This position will be located in the Kokomo, Indiana area

Position Purpose:

Under the supervision of the Program Director, the Community Engagement Specialist will develop relationships with communities and increase community awareness of Child Care Resource and Referral and facilitate, through outreach, the impact of high-quality early childhood care and education on the economic success of a community. The Community Engagement Specialist will build child care capacity throughout SDA 2 by utilizing businesses, community coalitions, and other community champions. The Community Engagement Specialist will work in a culturally sensitive way directly with community organizations and leaders focused on economic development to ensure early childhood care and education capacity is available and/or expandable.

Summary of Essential Job Functions:

• Develop and implement a Service Delivery Plan for each stakeholder group to meet their identified needs through established community supports. Each plan is to be based upon the needs assessment for the group and is to have measurable outcomes.
• Provide primary support to community stakeholders to educate consumer services
• Act as a liaison for community collaboration
• Engage the community in a culturally sensitive manner
• Facilitate, through outreach, the impact of high-quality early childhood care and education on the economic success of a community
• Work with community organizations and leaders focused on economic development to ensure early childhood care and education capacity is available and/or expandable
• Create and maintain social media presence within the community that targets user groups and provides information on CCR&R and community services
• Leverage existing data and shares that information out in the community
• Understands adult learning styles and utilizes different strategies when working with different audiences
• Collaborate with inter-agency as well as intra-agency teams to reach goals
• Facilitate outreach to all employers within the SDA(s), focusing on employers with a high concentration of employees needing early childhood care and education
• Work collaboratively with other positions as defined by the overall project

Education/Experience:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Consumer and Family Sciences, Marketing, Community/Public Relations, Community Development, Business Administration, Social Work, Counseling, or other related degree.
• Experience: Minimum of 2 years experience working in an early childhood setting, a CCR&R agency, or an agency providing community support services
• Work in alignment with the CCR&R Central Office on reporting measurement requirements in order to inform larger programmatic system
  • Data should be entered within 24 hours to the State mandated database

Professionalism and Leadership

• Creates partnerships on a state and local level with stakeholder groups.
• Creates partnerships with community agencies to support consumer needs.
• Attend and engage in local stakeholder and advocacy committee meetings, and provide support to these meetings as needed.
• Initiate, develop, and continue relationships with community leaders, organizations, committees, and/or task forces in targeted communities to ensure that the needs of families and early childhood programs are considered when planning community services. This could include participating in or facilitating groups such as:
  • Community coalitions focused on early education
  • Systems of care/education
  • Local planning coordinating councils
• Attend and assist in state-level community engagement reporting and planning as required.
• Develop formalized partnerships with other organizations and individuals in the community to create and maintain collaborations that work to improve policies that support families.
• Work with community organizations and leaders who are focused on economic development to ensure needed early childhood care and education spaces are available to potential, new, or expanding employers in the community.
• Develop and implement marketing plans that include a variety of activities to reach all consumer groups to inform them about the availability of CCR&R services and how to access them.

Child Outcomes

• Understands the economic impact of early care and education and relays that information to the community in various ways.
• Work within local communities and share needs assessment data to identify needs and use the data collected to drive the work of the local CCR&R.
• Use the annual reporting on supply and demand to inform community groups, child care providers, and stakeholders on gaps in care in the community served.
• Participate in community events to ensure that families, programs, and the public are aware of CCR&R services and the importance of accessible, affordable, quality early childhood care and education.

Deliverables

• Respond to the needs of families for information and support through individual consultations, workshops, newsletters, educational materials and other suggested strategies, including through the use of technology. Continuing suggestions for creative communication methods and other innovations are encouraged.
• Create and/or maintain an agency website that describes services available to each consumer group and provides educational resources and policy information applicable to all consumer groups.
• Conduct research into and surveys of existing organizations in the community to determine other strategies that may be used to contact families and connect them with programs or other resources that meet their needs.
• Provide information to parents about each program including fees, days and hours of services, as well as environment and quality.
• Provide up to date information to parents on community resources including sources for assistance in paying for early childhood education and care.
• Provide education on the early childhood system in Indiana to parents verbally, electronically or in writing, depending upon the parent’s preference, and tailor information to meet the needs of each family ensuring cultural sensitivity, language of parent and readability.
• Provide parents, in partnership with other local organizations, education on child development and early education and how that information can inform choosing quality early childhood care and education options. This parent education should be delivered in the languages that parents speak and at times and in locations that are convenient for them.
• Design and implement parent focused activities based upon the data derived in the community parent needs assessment.
• Provide trainings for community agencies, such as CCDF Intake, on how to communicate with families when they are determined ineligible for services and developed resources for this scenario.

• Work to increase program membership in professional organizations, such as local chambers of commerce, for early childhood programs to help support continuous growth in quality.

• Share written information about consumer services with community organizations, agencies, and community leaders.

• Conduct outreach events throughout the year to inform families of the resources and services for families available through the early learning coalitions, including outreach to families who are homeless, foster families, military families, grandparents as parents and other non-traditional families. Participate in community events that market early childhood care and education options to employees.

• Along with the data specialist, support employers in surveying their employees on their needs for early childhood care and education and provide options for those employers to help meet those needs.

• Provide community engagement activities that include resources focused on parents’ educational advancement, economic mobility, and other aspects of family well-being.

• Complete presentations to community organizations, agencies, and leaders about CCR&R services and engage them in promoting early childhood care and education issues.

• Educate local policy leaders about improvements that are needed to ensure all children have access to quality early childhood care and education.

• Broadly share information obtained through the early childhood care and education supply and demand assessment and market rates for the targeted communities with relevant consumer groups.

Other Job Responsibilities

• Perform other duties as assigned and deemed necessary as part of the overall project.
• Work collaboratively with other positions as defined by the overall project.
• Work in alignment with the CCR&R Central Office on reporting measurement requirements in order to inform larger programmatic system.
  • Data should be entered within 24 hours to the State mandated database

Minimum Qualification Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must meet the qualifications, abilities, and attribute requirements below and be able to perform the essential duties and responsibilities satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Consumer and Family Sciences, Marketing, Public Relations, Business Administration, Social Work, or Counseling.
• Experience: Minimum of 2 years experience working in an early childhood setting, a CCR&R agency, or an agency providing family support services. Marketing or community development experience will also be considered.

Attributes Expected

Commitment and Determination - Attitudes and/or behaviors include being tenacious and decisive. Able to re-commit/commit quickly. Persistent in solving problems. Disciplined. Immersed in the mission.

Courage - Morale strength. Fearless experimentation. Not afraid of conflicts and failure. Intense curiosity to learn more and go deeper in being better at what you do.

Leadership - Self-starter. High standards but not a perfectionist. Team builder and hero maker. Inspires others. Treats others as you want to be treated. Shares the rewards with all of those who help creates it. Honest and reliable. Builds trust. Practices fairness. Not a lone wolf or part of a small clique. Superior learner and teacher. Courage. Patient and urgent. The opposite of petty. The opposite of gossiping. You are either helping or hurting the team.

Opportunity Obsession - Leadership in shaping opportunity. Has intimate knowledge of stakeholders’ needs and wants. Market driven. Obsessed with value creation and enhancement.

Tolerance of Risk, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty - Calculated risk taker. Risk minimizer. Risk sharer. Manages paradoxes and contradictions. Tolerated uncertainty and lack of structure. Tolerates stress and conflict. Able to resolve problems and integrate solutions.

Creativity, Self-Reliance, and Adaptability - Nonconventional, open-minded and lateral thinker (helicopter mind). Restless with status-quo. Able to adapt and change. Creative problem solver. Quick learner. No fear of failure. Able to conceptualize and “sweat details.”

Motivation to Excel - Goal and results orientation. High but realistic goals. Drive to achieve and grow. Low need for stays and power. Interpersonally supporting (vs. competitive). Aware of weaknesses and strengths. Reflective. Has perspective and sense of humor.