director's absence and ensure uninterrupted decision-making and stakeholder responsiveness.

· Prepare decision briefs, operating updates, risk summaries, and recommendations for the Executive Director and senior leadership.

· Ensure priorities are cascaded clearly across managers, coordinators, providers, compliance, credentialing, billing, and support functions.

· Maintain an effective escalation framework so issues are resolved at the lowest appropriate level and material risks reach the Executive Director promptly.

2. SEIT / Pendency Program Operations

· Own day-to-day execution from referral receipt and intake through documentation collection, case acceptance, provider matching, service activation, ongoing coordination, and service continuity.

· Standardize operating procedures for intake, scheduling, case assignment, provider communication, follow-up, and exception management.

· Monitor active cases, pending cases, unfilled mandates, provider availability, geographic coverage, service start dates, and aging queues.

· Run daily / weekly operating reviews to identify bottlenecks and ensure timely intervention.

· Coordinate with program leaders to ensure caseloads, staffing, service intensity, and supervision structures remain appropriate as volume grows.

· Develop contingency plans for provider absences, service interruptions, urgent placements, and high-risk cases.

3. DOE / CPSE / CSE / IEP / Pendency Execution

· Apply strong practical knowledge of NYC DOE-facing workflows, CPSE / CSE processes, IEP implementation, mandated services, school coordination, and documentation expectations.

· Ensure operational teams understand case-specific service requirements and translate those requirements into accurate provider assignments and service plans.

· Oversee service continuity and case-transition execution for pendency matters, including coordination with families, attorneys, schools, and providers.

· Identify documentation gaps, authorization issues, scheduling barriers, or provider shortages that could delay mandated service delivery.

· Escalate matters with legal, regulatory, reputational, or significant financial implications to the Executive Director while driving the operational work needed to resolve them.

4. Compliance, Documentation, and Quality Assurance

· Execute the compliance and quality framework established by the Executive Director and organizational leadership.

· Ensure files are complete, accurate, timely, and audit-ready across intake, authorizations, provider credentials, service records, supervision documentation, progress reporting, and billing support.

· Establish recurring file-review, QA sampling, corrective-action, and follow-up routines.

· Track documentation aging and exceptions; assign ownership and deadlines for remediation.

· Partner with compliance, credentialing, finance, and billing teams to ensure service delivery is supported by complete and defensible documentation.

· Surface systemic compliance patterns, root causes, and remediation recommendations to the Executive Director.

· Help prepare the division for internal reviews, payer / agency requests, due-diligence activities, and external audits.

5. Provider Recruitment, Onboarding, Deployment, and Performance

· Manage the operating execution of the provider strategy, including recruiting pipeline visibility, screening coordination, credential completion, onboarding readiness, assignment, and retention.

· Ensure provider assignments reflect credentials, student needs, geography, schedule, language needs, availability, and service expectations.

· Track time-to-onboard, time-to-placement, fill rate, provider utilization, cancellations, service gaps, and retention.

· Strengthen provider orientation, training, supervision, communication standards, and field support.

· Address provider performance concerns in partnership with program leadership, HR, compliance, and the Executive Director as appropriate.

· Build a professional provider culture centered on quality, reliability, communication, and documentation discipline.

Qualifications

· Minimum 5 years of progressive leadership or management experience in SEIT, preschool special education, pendency-related services, CPSE / CSE programs, special-education operations, or a closely related NYC educational / human-services environment.

· Demonstrated success managing multi-step service operations, teams, providers, and performance in a regulated environment.

· Strong working knowledge of NYC special education systems, DOE-facing workflows, IEP-based service implementation, documentation requirements, and provider assignment realities.

· Experience managing operational escalations involving families, providers, schools, attorneys, advocates, or referral partners.

· Demonstrated ability to build and enforce SOPs, management routines, performance standards, and quality controls.

· Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.

· Executive judgment, calm decision-making, high accountability, discretion, and the ability to operate with limited supervision.

Core Competencies

· Operational discipline and follow-through

· Executive maturity and sound judgment

· High accountability and ownership

· Compliance and quality orientation

· Calm, structured problem solving

· People leadership and coaching

· Cross-functional collaboration

· Data-driven management

· Stakeholder communication and diplomacy

· Ability to build systems from the ground up

· Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on

· Succession readiness and ability to stand in for the Executive Director

Pay: $125,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Health insurance

Work Location: In person