Childcare Specialist
| Reports to: Regional Administrator | Classification: Contracted |
| Date: September 2004 |
Job Summary:
Partners with childcare providers, families, educators, and community resources to provide effective learning environments for all children. Helps ensure success for all learners. Provides services to young children and childcare providers in a variety of preschool, center, or family/home settings for limited periods of time. Assists in the implementation and development of behavior intervention plans through consultation, coaching, and modeling. Responds to childcare provider concerns regarding behavioral challenges of specific children. Links with community resources for more specialized or intensive services to meet individual needs.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in education, human services, or any related field.
- Five years of work experience in early childhood settings.
- Iowa instructional or support license.
Essential Functions:
- Supports community efforts to enhance the quality of childcare settings and create positive learning environments for young children.
- Serves as liaison among childcare providers, families, AEA, and community resources and collaborates with various teams to assure positive outcomes for all learners.
- Models, implements and assesses strategies related to learning, social, emotional, and behavioral needs and develops and monitors behavior intervention plans to enhance learning environments for young children.
- Integrates research into the design of best practices.
- Consults with childcare providers, families, and community resources to build capacity for best practices in behavior strategies for childcare settings.
- Follows policies, procedures, standards and rules in accordance with national and state laws, the Iowa Dept of Education, and GWAEA, which includes, but is not limited to, developing and maintaining proper and adequate records and documentation.
- Coordinates day-to-day operation of childcare response team.
- Analyzes evaluation data and develops project reports.
- Serves as a liaison between childcare providers and professional development resources.
Additional Responsibilities:
- Participates in projects, committees or activities to support the Agency's mission, goals and priorities.
- Demonstrates self-discipline and initiative to produce high-quality, organized and dependable results.
- Conveys a positive and professional image to staff and public.
- Handles information in a confidential manner in accordance with established policies and legal requirements (FERPA, HIPAA, etc).
- Pursues professional growth opportunities and relationships to keep current with and influence developments in early childhood.
- Performs such other duties as may be assigned.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to communicate effectively and maintain effective working relationships.
- Ability to function effectively as a team member and work collaboratively with others or independently as appropriate.
- Ability and willingness to be flexible and respond to the changing needs of clients and the Agency.
- Ability to integrate educational theory, research and expertise regarding early childhood into appropriate practices for local contexts, in a service style that facilitates positive change and continuous improvement.
- Effective presentation and group facilitation skills.
- Ability to use data to make sound decisions.
- Knowledge of best practices in early childhood curriculum, instruction and assessment.
- Knowledge of applicable rules and laws that govern decisions.
- Ability to read and interpret documents, write reports and correspondence, and apply appropriate mathematical concepts.
- Ability to use and integrate technology appropriately in daily work which includes, but is not limited to, efficient operation of telephone and voice mail systems and application of basic computer skills to effectively use e-mail, internet and word processing,
- Knowledge of early childhood classroom strategies and interventions.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to travel between sites served.
- Normal, routine levels of activity related to bending, carrying, climbing, hearing, lifting, reaching, sitting, standing, vision and walking, and may also involve above-average levels of activity at times that can't always be anticipated.