Communities of Practice Coordinator

Description

Easterseals Blake Foundation started as the Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Southern Arizona. Since then, we have expanded our services to better serve our community members. We are now one of Arizona's top providers of comprehensive behavioral health services, child welfare, and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We serve more than 40,000 individuals and families across 10 counties and support more than 3,700 children in Foster Care throughout Southern Arizona. Are you ready to make profound, positive differences in people's lives every day?

We offer our full-time employees the following benefits:

• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account
• Voluntary Life insurance
• Voluntary Short-term Disability insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Accident insurance
• Employer paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and Employee Assistance Program

General Position Description: Plans, organizes, and conducts professional development to a cohort of early education providers, from both centers and family home settings, based on a key topic identified by the funder.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides community awareness and outreach activities throughout Pima County to share information on identified topics and on opportunities to participate in the cohort.
• Recruits a cohort of interested and committed providers to become the “Community of Practice” (COP) for the EBF portion of this Professional Development Alliance. Provides one-on-one coaching and mentoring with these providers in a school-based setting
• Provides support for implementation of the identified topic and its and practices through on-site modeling and mentorship, virtually, by telephone, and through print materials.
• Manages detailed scheduling with providers and/or early childhood program administrators requesting training/coaching/mentorship.
• Trains, and evaluates the outcomes of training/coaching support that is provided and makes adjustments to improve effectiveness. Utilizes training techniques that are interactive and offer participants an opportunity to reflect.
• In conjunction with providers and/or administrators, observes and documents observation of learning environment and program prior to developing the support plan.
• When assisting with targeted children, facilitates planning meetings with all individuals that interface with the child(ren) being supported.
• Develops Individual Plans that support providers’ abilities to include children with behavioral or developmental challenges.
• Provides constructive, strengths-based feedback to colleagues, participants, and other technical assistance providers.
• Participates in the process of ongoing professional development and meetings. Maintains comprehensive communication among all contacts within the agency, members, and external agencies. Models professional standards and ethics in accordance with EBF Code of Conduct, Strategic Plan, Mission, and Vision.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Family Studies, Child Development, or a related field required. Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Family Studies, Child Development, or a related field preferred. Experience working with young children in classroom settings is preferred. Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.

Regulatory

• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Current, unrestricted AZ driver’s license with no more than two (2) minor moving violations or one (1) accident within the past three (3 years). Three (3) years of driving experience required.
• Must be able to pass a criminal background check.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an AZ DPS Level 1 fingerprint clearance card (employer provides).
• CPR and First Aid certification (Employer provides).

Skills/Job Knowledge/Abilities: Able to establish and maintain a team atmosphere of communication and collaboration for all that reach out to the Department. Must be self-directed and be sensitive to cultural and linguistic diversity. Excellent customer service in stressful situations. Maintains a professional in appearance, communications, and actions. Excellent interpersonal communication skills. Able to recognize the need to maintain a dual focus on both relationships with participants and program activities fostering an assets or strengths-based approach. Able to apply adult learning principles and practices of multi-method instruction. Basic knowledge of developmentally appropriate early childhood educational practices for young children, typical and atypical child development, positive guidance and discipline, child-centered approaches, management in early care and education settings, and community resources related to early childhood, special needs, and services for families. Possess a high level of computer proficiency.

Working Conditions/Physical Requirements (with or without accommodation): Normal office environment with multiple interruptions in person and through computer and phone. Will work outside and inside environments, as needed. Travel to outlying sites and other locations. Daily travel to childcare, home care providers, and school sites. Drives personal and/or corporate vehicle on a regular basis to perform the duties of the position. Interacts with employees and members of the public on a daily basis. High activity environment with children and educator interactions. May lift normal office equipment and materials up to 25lbs. Visual acuity to read information from computer screens, forms and to assess the wellbeing of children and participants. Able to speak clearly in conversations and general communications. Hearing ability for communication in persona, phone, and/or other electronic methods. Manual dexterity for typing and writing. Able to stoop, squat, reach, pull, push, stretch, ascend and descend stairs, stand and sit for long periods of time. May be required to work additional hours or days depending on circumstances.

Additional Information: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, skills, job knowledge, responsibilities, and/or qualifications. EBF reserves the right to revise the job description or to assign other duties to this position. This job description is not intended to create a contract or property right to continued employment between the employee and EBF.

Easterseals Blake Foundation and Aviva are an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative action employer that promotes a work environment of inclusion and diversity. We are committed to provide employment opportunities to all candidates based on their qualifications free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation or gender identity), age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, mental or physical disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you have any questions, require assistance or reasonable accommodations while seeking employment, please contact the Human Resource Department at HR@blake.easterseals.com or call 520-327-1529.