Overview and Distinguishing Job Characteristics

The program assistant must be an empathetic, caring team player who can cooperatively work with diverse staff and families 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 reports to the Executive Director.

Primary Job Responsibilities

1. Connect new and existing families to resources that could be beneficial to them.

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.
• 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.
• 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 activities is critical to ensuring foundation and donor support for programs. Data entry and reporting must be made with a high level of accuracy. Ensures all written work product is free from substantive, mathematical, grammatical and spelling errors.
• 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.

Qualifications

• Minimum High School Diploma
• Experience (personal or professional) with children with developmental or mental health concerns
• Familiarity with social media required, especially Facebook and Instagram
• Excellent knowledge of word processing tools, spreadsheets and presentations (Google Documents, MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Working knowledge of office equipment, computer hardware and peripheral devices including Google Meets and Zoom
• Basic understanding of databases
• Good command of English both oral and written
• Good customer service skills
• 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. 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.