Family Engagement Specialist

Description:

MISSION

Children need to spend their most critical years with dedicated, educated, trained, and well-compensated individuals in order to thrive. The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute leads the work to establish and implement an early childhood workforce system to ensure funding, standards and competencies, career development resources, qualifications and credentials, professional development (training and strengths-based coaching), and program quality assurance and improvement for individuals who work with young children throughout New York. Housed at the City University of New York, the Institute is a fast-paced, dynamic public/private partnership that is committed to the early childhood workforce across New York State.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Family Engagement Specialist will be responsible for engaging families and establishing and overseeing the implementation of a Parent Advisory Council (PAC) to advise the Early Childhood Advisory Council and others. The position also will be responsible for organizing an annual statewide Parent Leadership Conference to provide an opportunity to create and sustain peer-to-peer networks that support information exchange and the development of leadership and advocacy skills among families, with an emphasis on reaching vulnerable populations, including families with English as a second language and families with children with disabilities. Follow-up with parents who attend the conference will also be required. In addition, the Specialist will attend local implicit bias and culture and equity trainings and focus on helping identify parents across geographic regions and culturally and linguistically diverse communities to participate on the PAC and to build a peer-to-peer network to support parent and family engagement.

The position will be located in Rensselaer (near Albany) at the New York State Council on Children and Families. The position will involve frequent written and oral communications with a wide variety of people, including the co-chairs of the Early Childhood Advisory Council, executive and management staff, co-workers, program and administrative staff, representatives of businesses and organizations, elected and appointed officials and their staff, and the general public. Periodic travel to NYC and throughout the rest of the state is required.

This is a federally-funded grant position through December 2022. This position will report to the co-chairs of the New York Early Childhood Advisory Council.

Responsibilities:

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy Development and Advising 

• Create policies and procedures to embed family engagement in government decision-making processes.
• Establish and implement a Parent Advisory Council to advise the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council and other early childhood policymakers.

Communications and Event Planning 

• Engage and facilitate the involvement of parents and families in early childhood policymaking.
• Develop and implement an effective communication plan among early childhood agencies and community-based organizations, including family-led organizations and families to augment parent/family voice.
• Oversee the annual statewide Parent Leadership Conference and follow-up to the Conference.

Other Duties 

• Participate in opportunities for professional development, including attending implicit bias and culture and equity trainings.
• Attend staff meetings and other trainings as required.
• Perform special projects and other duties, as requested.

Qualifications: