Early Childhood Development Specialist - Home Visits

Brighter Beginnings; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 57,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision, life insurance

Disability insurance

403b retirement with matching

Two weeks vacation

13 paid holidays

Sick leave accrual

FSA

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

Brighter Beginnings in Oakland, CA is seeking a Child Development Specialist to support families in the Early Head Start/Head Start program. You will work with children aged 0–5 and their caregivers, visiting families weekly to promote healthy development and prepare children for Pre-K.

This in-person, full-time role offers a $27.50/hour pay, a $1,000 sign-on bonus, and comprehensive benefits along with ongoing training and supervision.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in ECE or related field with 12 post-secondary units in ECE/CD
• Experience with children aged 0–5 years
• Strong writing and computer skills
• Valid driver's license and reliable vehicle; background check after offer
• Ability to develop case goals and plans with families
• Ability to teach, nurture, and empower participants
• Ability to work independently with strong teamwork
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, time management, and organizational skills
• Diversity experience

Responsibilities

• Maintain a caseload of about 12 families with weekly home visits and documentation
• Implement developmentally appropriate activities per EHS/HS curriculum
• Coordinate with teammates for group socializations twice monthly
• Coordinate with caregivers to ensure health, immunizations, and nutrition screenings
• Complete family assessments and timely paperwork
• Collaborate with community partners to access services

Skills

Strong writing skills

Strong computer skills

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Organizational skills

Ability to work independently

Teamwork

Diversity experience

Education

Bachelor's or advanced degree in Early Childhood Education or related field including 12 post-secondary units in ECE/CD

Job description

Title:Child Development Specialist
Reports to:Sr. Program Manager (Early Head Start/ Head Start)
Status:Non-Exempt / Hourly / Full-Time / In-person
Location:Oakland, CA
Pay:$27.5/ hour

***$1,000 Sign-on Bonus!***Receive 50% after 1 month, and 50% after 6-month probationary period.

Our Mission and Vision

The Brighter Beginnings mission is to “support healthy births and successful development of children by partnering with parents and helping to build strong communities“. Our mission gains its strength from our core belief that,“Every family matters, and every child deserves a happy, healthy future.”

Our History

Brighter Beginnings is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and has been responding to the needs of families in resource-poor neighborhoods since 1984 when our work began in response to the alarming differences in mortality and illness rates among African American babies compared to other children.

Brighter Beginnings has grown into a respected and well-connected organization with locations in Oakland, Richmond, Bay Point, and Antioch. We have a multi-cultural, bi-lingual staff of passionate and committed family-service professionals; in fact, many of our staff came to this work because of the challenges they faced in their own families.

About the role

As a Child Development Specialist (CDS), you will support the Oakland families in your caseload, working with children ages 0-5 years old and their caregivers in our Early Head Start/ Head Start program. You will get to work with parents/caregivers to enhance their ability to fill the role of primary nurturer of their child, and to prepare the child for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

In this role, you will visit your caseload weekly in 90-minute home visits. You will work to promote positive birth outcomes, enhance child development, and promote healthy family relationships. You’ll maintin contact with your caseload of families to integrate services into the family setting, such as health, nutrition, family services, mental health, special services, parent education and resources/referrals. This role also requires writing notes and entering data after every visit with a client.

Our CDS’s receive top-tier supervision and support. You’ll receive in-depth training on the curriculum designed to deliver child growth and development, health, educational, and nutritional information. In addition to regular 1:1 and group meetings, you will receive annual trainings to continually grow professionally.

Candidate Requirements

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in Early Childhood Education or related field including twelve (12) post-secondary semester units or equivalent quarter units in early childhood education or child development
• Experience working with children from 0-5 years old
• Strong computer skills and writing skills
• Valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record, reliable vehicle, and car insurance. After a conditional offer letter, must complete abackground check and have no history of abuse/neglect
• Excels in assisting families to develop case goals and plans
• Ability to teach, nurture, and empower program participants
• Ability to work independently with a strong teamwork commitment
• Good interpersonal, communication, time management, and organizational skills
• High ethical standards
• Experience working with diverse populations

Core Responsibilities:

• Maintain a caseload of about 12 families. Schedule, conduct, and document weekly home visitation sessions with participating caregivers and their children
• Implement developmentally appropriate parent and child activities per the EHS/HS curriculum
• Coordinate with teammates to implement group socializations twice monthly
• Coordinate with caregivers to ensure that prenatal, well-child exams, immunizations, health and dental screenings, and nutrition assessments are complete and necessary follow-up occurs
• Complete all required family assessments with families promptly
• Meet deadlines for required paperwork, documentation, and grant reports
• Collaborate with community partner agencies to access services for participating families

We are proud to offer competitive wages and benefits to our employees. Please feel free to inquire during the interview process. As a summary, we offer:

• 100% employer-paid health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance!
• Competitive wages and friendly environment
• Two weeks of vacation (increase after 1 year of employment)
• 13 paid holidays
• Sick leave accrual
• Optional employee-paid dependent health coverage
• 403b retirement account with matching
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Employee Assistant Program (EAP)

Notes: You may be a great Child Development Specialist if you have a background in Human Development, Early Childhood Development, Nanny, Childcare, Infant Development, or Preschools.