Program Assistant
Posting Date: March 1, 2021
Please submit resume, cover letter and references to sarahrintamaki@connectingforkids.org
| OMFWSA Status: | Non-exempt |
| Employment Status: | Part-time |
| Work Schedule: |
Approximately 40 hours per month from September through May depending upon the number of programs per week. Approximately 20 hours per month during June-August. We are budgeting 420 work hours for the current fiscal year, which runs from August through July. Schedule will require work during the daytime, various evenings, and Saturdays. Additionally, this employee may be asked to assist with matters outside his or her typical job responsibilities, including those occurring outside his or her typical work schedule. |
| Location: | The work is primarily from your home during COVID; however, when in-person programs resume, our programs take place across Northeast Ohio and you would be expected to travel to program locations as needed. |
| Reports To: | Executive Director |
| Pay Rate: | $15/hr starting wage. No benefits. |
Overview and Distinguishing Job Characteristics
The program assistant needs to 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 would report to the Executive Director.
Primary Job Responsibilities
1. On-site coordinator for Music Therapy & More held across Cuyahoga County and Lorain County.
- Must warmly greet families as they enter and ensure they feel welcomed and that this is a safe space for them to learn how to help their child.
- Identifies families’ need for resources and connects them to a Family Resource Specialist.
- Works with music therapists to manage Music Therapy & More program. 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 program).
- Monthly and weekly reporting of key program metrics as directed by Executive Director and/or program reports, including surveys and raw data. Reporting for all programs. Must have strong attention to detail for registrations and accurately reporting. Will use Excel and Google spreadsheets to conduct reporting.
- If no supervisor is in the room, expected to take a leadership role to ensure supervision and reporting of any incidents to Executive Director.
2. On-site assistant for Speaker Events, Coffee and Chats, Consults, Workshops or other programs held across Cuyahoga County and Lorain County.
- Assist with accurate registration of both in-person and zoom events.
- Assist with facilitating participant’s questions to speaker/facilitator through the chat function of zoom. Must have strong reading skills.
- Manages all technology, including setting up the slides for the speaker, coordinating the microphones, and recording and editing a podcast of the event.
- Must warmly greet families as they enter and ensure they feel welcomed and that this is a safe space for them to learn how to help their child.
3. Assists in distributing seasonal fliers and awareness kits to schools, professional offices, and other facilities. This would take place during the day when these facilities are open. This may require explaining about the awareness kits to the schools/daycares and encouraging their participation.
- Must have sufficient ability to transport these materials (no vehicle/driver provided). Mileage is reimbursable.
- Must have professional and personable manner as a representative of the organization.
4. Attends various networking events and presents information about Connecting for Kids clearly and accurately. .
- Warmly greets new potential families and helps them to understand the resources available through our organization.
- At the event, takes notes of presentations or other organization activities; provides summary to staff via email and to families on Facebook chat page.
5. Facilitate volunteer events to assemble awareness kits. Responsible for communication about program and Connecting for Kids to volunteers and working with volunteers to accurately complete tasks.
- Must have professional and personable manner as a representative of the organization.
6. Assists with CFK resource fairs.
- Facilitate volunteer projects such as stuffing Grab and Go bags with resources.
- Works closely with Professional and School Liaison to complete tasks needed for resource fairs including purchasing supplies, transporting items to resource events, assisting with set up and clean up.
7. Assists with fundraising.
- Assists with 2-3 large fundraising events annually as well as year-end campaign.
- Assists with item donations including sending donation request letters and in-person donation requests. Includes tracking inventory of donations and sending donation receipts.
- Assembles item baskets for silent auction/raffles including consolidating items into baskets, purchasing materials for baskets and displaying attractively.
- Helps to set up, staff and clean up on day of the event.
- Assists with year-end donor campaign including organizing and assembling donation request letters and thank you notes.
- Keeps storage shed organized and inventoried for fundraising items.
- Other assignments as needed.
8. Maintains CFK inventory and orders new materials as needed.
- Keeps shed organized and inventoried.
- Purchases new materials when needed. Accurately submits receipts.
Secondary Job Duties:
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. Connects new and existing families to resources that could be beneficial to them under direction of Family Resource Specialist.
4. 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 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 program statistics 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.
- Alertness - Must be alert and awake at all times during programming, attending to the safety and security of all participants, and mindful of the potential for participants’ potential for quick acts of aggression, wandering, or elopement.
- Keeps Informed About CFK Resources – Knowledgeable about CFK professional programs and resources; actively learns about new CFK professional programs in order to keep parents informed.
- Communication – Effectively assists families, staff and volunteers of all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds including families with limited knowledge of English.
- Community Liaison – Acts as a liaison between CFK and the community, by attending expos and fairs, and other events on behalf of CFK. Maintains a professional image on behalf of the organization.
- 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 in your home without direct supervision Must timely and accurately complete assignments.
- Transportation Requirements –On approximately 7-10 occasions each year, this employee must promptly and personally deliver seasonal fliers or awareness campaign materials to a significant number of schools and professionals across Northeast Ohio. The employee must have or arrange for reliable transportation to conduct this function, and conduct this task in a safe manner.
- Transporting Flier Bundles – Distribution of seasonal fliers three times annually requires transporting a bundle of fliers averaging 20-25 pounds from our central location to your vehicle; and then delivering a small percentage of these bundles from your vehicle into each individual school/office on the distribution list.
- Ability to Work in Person – This position will require in-person programs or events where employees will be required to interact with others. Connecting for Kids does follow safety protocols such as mask-wearing and social distancing; however, employees are not currently eligible for COVID vaccinations due to employment status.
- Wifi Access and Ability to Work from Home – Connecting for Kids does not have office space; therefore, the employee must be able to complete some tasks from home and have reliable wifi access.
Qualifications
- Minimum High School Diploma.
- Experience working with the public in a paid or volunteer role required.
- Preference for experience 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.)
- Working knowledge of office equipment, computer hardware, and peripheral devices.
- Working knowledge of databases.
- Good command of English, both oral and written, and strong 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. 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.
Additionally, this employee will travel to and inside a vast array of school, community, and professional buildings to interact with its staff, and encounter all the conditions of each of their respective work environments.
The annual fundraisers are held in venues that serve alcoholic beverages to guests and we often serve coffee and our programs held at libraries. This employee must be willing to work while these beverages are being served to participants.
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.
| Call, text or email: Phone: 1-440-570-5908 | Address: P.O. Box 45372 |
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