The Family Center Early Childhood Community Specialist is responsible for the coordination of Family Center services for Families with young children, with a strong emphasis on children aged 0-5. With support from the Family Center and site administrators, the Early Childhood Community Specialist leads, trains, coordinates, and participates in the work and activities of the Family Service Assistants at assigned sites. This work supports meaningful family engagement and helps to address students’ and their families’ behavioral, health and urgent living needs. The Early Childhood Community Specialist also participates in UCFC collaborative partner meetings, county family engagement meetings, and other applicable groups and events. The Early Childhood Community Specialist serves as a key contact with UCFC Partners focused on early childhood growth and development, as well as family strengthening and well-being. The Early Childhood Community Specialist facilitates access to a myriad of services for families including but are not limited to, social services, family support, health insurance enrollment, health education and access to health services, mental health services, family engagement, prevention and early intervention, adult education, early childhood education and child development, academic supports and enrichment services.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Outreach to and recruitment of parents of children aged 0-5, early childhood education providers, partners providing early childhood and child development services to the community
• Developing, coordinating, and monitoring collaborative and supportive relationships with early childhood partners, community members, and other agencies serving young children and families
• Developing and/or conducting early childhood training for students, parents, district staff, and early childhood service providers
• Coordinating navigation of services for families with children aged 0-5, not limited to
• Coordinating professional development in child development and early childhood education for local early childhood and daycare service providers
• Facilitating the Implementation of early childhood initiatives
• Planning and coordinating events/activities to engage the community in early learning conversations including listening sessions, parent cafes and workshops
• Assisting with hiring, evaluation, and coordination of assigned Family Service Assistants
• Developing and/or conducting training and coaching for Family Service Assistants
• Coordinating community/family leadership and civic engagement opportunities
• Assisting Family Service Assistants with home visits as needed
• Working directly with students, school personnel, partners, and families to address barriers to learning and coordinating appropriate services and referrals at assigned schools
• Transporting families to appropriate agencies for services, as needed
• Developing, maintaining, and publicizing a schedule of family and early childhood programs and activities offered through UCFC
• Facilitating strong communication between all stakeholders for increased service access
• Monitoring truancy issues for identified families, as needed
• Coordinating the collection and input of evaluation data used to measure ongoing program effectiveness of services and program outcome measures
• Managing, organizing, and compiling data (relating to UCFC Family Services) collection for grant reporting purposes
• Participating in the UCFC Leadership Team, including participation in Collaborative Partner meetings
• Organizing and attending various meetings, outreach and grant related events (program culminations, press events, open houses, community events, county meetings, etc.)
• Required to travel to attend meetings, trainings, home visits, pick up/drop off family resource materials and supplies, etc
• Other duties as assigned

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• Knowledge of best practices in early childhood development and parenting skills
• Knowledge of community resources/agencies including early childhood resources
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to effectively work both independently and in a team environment
• Bilingual (English/ Spanish) preferred
• Ability to multitask, meet strict deadlines and work under time pressure
• Strong computer skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
• Ability to establish and maintain positive relationships in the school and community
• Ability to work with administrators, teachers, parents, students, and partner agencies
• Professional demeanor and strong interpersonal skills
• Social work concepts and principles
• Principles of child development and early childhood education
• Crisis intervention techniques
• Telephone techniques and etiquette
• Modern office practices, procedures and equipment
• Oral and written communication skills
• Interpersonal skills using tact, patience and courtesy
• Correct English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary
• Record-keeping techniques
• Operation of standard office equipment, including a computer and assigned software
• Correct oral and written usage of English and a designated second language

ABILITY TO:

• Provide support services to families with various issues
• Read, write, translate and interpret English
• Read, write, and translate a specific language other than English
• Assist families with education and health needs, social services, finding shelter, job placement, handling bereavement and other needs
• Establish and maintain direct communication between families, service providers and various organizations
• Learn principles of educating adults and training
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Work effectively with individuals of various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds
• Establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action
• Prepare and maintain records and reports
• Understand and follow oral and written instructions
• Plan and organize work
• Operate a variety of office equipment including a computer and assigned software
• Maintain consistent, punctual and regular attendance
• Move hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard
• Hear and speak to exchange information in person and on the telephone
• See to read a variety of materials
• Sit or stand for extended periods of time
• Bend at the waist, kneel or crouch to reach various materials

QUALIFICATIONS

• Two years of Early Childhood Education college coursework, ECE Certification, or equivalent ECE experience
• Experience working in early childhood development and family support programs
• Experience in community advocacy strongly preferred
• Experience working with individuals of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
• Fluent bilingual (English/Spanish), oral and written

LICENSES AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Valid California driver’s license.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

ENVIRONMENT:

• Office environment.
• Driving a vehicle to conduct work.

HAZARDS:

• Driving a vehicle during adverse weather conditions.
• Potential for contact with dissatisfied and abusive individuals.

SCHEDULE

Full-time, Monday through Friday. Some evenings and weekends required.

SALARY & WORK YEAR

Management salary range 19/1-5, 190 day work year.