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Posted: January 2, 2026 (13 days ago)

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Early Childhood Education Specialist

Military Treatment Facilities under DHA

Department of Defense

Recent

Location

Location not specified

Salary

$63,795 - $82,938

per year

Closes

January 16, 2026

Job Description

Summary

This job involves working as an early childhood educator in a military hospital in Okinawa, Japan, where you'll help identify developmental needs in babies and toddlers up to age 3, assess them, and create personalized plans to support their growth and their families.

It's ideal for someone passionate about child development who has experience in education or special needs support and is eligible for overseas military positions.

Note that medical and dental care in Japan is very limited, so it's best for those comfortable with that challenge.

Key Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in education, child development, or early childhood education (or equivalent combination of education and experience)
  • One year of specialized experience at GS-09 level, including developing Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP), evaluating needs of infants/toddlers, and providing family education/resources
  • Ph.D. or 3 years of graduate education in relevant field (as alternative to specialized experience)
  • Eligibility under specific DoD categories, such as current DHA/DoD civilian, military spouse preference, or veterans' preference for overseas employment
  • Ability to work in Okinawa, Japan, with understanding of limited access to medical/dental care
  • Relevant experience including paid, unpaid, or volunteer work in child development or early intervention

Full Job Description

About the Position: This position is located in the Directorate of Medicine, Early Intervention Services of the U.S. Naval Hospital, Okinawa, Japan.

Incumbent serves as an Early Childhood Special Educator providing services in early identification, assessment and educational intervention for children from birth to 3 years of age.

ACCESS TO MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE IN JAPAN IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job.

You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected.

Current Civilian Employees of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Current Permanent Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Employee Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Family Member Preference (FMP) for Overseas Employment Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouse Preference (MSP) for Overseas Employment Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI) Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for: Early Childhood Education Specialist, GS-1701-11 A.

Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) that included or was supplemented by major study in education or in a subject-matter field appropriate to the position, such as child development or early childhood education.

OR B.

Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major in education, or in a subject-matter field appropriate to the position, such as child development or early childhood education, plus appropriate experience or additional course work that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the four-year course of study described in A above.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes collecting information to assist in developing an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for infants, toddlers, and their families; performing evaluations to determine services required to meet the needs of the eligible infant or toddler; and providing education or resources to families of children with developmental delays or disabilities.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: child development or early childhood education.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-09).

Major Duties:

  • Develop an appropriate Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for an Infant or toddler and family.
  • Perform detailed evaluations to make recommendations for treatment.
  • Provide cognitive and developmental enrichment activities and special instructions to the child and family.
  • Facilitate trainings for other EDIS providers, medical providers, and staff of Child Development Centers.
  • Participate in Child Find activities and meetings of representatives of all appropriate community support agencies.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 1/2/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 1/2/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: HSJG-26-12858286-MP