Overview and Distinguishing Job Characteristics

The program assistant must be an empathetic, caring team player who can cooperatively work with diverse staff and program participants while maintaining a professional image for the organization.

As CFK is a small non-profit, all paid staff’s job duties can vary in scope, demand, schedule and location. Successful employees must be adaptable and willing to assist with a variety of duties even when they fall outside their regular job duties and schedule.

A high school diploma is required and a successful candidate must have experience with working with the public. This position will report to the Program Director. .

Primary Job Responsibilities

1. On-site coordinator for Music Therapy & More, held across Cuyahoga County and Lorain County.

1. Warmly greets families as they enter and ensures they feel welcomed and that this is a safe space for them to learn how to help their child.
2. Identifies families’ needs for resources and connects them to a Family Resource Specialist.
3. Works with music therapists to manage Music Therapy & More programs. Resolves any conflicts during the event (e.g., if there isn’t space for families that didn’t register or families bring additional children into the program).
4. Completes monthly and weekly reporting of key program metrics, as directed by Program Director and/or program reports, including surveys and raw data. Must have strong attention to detail for registrations and accurate reporting. Will use Excel and Google spreadsheets to conduct reporting.
5. If no supervisor is in the room, expected to take a leadership role to ensure supervision and reporting of any incidents to Executive Director and Program Director.

Secondary Responsibilities

1. Assists with any CFK program or event that needs additional staffing levels.
2. Serves as a substitute for other staff members at programs, including occasionally in child care room.
3. All other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this position successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty listed below, with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Punctuality and Attendance – Maintains regular and punctual attendance for all scheduled programs/events.
• Flexibility – Amenability to changes in the scheduling of programs, which may occur during weekday evenings, Saturdays, and during the weekday.
• Cooperation – Works cooperatively with co-workers, families, children and CFK administration.
• Compassion, Credibility, and Sensitivity – Consistently provides compassionate, sensitive, emotional support to children and their caregivers. Exercises tolerance and respect in serving a demographically and socioeconomically diverse population of families. Creates a welcoming, accommodating and credible presence in the community CFK hosts programming that encourages program participants to attend, feel comfortable, and return.
• Maintaining Professional Boundaries – Many of our member families are in the throes of emerging or new diagnoses, or they are struggling with their child’s difficult behaviors. They will often look to CFK staff for information, and they may invest a disproportionately high degree of reliance on their feedback—even when we may not be experts in the subject area, or in their particular child’s struggles. This remains the case, even when we have people in our own lives with similar diagnoses or challenges. CFK staff must remain especially mindful to avoid providing professional advice, or even adopting a role that is similar to how we might counsel a friend. We must maintain a role where we are sensitive and show empathy to their struggles—but we avoid responses that could offend, mislead, or misdirect them.
• Discretion and Confidentiality – Absent circumstances creating obligations of mandatory reporting under the law, maintains families’ confidentiality and privacy, abstaining from gossip or sensationalism, and refraining from discussing confidential or private activity occurring within the programs.
• Strong Attention to Detail – Reporting on program statistics is critical to ensuring foundation and donor support for programs. Data entry and reporting must be completed with a high level of accuracy. Ensures all written work product is free from substantive, mathematical, grammatical and spelling errors.
• Alertness – Must be alert and awake at all times during programming, attend to the safety and security of all participants, and remain mindful of the potential for participants’ potential for quick acts of aggression, wandering or elopement.
• Keeps Up to Date on CFK Resources – Knowledgeable about CFK programs and resources and actively learns about new CFK professional programs in order to keep parents informed. Includes listening to all new CFK podcasts.
• Communication – Effectively assists families, staff and volunteers of all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds including families with limited knowledge of English or who have low reading levels.
• Policy Compliance – Responsible for following CFK’s employee handbook and policies.
• Timekeeping Precision – Given the limited and set budgets of the program, completes all work within projected timeframes; accurately and completely records hours worked. Timely submits records of hours worked for payroll.
• Self-Motivated – The majority of the work will be done without direct supervision. Must timely and accurately complete assignments.
• Reliable Transportation – We do reimburse for mileage but it is expected that you have reliable transportation.

Qualifications

• Minimum High School Diploma
• Experience (personal or professional) with children with developmental or mental health concerns
• Excellent knowledge of word processing tools, spreadsheets and presentations (Google Documents, MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Good command of English (both oral and written)
• Good customer service skills.
• Basic understanding of databases
• Excellent attention to detail
• Meet the essential requirements for the position, with or without reasonable accommodation

Work Environment

This position’s primary work environment entails serving members of the public who may be unfamiliar with or anxious about their child’s development. They may be confused about what to do and they may have extensive questions or concerns. As a result, they may be agitated, stressed, impolite or unreasonable; yet CFK expects its employees to consistently provide courteous services in return. Participants in our programming may wear heavy perfumes, be eating strong-smelling food, present with inadequate hygiene or present other environmental concerns for those with airborne allergies or other olfactory sensitivities. To be successful in this position, an individual must be able to work effectively throughout these changing dynamics and demands.

This job description in no manner states or implies that these are the only duties and responsibilities to be performed by the employee filling this position, who will be required to follow instructions and perform any duties required by the employee’s supervisor or designee.