Early Education Coordinator

Job Overview:

The Early Education Coordinator will coordinate initiatives to increase newcomer family’s access to early education and childcare resources; help families better understand, connect and engage with local school systems; increase access to school information and resources; and lead family outreach and referral initiatives. The Early Education Coordinator will work closely with families to assess needs, create service plans, and coordinate services for families with 0–5-year-olds. The Early Education Coordinator collaborates with community partner, Clarkston Development Foundation (CDF), who will train and advise IRC staff to develop an understanding of local early learning community resources, develop relationships with partners and schools, and conduct activities to increase refugee family’s access to childcare, early learning, and parent support programs. The Early Education Coordinator will supervise volunteers and interns and coordinate tasks with the Early Education Navigator.

Major Responsibilities:

Program Development:

• Serve as a focal point for the community, refugee resettlement agencies, and service providers for the dissemination of information about the Early Education program
• Plan early education workshops and activities in alignment with the program design and deliverables.
• Identify community relevant community resources, including early childhood education programs, childcare programs, in-home providers, parenting support, and programs to support children, ages 0-5, and work with the Youth Program team to establish referral systems
• Maintain a caseload of families as well as assign cases and coordinate with Childcare Navigator to ensure high quality service delivery
• Coordinate with Childcare Navigator to assess family’s needs, develop a family service plan, conduct group workshops, and community outreach events.
• Other duties as assigned

Program Documentation

• Maintain program information and data collection systems in compliance with IRC standards and contractual obligations, contribute to strengthening program monitoring
• Ensure program participants are properly enrolled and files are up to date
• Ensure program data is consistently collected and entered in ETO and in accordance with contractual obligations
• Contribute to program reporting for internal and external purposes

Team Coordination

• Collaborate and communicate with Youth Programs team members and other office colleagues to ensure wraparound support for families served across departments
• Coordinate trainings and resource development with community partner, CDF
• Ensure referrals across programs are followed up
• Provide support and expertise to other youth programs and office teams related to supporting early learning and childcare for families
• Participate in all program meetings, staff development activities, and fully engages as a member of the team

Job Requirements:

Education:

• Undergraduate degree in early education, social work or related field preferred

Work Experience:

• At least two years of related professional experience
• Experience with managing caseloads, service planning and implementation in a social services setting
• Previous program coordination experience
• Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant children and families required
• Demonstrated Skills & Competencies:
• Excellent cross-cultural understanding and communication skills
• Fluent in written and spoken English
• Fluency in another language such as Dari, Pashto, Swahili, French, Arabic, or Burmese preferred
• Ability to work independently and high attention to detail
• Strong knowledge of the local early childhood development and education systems and providers and state childcare subsidies (such as CAPS) highly desirable
• Knowledge of child and youth development and effective family engagement strategies
• Competency with Microsoft Office, data tracking, and file management
• Valid driver’s license, current insurance, access to a reliable personal vehicle

Working Environment*:*

• A combination of standard office environment and ‘field’ time in and around the service delivery area to perform the above outlined responsibilities.
• May require occasional evening and weekend work

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $120 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.