Early Years Family Resource Centre

Coordinator Job Description

June 2019 

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Early Years Family Resource Centres bring services and information to one location at no cost for all families with young children prenatal to age five. They are prevention-oriented and work to welcome ALL parents and young children in the community. By providing families with positive early learning experiences and opportunities to improve their parenting skills, Early Years Family Resource Centres contribute to positive brain development and the building blocks necessary for children and families to succeed.

 

 

As the Early Years Family Resource Centre Coordinator, the ideal candidate:

• Demonstrates skills and experience in working with, engaging and supporting a wide variety of families and parents or caregivers in respectful, welcoming and non-stigmatizing ways. 

• Demonstrates a passion for working with children developed through professional experiences and education in early childhood development and Play and Exploration- informed environments. 

• Has detailed knowledge about child development, including how children acquire language, problem solve and develop physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally.  The candidate will also have knowledge and experience in how to transmit this information to parents and create programs and an environment that meets the varying needs and stages of families with children aged zero to five. 

• Can create and maintain collaborative working relationships so that community partners can integrate their professional expertise into the programming offered at the Early Years Family Centre. 

• Has experience in developing and facilitating programming with children and adults.  This includes the ability to regularly review programming and adapt standard curriculum and programming to the context of the Early Years Family Resource Centre, including the ability to integrate parent and caregiver feedback during the course of programming.

• Demonstrates strong cultural competence and awareness and respect for family diversity. 

• Demonstrates effective leadership skills and has the ability to lead a team, delegate, set expectations and monitor progress of direct reports.

 

Overview of responsibilities

The supervision and direction for this position is provided by the local Early Years Family Resource Centre Management Team.  The candidate will have responsibility for the following areas of operation of the Early Years Family Resource Centre:

1. Administration – Oversee the day to day administration and operation within the Early Years Family Resource Centre.

2. Programming – Develop and deliver programming at the centre.

3. Partnerships – Establish good working relationship with partnering agencies and their representatives in order to achieve the desired outcomes within the four pillars – early learning, parenting education, family wellness and support, and information and referrals.

4. Family engagement – Engage parents, caregivers and young children.

5. Centre direction – Make recommendations, report to and take direction from the local Early Years Family Resource Centre Management Committee and liaise with the Ministry of Education as needed.

 

Within these broader objectives, the ideal candidate will have responsibility for the following:

 

1. Programming

1. Develop and deliver programming delivered by centre staff and partners that meets the four pillars that make up the Early Years Family Resource Centre model – early learning, parenting education, family wellness and support and information and referrals.

2. Create a learning rich environment for families including drop-in and scheduled sessions with programming partners.

3. Plan, organize and facilitate age appropriate play based learning and sessions for children and parents that reflect the stages of child development including oral language skills, creative expressions, problem solving and emergent literacy and numeracy strategies.

4. Maintain and regularly update the physical space of the Early Years Family Resource Centre Integrate the elements of a child-directed, inquiry-based approach into programming described in the Ministry of Education’s Play and Exploration documents. 

5. Work to develop programming and a reputation in the community that makes the Early Years Family Resource Centre a “trusted source” of information for families with young children in the community.

6. Develop opportunities to support parent-child engagement and attachment and enhance parent knowledge about child development.

7. Regularly review the array of program offerings at the centre to ensure programs are responding to the needs of children and families and that all pillars of programming are being addressed.

 

1. Family engagement

1. Actively engage and welcome families in strength-based ways and over time work to build strong based relationships with parents, caregivers and children who attend the centre. 

2. Actively seek out new families to attend the centre, including through other community agencies or face to face contact. 

3. Create opportunities for family diversity

4. Seek out parent, caregiver and child voice, including through parent advisory councils, parent surveys, parent feedback forms and face to face engagement.

5. Provide families with information and linkages or referrals to outside agencies when required.

6. Engage, coordinate and supervise parent and community volunteers as appropriate.

 

 

 

 

1. Partnerships

1. Work with partners to develop and deliver innovative programming to meet the four pillars of the Early Years Family Resource Centre model, including service agreements, space requirements and scheduling.

2. Build relationship with partners in order to promote Early Years Family Resource Centre services among that agency’s clients and to remain familiar with their services to facilitate referrals to outside agencies.

3. Work with partners to develop strategies to help diverse families feel welcome to attend the centre.

4. Work with the community and local partners to increase and enhance the capacity of the centre, including through fundraising and applying for grants.

 

1. Administration

1. Develop an annual strategic community plan and budget that integrates feedback from parents, children, and community partners.

2. Provide staff supervision, leadership and mentoring in ways that support the values of family engagement, diversity, compassion and openness at the centre.

3. Set hours for the facility, including flexible times that meet the needs of working parents, as well as coordinate staffing schedules and relief scheduling for holiday/sick coverage.

4. Promote the program through various means, including social media, through partners and word of mouth, etc.

5. Establish program registration processes, track and report on attendance.

6. Establish operational policies and procedures within the Early Years Family Resource Centre, including family orientation and engagement policies.

1. Centre direction

1. Report regularly to and take direction from the Early Years Family Resource Centre Management Committee.  This includes making recommendations about the direction of centre programming and providing information and reports to the committee to support decision making.

2. Develop and present an annual strategic community plan and budget for approval to the Early Years Family Resource Centre Management Committee.

3. Report to the Ministry of Education, Early Years Branch as requested.  This includes attending meetings, keeping records, conducting evaluations and documenting aspects of the operation of the Early Years Family Resource Centre.

 

Qualifications

The successful applicant will have a combination of the following experience and training:

• Experience and training in the planning and delivery of programs and services to adults and children, both one-on-one and in groups.  This experience is typically gained through experience and education in the human services fields, including applicants who have experience in delivering parenting education.

• Knowledge of quality early learning environments, typically gained through Early Childhood Certification Level III or equivalent experience and education.

• Experience managing a team of staff in the delivery of programming.

• Experience working in a collaborative environment with partners.

• Valid first aid / CPR.

• Valid Driver’s license and ability to commute locally.

• Valid criminal record check and vulnerable sector check.

• The ability to work flexible hours, including regular business hours, early evening and weekends.

Experience using technology to facilitate reporting and parent and community engagement.