Family & Community Partnerships Specialist - Enrollment

Position Summary 

Ensure full enrollment of Early Childhood Programs. Responsible for recruitment strategies and oversight of the enrollment process for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, ensuring compliance with regulations. Oversee attendance during enrollment as well as exit transitions. Collaborate with community partners and provide direction and support to NEICAC staff conducting recruitment, application, and enrollment efforts. This position requires knowledge of relevant regulations and adaptability to meet program needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Agency Related:

• Must maintain confidentiality at all times
• Must always represent NEICAC in a positive and professional manner
• Must attend training as requested to demonstrate a continued effort to grow professionally
• Adhere to all policies as an employee of Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation 
• Attend all agency-wide trainings
• Must travel extensively within service area and occasionally out of service area
• Establish a collaborative and communicative relationship with fellow staff
• Must be punctual and dependable in completing assignments, meeting report deadlines, daily attendance is essential

Program Specific:

• Develop and implement Head Start & Early Head Start recruitment strategies to gain awareness & maintain enrollment in programs.
• Review program applications and maintain applicant enrollment and waiting lists. 
• Become knowledgeable of Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment and Attendance (ERSEA) requirements according to Performance Standards to maintain funded enrollment for the program.
• Work with the Area Education Agency to recruit children with identified disabilities to meet the 10% mandate.
• Ensure accurate program data input into software system.
• Track and monitor attendance following up on any classroom falling below 85% participation.
• Ensure that enrolled parents are informed of their rights and responsibilities and encourage their participation. in the program. 
• Implement a plan to increase parent engagement in the program.
• Become familiar with the ethnic background and heritage of families. 
• Effectively communicate and follow procedures to serve children and families in their primary or preferred language to the extent feasible. 
• Oversee the transition process for children enrolling and exiting program.
• Assist parents in becoming their children's advocate as they transition out of Early Childhood Programs.
• Work with the Policy Council and serve as a resource for the Parent Groups.
• Encourage parents and community members to participate in program governance.
• Maintain a waiting list of participants to ensure full enrollment following a vacancy.
• Collect and interpret data, assisting in the Community Needs Assessment (CNA) process.
• Utilize Community Needs Assessment (CNA) in determining needs, locations, and services to be provided.
• Collaborate with partners in communities to provide the highest level of services to children and families. 
• Foster the development of a continuum of family centered services. 
• Organize and direct the efforts of Family Services staff and Home Visitors throughout the process of recruitment, application, and enrollment. 
• Develop in-depth knowledge of program performance standards, federal, state and local regulations relating to their specialty area.
• Adjust schedule in accordance with program needs to substitute in Head Start classrooms.

Supervisory Responsibilities 

N/A.

Requirements 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience  

Bachelor’s degree in social/human/Family Services or related field required. Experience in working with families also preferred. Must have computer experience and/or training.

Practical Skills 

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, other employees of the organization and the general public in one-on-one and small group situations. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.  Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Certificates, Licenses & Registrations 

Must have a valid driver’s license and carry NEICAC levels of automobile insurance. This position is subject to Motor Vehicle Records check.

Complete a physical with a TB screening and have repeated every three years.

Must satisfactorily complete criminal records check and repeat as mandated by Head Start & Iowa Licensure requirements. Must be bondable.

Must satisfactorily complete First Aid, CPR, Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting, Medication Administration, Universal Precautions and any other training required by DHS licensure and/or Head Start Performance Standards. 

Physical Demands 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand. The employee is occasionally required to walk; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment 

The environment varies from temperature-controlled office area with moderate to quiet noise level to outside travel.

This job description does not state or imply that the above are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Employees holding this position will be required to perform any other job-related duties as requested by management. All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with a disability.