Quality First Coordinator

A positive future for every child

Southwest Human Development is Arizona’s largest nonprofit dedicated to early childhood development. The first five years of life are the most critical in a child’s development. At Southwest Human Development, our services improve lives and help families by supporting young children and their caregivers during this important time.

Your skills, experience, and passion are needed at one of the nation’s largest nonprofits dedicated to early childhood development. Join our team and experience a long-term career which brings joy and satisfaction in knowing you make a difference.  We offer over 40 programs and services to more than 140,000 children.

Why choose us?

• Make an impact in a child’s life by promoting child health and development.
• Be rewarded with a rich benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness plans, 401(k) matching every paycheck, and generous paid time off.
• Opportunities for continued professional growth and development.
• Supportive and collaborative work environment.

Job title: Quality First Coordinator 

The Quality First Coordinator plays a key role in supporting early care and education programs participating in Quality First. This position partners closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure high-quality service delivery, accurate documentation, and compliance with program standards. The coordinator contributes to continuous quality improvement efforts that strengthen outcomes for participating programs and the communities they serve.

In this role you will:

• Support participation and administrative initiatives for Quality First participants
• Collaborate with multiple stakeholders to ensure data and documentation requirements are met and maintained
• Develop strategies to enhance the overall quality of services
• Monitor compliance with regulatory and program requirements
• Provide resources, guidance, and support to participating early care and education programs
• Utilize strong communication, organizational, and analytical skills to achieve program goals

What it takes:

• Five years of experience working in a licensed and/or regulated early childhood setting with children birth through 8 years of age.
• Experience in and/or knowledge of the following topics:
  • Training, coaching, or mentoring of adults
  • Adult learning theory and practices
  • Child development/Early childhood education
  • ADHS/ADES child care regulations
  • Indicators of quality in early care and education setting
  • Curriculum and assessment in early childhood settings
  • Early childhood community resources
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred
• Previous experience as a Quality First Coach preferred
• Direct work with infants, toddlers and preschools in an early childhood setting preferred
• Possess an insured & reliable vehicle and a valid AZ driver’s license.
• Valid Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card - OR - must qualify for a valid Arizona Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card
• DES Criminal Affidavit Required
• AZ DHS Criminal History Affidavit Required
• FPC DPS Verification Required

SWHD takes the health and safety of our employees and the communities we serve very seriously. We strongly believe vaccination is a critical safety measure to protect each of us and the communities we serve. COVID vaccinations have proven to be highly effective at protecting people from getting COVID-19 or from getting severely ill from it.

Learn more!

Our core values embody Southwest Human Development’s commitment to services that uplift the lives of children, families and other care providers, and the communities in which they live. These values are intended to guide the professional development, ethical conduct, and skilled practice of all our staff, whatever their specific role within the agency. All staff are valued as making essential contributions to strengthening the foundation that Arizona’s children need for a great start in life. Learn more about our values and benefits here.