Mentor, Family Development Specialist

The Centers•Cleveland, OH

About The Position

The Mentor Family Development Professional provides home visits to families eligible for Early Head Start and Head Start (ages 0-5) through the Smart Start Home Visiting Program. The professional is responsible for recruitment, enrollment, planning, care coordination, and implementation of essential curriculum components. They also assist assigned families in identifying, accessing, and utilizing community resources while encouraging and promoting each family’s empowerment and self-sufficiency and reinforcing positive self-help skills. Additionally, this role acts as a coach and resource to Family Development Professionals, builds positive relationships with caregivers, and offers high-quality, responsive direct services to support the well-being and success of each family member involved in the lives of children enrolled in the Smart Start Home Visiting program. The professional also serves as a Smart Start Home Visiting Program Staff Mentor.

Requirements

BA/BS degree in Early Childhood Education or related field.
Minimum of two years’ experience as a Family Development Professional or one year of home visiting and three years of classroom experience with The Centers.
The ability to travel between home visits and group socialization independently

Responsibilities

Act as a resource to new employees during onboarding to assist with a seamless transition into the Family Development Professional role, practices of the Early Learning program, and agency.
Provide support and mentorship to Family Development Professionals by offering advice, feedback, and direction to help Family Development Professionals achieve their goals, be a positive role model, share their knowledge, experience, and wisdom, and act as an inspiration and motivation.
As a member of the Smart Start Home Visiting Program Team, collaborate with the Family Development Professionals to ensure families and children are served and safe.
Assist with curriculum implementation and training.
Provide shadowing experiences to Family Development Professionals.
Provide coaching opportunities to Family Development Professionals.
Assist with building skills such as organization, disciple and professional development
Serve as a member of the Smart Start Program Home Visiting team.
Provide feedback on policies and procedures and innovative ways to engage families.
Conduct two group socializations per month in collaboration with Family Development Professionals and families.
Model and demonstrate family engagement, education, health dental and nutrition and special services best practices as described in the Head Start Performance Standards.
Conduct home visits as needed to address attendance concerns and model curriculum.
Attend agency-sponsored in-service training or seminars, training sessions, and meetings outside the agency as a method of gaining more experience and knowledge.
Certification in CPR/First Aid, Communicable Disease, Child Abuse, and Neglect Prevention is required upon hire.
Other duties as assigned.