The Program Specialist is the on-the-ground Save the Children staff member providing training, technical assistance, and management support to program partners to ensure quality program implementation and results for children. Early Childhood Program Specialists focus on prenatal through age five programming. Under the supervision of the State Director and working as a member of the state team and in collaboration with the national program team, the Program Specialist oversees and supports program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation at assigned partner sites. Specific duties and responsibilities are outlined below.
Areas of Responsibility:
Program Implementation 55%:
- Provide support to home visitors to ensure high-quality implementation of programs according to established standards. This will be conducted through in-person and remote training; maximizing the use of technology to do so.
- Train program staff in various areas including child development, observation and assessment, data collection, and home visiting.
- Visit each assigned site in compliance with the program model to conduct observation, coaching, and mentoring. Complete site visit reports. In-state travel will be required for each of the site visits.
- Play a lead role in developing/providing appropriate follow-up materials, reflective conversations, and other necessary support to Early Childhood Coordinators (ECC) through distance technologies between site visits
- Ensure accurate and up-to-date data collection and reporting for each assigned site.
- Consult with the Senior Specialist about program questions and needs.
- Regularly communicate with the State Director and Senior Specialist about program implementation challenges and successes and how to resolve complex issues.
Partner Operations and Management: 20%
- Support the State Director with partner management including but not limited to annual partner planning, subaward budget and spending, grant budgets and reports, annual district/site stakeholder meetings, partnership performance management, sponsorship, and emergency/disaster communication and reporting.
- Meet regularly with each site supervisor to provide updates on their program’s progress.
- Ensure timely and accurate incident reporting and necessary follow-up.
- Provide new sites with start-up support including but not limited to hiring and training program staff, technology and program materials, and Partner Portal usage.
Local and State Relationships/Advocacy: 10%
- Support the State Director and program partners, as appropriate, with local, regional, and state community engagement activities, community partnerships/coalitions, and state level relationships.
- Support the program team with local, regional, and state program presentations.
- Support program partners with media opportunities to highlight Save the Children programs.
Professional Development: 10%
- Participate in Save the Children Program Specialist calls, meetings, and trainings.
- Stay current on relevant national standards and best practices
- Share knowledge and experience with the national program team and program specialist colleagues.
- Participate in national program team projects and USPA work groups.
Other: 5%
- Work in collaboration with USPA teams (e.g., Early Childhood; National Directorate; Technology, Monitoring and Evaluation; Sponsorship; Policy and Advocacy; Resource Development; Marketing, Communications, and Media).
- Provide stories from the field to national staff.
- Support, and contribute as appropriate and requested, to Save the Children priorities and initiatives.
- Provide support to the state team in the management of Gifts in Kind donations to program sites.
- Support State Director with VIP visits and other duties as assigned.
Educational Background:
High School Diploma or equivalent required
Skills/Experience:
- Minimum 3-5 years relevant experience in the area of infant/toddler development and home visiting.
- Experience working in communities with limited resources.
- Professional level of specialized knowledge to manage complex tasks, programs or projects.
- Ability to use MS Word, Excel, PPT and on-line technologies proficiently.
- Willingness to travel at least 70% to assigned sites throughout the state in personal and state assigned vehicles.
Preferred Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s degree in a field related to early childhood development and education with an emphasis on infant/toddler development.
- Five years+ home visiting experience with families with infants and toddlers.
- Experience working in rural communities with limited resources and with families who are economically challenged.
- Experience working in culturally and demograpically diverse communities.
- Experience in training, coaching, and mentoring.
- Experience developing and implementing training, including distance learning.
Compensation/Benefits:
- Aetna Medical and Dental insurance with a concierge service
- Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Vision Insurance
- Life insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- Commuter Benefit Program
- Vacation and Sick leave
- Paid holidays
What makes us special!
- Generous Retirement Savings with matching company contributions of up to 8%
- Family Leave – 10 additional days of paid time off for you to use to care for your family members
- Additional Maternity and Paternity Leave – 30 days where parents can take additional paid leave (beyond short-term disability and FMLA) at the birth or adoption of a child during that critical first year!
- Critical Child Illness Leave – We hope you never have to use it, but we will provide an additional 30 days of paid leave per year should your dependent child be faced with a critical illness.
- Pet Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Identity Protection, Home, Auto and additional Life insurances
- Summer Fun Fridays – During the summer months, early release at 1:30 pm every other Friday!
- Volunteer Day – One paid day a year to support the causes that matter to you!
- Ergonomic Options – Every employee at our HQ offices has the option of a sitting/standing desk
- Leadership and Employee Development Training, including:
- Our remarkable in-house CORE, Senior Management Development, and Leadership Development Programs
- Language learning opportunities
- Continuous Improvement skill development programs
- Lunch and Learn information sharing sessions
- Work hard/Play hard! We make sure there’s ample opportunity for fun, engagement, and celebration while you work, such as networking events, March Madness, World Cup, Dodgeball Tournaments, Take Your Child to Work Day, Founder’s Day, and our annual Day of Service
Job Function:
Organization Info
Listing Stats
Post Date:
Sep 30 2019
Active Until:
Oct 30 2019
Hiring Organization:
Save the Children US
industry:
Nonprofit