Early Childhood Specialist

IRC Organizational Background:

The IRC works with government bodies, civil society actors and local volunteers to help refugees, asylees and those with Special Immigrant Visas translate their past experiences into assets that are valuable to their new communities. In Denver and other offices across the country, the IRC helps refugees and asylees to rebuild their lives through services and programs that assist with initial resettlement through longer-term integration. Presently, these services are case management, employment services, psychosocial support, family stabilization, health coordination, health insurance literacy, family reunification and programs for children and youth. The Denver office also has a legal services program to provide pro bono legal representation to survivors of torture, as well as direct legal services for family-based immigration.

Job Overview: This position is responsible for preschool enrollment support for children ages 3-5 years, childcare/daycare enrollment support for families with children 0-5 years, CCAP and Low-Income CCAP navigation support, HeadStart program enrollment and partnerships with Denver Counties and the public benefits team. In addition, this position will provide in-home caregiver ECE sessions, IRC workshops on childcare support, WIC services support, and partnership development to connect clients with early childhood programs. This position reports to the Programs Education Supervisor.

Major Responsibilities: Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Early Childhood Education (ECE) Casework

• Receive and respond to referrals from IRC staff families interested in ECE services.
• Conduct intake and assessment of family and child support needs.
• Support enrollment and navigation of ECE services for youth 0-5 and families that are ORR eligible. including transporting families as needed.
• Conduct in-home parent and child ECE sessions and orientation around child development, child supervision and other areas of client interests.
• Work closely with internal IRC teams such as Casework, Health and Public Benefits for holistic support services for children 0-5, around CCAP and WIC benefits
• Build relationships with HeadStart programs, HIPPY programs, CCAP counties, and school district ECE programs, as well as other ECE centers around Metro Denver area.
• Build supportive relationships with refugee youth and families utilizing a trauma-informed and cultural understanding approach to child rearing, early childhood education, parent engagement and skills, and child supervision.
• Using interpretation services, conduct family outreach and provide systems navigation and support to improve families’ connections to resources.
• Coordinate donations and distributions of donations specific to children 0-5 for families, through community partnerships.

Program Planning & Coordination

• Support the implementation of IRC’s youth programming as needed. 
• Support Education & Learning team workshops and programs with childcare watch and/or supervising childcare watch volunteers, as needed for programs.
• Co-Facilitate parent engagement programs to encourage parent and caregiver integration in school and community.
• Collect and track participant data, maintain attendance records, capture assessment data, track other outcomes and metrics, and ensure program documentation is entered into the ETO and/or Geneva databases in a timely manner.
• Help complete necessary reporting on program activities and accomplishments. 
• Supervise volunteers and interns within IRC in Denver’s youth programs as needed.
• Participate in all youth program meetings and staff development activities, and fully engage as a member of the IRC team.
• Comply with all policies, procedures, and protocols of the agency.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Job Requirements: 

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years of related professional experience such as youth case management, family engagement, early childhood education, childcare or youth development preferred.
• Experience navigating public benefit applications and support for low-income families for ECE services, and or experience with school enrollment processes.
• Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations; cross-cultural or overseas experience.
• Experience working with English Language Learners preferred.

Demonstrated Skills & Competencies:

• Superb organizational, planning, time and task management, and logistical skills.
• Strong decision-making capabilities, with solid judgement and ethics consistent with the IRC Way. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), internet applications, and relational database.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. Ability to work well with people of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, with varying literacy and English proficiency levels.
• Ability to work well independently and as part of a team. 
• Ability to maintain responsibility for multiple tasks in the context of a diverse, fast-paced work environment.
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in language(s) of current refugee populations a plus but not required (Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Ukrainian, Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Rohingya, Sudanese Arabic etc.).
• Willingness to obtain Car Seat Technician Training.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and current auto insurance that meets the IRC requirements for drivers on staff.
• Must be comfortable driving clients in personal vehicle. Staff mileage for client transportation and meetings will be reimbursed each month.

Working Environment: 

• The majority of time in community-based locations and client homes to perform the above responsibilities in the service area.
• Flexibility in hybrid work schedule, with minimum 3 days in person.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.  Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.