Family Advocate & Classroom Assistant - Full Time

General Job Description:

The Family Advocate will provide case management services to homeless families residing at Mary’s Place – this position provides direct service to families to assist them to achieve stability and affordable, safe housing. The Family Advocate will also work directly in the After School Tutoring Program and assist the After School Tutoring Program Coordinators to support the academic/social development of children/teens ages 4-18. *We are seeking someone who can start in a classroom assistant role but develop and grow into a coordinator/leader role for this program.* Finally, the Family Advocate will also independently plan and lead youth activities and field trips for children/teens ages 4-18. The Family Advocate must be able to :  work well with children, teens, adults, and families; be able to quickly adapt to a fast-paced environment; be self-motivated and independent with task completion. The position also requires a valid driver’s license, car insurance, and the ability to pass a criminal background check. This is a Monday-Friday full-time position. Monday-Thursday the start time would be during the day and the end time would be early/mid evening. Friday would be a shorter work day of just a few hours during the day. This position offers benefits. If someone is interested in applying but cannot work a full-time schedule, there can be flexibility with the hours and schedule.

Primary Job Duties/Responsibilities:

Family Advocate:

• Conduct intakes with families through which the family’s needs are assessed, guide the families in goal planning and implement actions plans for independence and self-sufficiency, connect the families to community resources and service providers, and regularly meet with families to evaluate progress.
• If needed, assist clients in completing forms/paperwork, make phone calls on behalf of clients and advocate in-person on behalf of clients (ie. meetings with other service providers, etc.).
• Build and maintain community relationships to ensure effective coordination of services.
• Assist with onsite services provided by the Advocacy staff (ie. family activities/events, etc.).
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Director or other Advocacy staff.

After School Tutoring Program:

• Prep and maintain classrooms:
• Clean and disinfect classrooms before the program opens and after the program closes.
• Ensure each classroom table is fully stocked with sharpened pencils, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant.
• Organize and make neat all classroom bookshelves, counters, and cupboards.
• Prepare daily snack for the students.
• Perform administrative/office duties, such as : signing students in/out of the classrooms; keeping track of students’ time spent in classrooms and computing daily and weekly attendance data; assessing students’ reading levels; assessing students’ academic progress; copying and printing educational materials and papers; assembling orientation training folders for public volunteers; assembling classroom folders for students; keeping inventory of classroom items/materials.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Publisher for when posters, signs, or presentations are needed.
• *We are seeking someone who can start in a classroom assistant role but develop and grow into a coordinator/leader role for this program.*

Youth Activities:

• Be creative in independently planning and leading evening/weekend community field trips for children and teens. Be expected to independently lead at least 12 children and teens at any given time. Be able to keep track of and report weekly attendance numbers to supervisors.

Required Qualifications/Skills:

• 4 year degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Human Services, Education, or closely related field.
• Ability in dealing with children, teens, adults, their families, and public volunteers.
• Ability to work with multi-cultural individuals from very diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to take direction and instruction, be teachable, and be self-motivated to independently complete tasks.
• Ability to be very hard-working and to multi-task while being attentive to detail and maintaining organization.
• Ability to be flexible, quickly adapt to change, and work efficiently and effectively in a fast-paced environment all while managing time and successfully completing tasks in a thorough manner.
• Ability in evaluating situations, staying calm in stressful situations, determining the needs of children, coping with a variety of behaviors, and teaching developmental/emotional/social skills.

How Applicants Will Be Evaluated:

The full selection process will include the following steps :

1. Resume review
2. Tour/Interview
3. Job Trial Period

If an applicant makes it to the final #3 step (Job Trial Period), this is not an offer of employment. The Job Trial Period provides the applicant a realistic preview to better understand the work environment, the work activities, and performance expectations. The Job Trial Period provides Sharing and Caring Hands verification of the applicant’s skill level and to see how well they fit in with our team dynamic. The candidate will be compensated for their time during the Job Trial Period.

Interested applicants should email their cover letter and resume to info@sharingandcaringhands.org. Please specify in the subject field what job you are applying for.