What are the responsibilities and job description for the Family Engagement Specialist position at Opportunities?
*Position is grant funded through December 2025. Grant is subject to renewal based on funds.
SALARY: $55 - 60K DOE
OVERVIEW:
The Family Engagement Specialist is a member of the Early REACH (Raising Educational Access for Children in Harris County) team and works with childcare center staff to ensure positive child and family outcomes. These goals are accomplished through connecting families to supports, empowering families to advocate on behalf of themselves and children and assisting with the facilitation of family engagement activities/events that promote parent/family involvement and education. The Specialist serves as a liaison between families, program staff, and community partners to help families thrive and meet basic needs.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide assistance and professional development for educators. Manages a portfolio of early childcare education centers, located in Harris County, Texas, prioritizing individual educator and child needs to meet program outcomes. Provides guidance to educators in executing Reggio Emilia approaches of parent involvement and one-to-one reflective strategies utilizing The Touchpoints approach. Conducts bi-monthly visits to assist with developing family engagement activities and parental surveys with childcare center directors to support high quality child outcomes. Conducts individualized professional development to providers to meet program goals after completion of childcare center family engagement assessments.
- Collaborate with community partners and conduct outreach services. Works with childcare center, community partners, and United Way funded community navigators to appropriately outreach, engage, and connect families to needed services.
- Serves as subject matter expert in early childhood education. Develops and maintains current information on needs of community as well as best practices to address needs. Develops in-depth understanding of community resources through research, involvement in community planning and advocacy groups and other activities. Uses knowledge to make recommendations about funding priorities, new activities, and direction. Participates in community collaborations, partnerships, and local organizations involved in community impact work, identifying appropriate roles for the program. Develops expertise of initiative partners by planning trainings, sharing information, and other activities.
- Other activities in support of Early REACH: Compiles and assists in communicating outcomes and results of funded programs to Harris County, the community, and program stakeholders. Provide support to other efforts that advance the goals of the program such as: presentations, tours and trainings to service providers and potential clients, community conversations, reporting results and promotion of key initiative activities. Performs other related duties or special assignments in support of the program.
Salary : $55,000 - $60,000
