The Family Engagement (FES) Specialist will support the delivery of Save the Children’s 21st Century Learning Center Programs including psychosocial activities and Family Engagement supports. This position will provide technical support for psychosocial program implementation in disaster affected and non-disaster affected areas including Psychological First Aid, HEART, Shelter from the Storm and Journey of Hope (JoH) during disaster response and recovery phase. The FES Specialist will be responsible for supporting the immediate needs assessment, partner identification, training, program implementation, ongoing technical support and management of psychosocial and family engagement programs. The FES Specialist will provide support to the school level program teams and school district partners and is responsible for: tracking monthly and quarterly beneficiary information, program expense tracking, ensuring program materials are supplied to the partners, monitoring program progress and fidelity to curriculum intent and periodic reporting of the program activities to the USPA Team. As a frontline representative of Save the Children, the position holder is required to ensure safety and protection of children and families that s/he come in contact with and represent the agency values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity and Integrity.
Lead the technical support of Family Engagement and Psychosocial Support Programs in 21stCCLC afterschool programs (30%)
- Assist with building and maintaining relationships with schools, partners and state contacts.
- Participate in related meetings and conference calls to support the psychosocial program efforts.
- Help create and manage periodic program reporting and all trackers.
- Manage partner submissions of data and facilitator incentives.
- Conduct site visits and regular program fidelity checks.
- Coordinate with psychosocial program lead to report on partnerships and technical support efforts.
- Facilitate the creation of school-based family engagement teams; provide oversight and guidance to teams during the annual family engagement assessment and planning process.
- Provide ongoing technical assistance and support for implementation of high quality family engagement practices and activities that align with Save the Children’s key Family Engagement strategies: Effective Communication, Supporting Learning at Home, Creating Family Connectedness, and Collaborating with the Community
Assist partners with Program Implementation: (45%)
- Serve as immediate point of contact for implementing partners.
- Assist partners with strategy and program design.
- Conduct Training of Facilitator trainings for Save the Children’s psychosocial programming offerings across TX.
- Support Save the Children’s Family Engagement programming across a cohort of TX program sites
- Deliver Family Engagement training to site-based Coordinators and program staff
- Assist program sites with the integration of literacy, math, and psychosocial/recovery programming into family engagement activities
- Monitor sites’ family engagement data tracking and entry
- Host Family Engagement review meetings, in conjunction with the School-Age Program Specialist and with Program Coordinators to discuss progress, share successes, and troubleshoot challenges
Operational Support (15%)
- Provide operational support to the programs team as required to ensure the smooth roll out of the program.
- Review internal and external communications concerning Family Engagement and Psychosocial programs for accuracy and technical fidelity.
- Regularly track beneficiary data and ensure facilitators and trainers are well supported.
- Performs other duties as requested by Deputy Director
Liaise with the Harvey Recovery Team, the School-Age Programs Team, and the Psychosocial Support and Protection Team within US Programs and Advocacy (USPA) (10%)
- Collaborate with School-Age Program Specialist and other state-base staff to streamline communication and support sites with effective program implementation
- Collaborate with national program staff to develop training materials, resources, and support tools for family engagement
- A minimum of 3-5 years' experience in area of expertise.
- Professional level of specialized knowledge to manage complex tasks, programs or projects.
- Strong oral and written English language communications skills and the capacity and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in a challenging working environment.
- Educational background and relevant professional experiences working within elementary education, social work, or a similar field.
- Must be willing to travel regularly to support sites within Texas.
Preferred Qualifications
- A bachelor’s/master’s degree in education, mental health, behavioral health, social work or counseling.
- Bilingual in Spanish/English preferred.
- TX Licensure in Social Work or Counseling a plus.
- Previous experience working in out of school time or community organization context.
- Experience working on low-resource communities.
- Spanish fluency a plus.
- Excellent communication/interpersonal skills; ability to communicate with a variety of audiences including families, school and district leadership, community partners and other field professionals.
- Demonstrated ability to help others actively acquire new knowledge, skills, and perspectives.
- Strong organizational skills; ability to manage multiple projects and meet objectives.
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
- Prior training and coaching experience preferred.