Program Specialist II

County of Riverside•Jurupa, CA

7h•Hybrid

About The Position

First 5, Riverside County Children & Families Commission is seeking a bilingual in Spanish Program Specialist II to support program operations in the Jurupa location. The Program Specialist II will coordinate and support the Quality Early Learning Initiative aimed at strengthening early learning environments for children ages 0–5 by working directly with child care providers, early education partners, and families served through the Family Resource Centers (FRCs). This role includes mentoring early learning providers, analyzing early learning outcomes, conducting trainings and presentations for both providers and families, and assisting with cross-initiative work that aligns with First 5’s strategic areas: Quality Early Learning, Comprehensive Health & Development, and Resilient Families. The incumbent will engage directly with families at the FRCs to understand family dynamics and connect them to appropriate developmental and education resources. Responsibilities will also include reviewing policies and legislation for operational impact, assisting with grant documentation, and supporting data entry and reporting using systems such as Apricot 360, RivCo Connect, and Salesforce. This role requires occasional travel throughout Riverside County to attend community events, participate in parent engagement activities, and commuting to different field offices for staffing needs. The candidate must have relevant program experience in early learning/development programs. Additionally, the most competitive candidates will possess previous training and facilitation experience, community outreach experience, familiarity with various early learning/development assessments and systems such as Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), Quality Improvement Systems (QIS), and Strengthening Families - 5 Protective Factors, and proficiency with PowerPoint, Canva, and general Microsoft Office Suite or similar applications. Meet the Team! First 5 Riverside, the Riverside County Children & Families Commission, is primarily funded by tobacco taxes generated by Proposition 10, which passed in November 1998 to help make sure that all of our youngest Californians, from prenatal through 5 years old, get the best possible start in life. First 5 Riverside also receives state and federal funding to support community programs and initiatives to meet the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan. First 5 Riverside County invests in partnerships that promote, support, and enhance the health and early development of children, prenatal through age 5, their families and communities.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in social welfare, social or behavioral sciences, social/human services, counseling, or a closely related field. Additional caseworker experience in the program for which the position is being filled may be substituted for the required education on the basis of one year of experience for 30 semester or 45 quarter units of college level coursework.
One year of lead or supervisory caseworker experience in the program for which the position is being filled.
One year of experience comparable to a Program Specialist I in a Department of Social Services.
Knowledge of principles, philosophies, and operations of social services and/or child support programs; the federal, state, and local social services and/or child support programs and their supporting legislation; available sources of social services rules and regulations; principles of organization, planning, research and analysis.
Ability to interpret new and revised regulations and project possible and/or probable impacts to the department; develop, revise, and implement departmental operating policies and procedures; define organizational, procedural, and resource allocation problems; collect, organize, and evaluate pertinent data, define and validate conclusions, identify alternative solutions and project consequences of decisions and recommendations; may perform mathematical and statistical computations required for cost analysis, reports, and record keeping; prepare clear, concise, and complete reports, correspondence, directives, and manuals; speak effectively in groups and individual situations; establish and maintain effective line of communication and working relationships at all organizational levels; give and follow oral and written instructions; work in the presence of changing priorities and tight time schedules; operate a microcomputer and use a variety of applications software packages.
Bilingual in Spanish.
Possession of a valid California Driver's License.

Nice To Haves

Previous training and facilitation experience.
Community outreach experience.
Familiarity with various early learning/development assessments and systems such as Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), Quality Improvement Systems (QIS), and Strengthening Families - 5 Protective Factors.
Proficiency with PowerPoint, Canva, and general Microsoft Office Suite or similar applications.

Responsibilities

Analyze new and revised legislation which govern social services and/or child support programs to determine impact upon operations; analyze existing operations and procedures within an assigned area.
Conduct studies and make recommendations for procedural or organizational changes including staffing requirements and costs; plan and coordinate the implementation of program changes with systems (EDP) and other departmental areas.
Oversee general complaint function: investigate complaints involving various social services and child support programs.
Develop and review departmental policies and procedures to ensure compliance with state and federal legislation, regulations, and directives.
Compose, organize, and revise departmental policy and procedure manuals; may plan and coordinate the development of new and revised programs, contracts, and interagency agreements with department staff, other County departments, and community agencies.
Act as a technical expert or resource person to department staff and other interested individuals regarding social services and/or child support program policies, and procedures.
Research, analyze, and prepare recommendations regarding special projects assigned by the Executive or Assistant Director of First 5 Riverside, or other administrative staff.
Compose selected correspondence, reports, and directives for use by the Director and designated staff members in public hearings and meetings with state officials.
Correspond with and act as a department liaison with various state agencies and departments; may serve as a department representative on various social services assistance committees.
Coordinate and support the Quality Early Learning Initiative aimed at strengthening early learning environments for children ages 0–5 by working directly with child care providers, early education partners, and families served through the Family Resource Centers (FRCs).
Mentor early learning providers.
Analyze early learning outcomes.
Conduct trainings and presentations for both providers and families.
Assist with cross-initiative work that aligns with First 5’s strategic areas: Quality Early Learning, Comprehensive Health & Development, and Resilient Families.
Engage directly with families at the FRCs to understand family dynamics and connect them to appropriate developmental and education resources.
Review policies and legislation for operational impact.
Assist with grant documentation.
Support data entry and reporting using systems such as Apricot 360, RivCo Connect, and Salesforce.