Family Advocate - Head Start - full time

The Opportunity Alliance • Portland, ME

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Opportunity Alliance is seeking a Family Advocate in Portland. Join the Head Start team and make a difference in the lives of children and families in your community. Head Start promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families through high quality, culturally appropriate early care and education experiences. Classrooms implement a responsive curriculum with a strong focus on social-emotional well-being with a low teacher to child ratio to support growth and learning in all domains. Head Start centers families in their children’s education and care through meaningful engagement. All staff are supported to identify and work towards their professional goals through a combination of ongoing supervision, coaching and training. The Family Advocate supports family well-being and school readiness through whole family coaching. They work with participants to identify strengths and goals and provide connections and referrals to community-based resources. The Family Advocate also promotes child health and wellness by supporting families to navigate the health care system to access preventative and follow-up care. The Opportunity Alliance is seeking Family Advocates to join our Head Start department in Bridgton, Maine. Head Start promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families through local programs. Head Start and Early Head Start programs support the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age 5. The Family Advocate is responsible for engaging families in supporting their child’s school readiness & healthy development by conducting needs assessments, collaboratively creating family goals, connecting families to community resources, gathering health information, and facilitating community-building & parent involvement in center/program activities following the Family and Early Childhood Education program plan, Head Start Performance Standards, State of Maine licensing rules, and NAEYC Accreditation Standards. This role supports familiest to identify and reach their goals, including goals related to housing, employment, education and parenting.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s in Social Work, Human Services, Counseling or related field required.
• 1-3 years of social services/human services experienced required.
• Knowledge of the important role that culture plays in child & family development, and an ability to adapt interventions accordingly.
• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills.
• Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office and Outlook required.
• Ability to respond calmly to rapidly changing situations and adapt teaching approach to maintain a positive learning environment.
• Must have a distinct comfort level for working independently, while remaining mindful of role as part of a team.
• Must be able to able to successfully pass a criminal background, child protective service check & sex offender check and must not be on the state or federal suspension and disbarment list.
• ECE employee must be able to pass pre-employment physical and TB screen and must be current on MMR and TDAP immunizations.
• Must be able to exert moderate physical effort with occasional standing, walking, reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching, typing and frequently lift and carry small children or material weighing up to 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• 1-3 years of family services experience preferred.
• 1-3 years of experience effectively navigating complex systems and connecting families to needed resources, preferred.
• Flexible, enthusiastic and self-motivated.

Responsibilities

• Engaging families in supporting their child’s school readiness & healthy development
• Conducting needs assessments
• Collaboratively creating family goals
• Connecting families to community resources
• Gathering health information
• Facilitating community-building & parent involvement in center/program activities
• Supporting families to identify and reach their goals, including goals related to housing, employment, education and parenting
• Promoting child health and wellness by supporting families to navigate the health care system to access preventative and follow-up care

Benefits

• Generous paid time off accrual
• 9 paid holidays per calendar year and up to 3 floating holidays per calendar year
• Excellent medical benefits at very reasonable cost
• Dental and Vision insurance options
• Agency paid basic life insurance and STD & LTD disability insurances
• 403(b) retirement with a generous agency match (all employees are eligible)
• Tuition Reimbursement – offered once per year through an application process
• Qualified employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level