ERSEA Specialist

EAST SIDE HOUSE SETTLEMENT•New York, NY

1d•$65,000 - $70,000•Onsite

About The Position

East Side House (ESH) is a community resource in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan dedicated to expanding opportunities through education, career, and supportive services. ESH’s Early Childhood Program provides high-quality programs and services within community centers and school partnerships. The ERSEA Specialist is responsible for ensuring that eligible children and families can access, enroll in, and consistently participate in Head Start services. This role will create an equitable, compliant system that identifies and serves children and families who can most benefit from Head Start, while reducing barriers to access and participation. The ERSEA Specialist will manage and monitor the full ERSEA (Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance) process, providing oversight, coordination, technical assistance, monitoring, and staff support. This position interacts with the Education and Disabilities teams and directly supervises three Family Workers.

Requirements

Associate degree in human services, social work, early childhood education, public administration, or a related field required.
At least two (2) years of experience in Head Start, Early Head Start, early childhood enrollment, family services, social services, or a related community-based program.
Experience determining eligibility, reviewing supporting documentation, maintaining confidential records, and using a case-management or child-information database strongly preferred.
Working knowledge of Head Start ERSEA requirements and the ability to apply written policies consistently.
Effective supervision, coaching, delegation, workload management, team development, and performance feedback.
Ability to review staff documentation and case activity for quality, timeliness, compliance, and appropriate family follow-up.
Accurate eligibility determination, document review, recordkeeping, and confidentiality practices.
Data entry, validation, analysis, and reporting with strong attention to detail.
Family-centered interviewing, customer service, and culturally responsive communication.
Recruitment, outreach, waitlist management, enrollment tracking, and attendance follow-up.
Organization, time management, and ability to manage multiple deadlines across sites.
Clear verbal and written communication and effective collaboration with families, staff, and community partners.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and case-management or child-information databases.
Sound judgment, problem-solving, and commitment to accurate, ethical, and equitable service delivery.
Employees must be clear to work at ESH. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of background checks and/or screenings.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.
At least one (1) year of experience supervising, coaching, or providing lead support to family services, enrollment, or community-based program staff preferred.

Responsibilities

Review and verify applications and supporting documentation to ensure accurate eligibility determinations in accordance with Head Start Program Performance Standards and agency policies and procedures.
Implement recruitment and outreach activities informed by community needs, enrollment trends, and program priorities to reach eligible children and families, including those with the greatest need.
Implement approved selection criteria and maintain an accurate waiting list to support equitable prioritization of children and families.
Monitor enrollment levels, coordinate placement of eligible children, track vacancies, and support timely filling of available slots.
Monitor daily and monthly attendance data, identify attendance concerns and patterns, and collaborate with staff and families to address barriers to regular attendance.
Maintain complete, accurate, confidential, and timely ERSEA records in the program’s data management system and conduct routine data-quality checks.
Provide ERSEA training, guidance, and ongoing support to family services.
Support onboarding and ongoing professional development of Family Workers; communicate procedures, model family-centered practices, and identify training needs.
Conduct regular reviews of eligibility and enrollment files to identify documentation or compliance concerns and ensure corrective actions are completed.
Provide families with clear information about eligibility, enrollment requirements, program options, and enrollment processes while promoting respectful and equitable access to services.
Work closely with program leadership (Education and Disabilities) to coordinate enrollment and ensure children receive appropriate services.
Build and maintain relationships with community partners and represent the program at outreach events as assigned.
Protect personally identifiable information and maintain professional and ethical standards when working with children, families, staff and community partners.
Remain current on applicable Head Start requirements and support preparation for federal monitoring, internal reviews, audits, and other compliance activities.
Perform other program-related duties as assigned.