Parent Café Community Coordinator

Family Futures; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Family Futures in Grand Rapids is seeking a Parent Café Community Coordinator to deepen impact by planning, facilitating, and evaluating monthly Parent Cafés for FY 2027. You will support coalition-building and gather data to demonstrate reach and impact while serving as the grant lead to ensure workplans and reporting are completed.

The role oversees the Parent Café Coalition, coordinating partners and activities to align efforts for families in our northern Kent County service area.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Social Work, Psychology or related field.
• Minimum 2 years working with families or related experience.
• Familiarity with resources for families in northern Kent County.
• Lived experience navigating early childhood services and resources.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate monthly Parent Cafés.
• Collaborate to determine café dates, locations, and logistics through the grant year.
• Support facilitation, materials preparation, and participant engagement for all cafés.
• Support strategic planning for ongoing parent cafes and partnerships.
• Conduct outreach to community organizations to secure buy-in and partnerships.
• Hold at least one coalition meeting each quarter.
• Develop timeline, scope of work, and expectations with staff and coalition.
• Gather and share data from all Parent Cafés to demonstrate program growth and reach.
• Complete quarterly grant reporting and ensure workplan completion.

Skills

Fluency in English

Organized and detail oriented

Manage multiple projects

Written and verbal communications

Microsoft Office Suite

Adaptable and a self-starter

Culturally competent and diverse

Flexible schedule

Fast-paced environment

Learn early childhood landscape

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Social Work, Psychology

Job description

Get to know us:

Family Futures’ mission is to shape a community in which all children are supported to reach their full potential. Our geographic focus is primarily Kent County with some services extending into other communities. We help children ages 0 through 5 by supporting parents, providing connections to resources and programs, and offering ways to monitor and enhance early childhood development. We believe in supporting our employees to be successful as well. Family Futures offers a strength-based, learning-driven, quality improvement-based culture that celebrates equity and diversity and an opportunity to grow while making an impact in your community. Family Futures values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages individuals with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.

Job Overview:

The Parent Café Community Coordinator will deepen the impact and sustainability of the Be Strong Families Parent Café model within Northern Kent County, with a particular focus on families living and learning in the area. Working closely with staff and community partners, the Coordinator will plan, facilitate, and evaluate monthly Parent Cafés for FY 2027, support coalition-building efforts, and gather data to demonstrate program reach and impact. This position will also be the grant lead, ensuring that the workplan is created and followed, grant reporting is submitted, data is collected, and all aspects of the grant are being implemented. This position will also oversee the Parent Café Coalition, which brings partners in the parent café work together to align efforts and better serve families in our community. Adaptability is important for this position, as is taking initiative with daily tasks. Because you’ll be active in the community, there may be times when the use of a personal vehicle and lifting of boxes (roughly 25 lbs.) may be required, as well as attendance of community events and meetings outside of regular work hours. Lastly, use of personal cell phone and access to Internet service may be a requirement of this position.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Parent Café Planning & Facilitation:

• Plan and coordinate monthly Parent Cafés
• Collaborate through the parent café collation and Family Futures staff to determine café dates, locations, and logistics through the end of the grant year
• Support facilitation, materials preparation, and participant engagement for all cafés

Coalition & Partnership Development:

• Support strategic planning for ongoing parent cafes, including:
  • Theme and protective factors
  • One-on-one questions
  • Commitment cards and engagement activities
• Conduct outreach to community organizations to secure buy-in and partnership
• Hold at least one coalition meeting each quarter

Coordination & Administration

• Work with Family Futures staff and the Parent Café Coalition to develop a clear timeline, scope of work, and expectations, including meetings, assignments, systems, and processes
• Support communication and coordination among schools, community partners, and coalition members

Data Collection & Evaluation

• Gather and share data from all Parent Cafés to demonstrate program growth, participation, and demographic reach
• Collaborate with staff to ensure data aligns with reporting and program evaluation needs

Grant Compliance and Reporting

• Attend necessary meetings through the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage
• Complete quarterly grant reporting
• Ensure workplan creation and completion

Education and Experience:

The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Social Work, Psychology or a related field with a minimum 2 years working with families or some combination of formal and informal education and experience sufficient to demonstrate proficiency. The ideal candidate will also have familiarity with resources for families located in northern Kent County and/or lived experience navigating early childhood services and resources.

Qualifications:

• Experience in community engagement, family support programs, education, or nonprofit work
• Familiarity with Parent Café models, trauma-informed practices, or family-centered approaches preferred
• Strong relationship-building skills and comfort working with families, and community organizations
• Ability to plan events, manage timelines, and coordinate multiple partners
• Strong communication, organization, and collaboration skills

Required Skills:

• Fluency in English
• Organized and detail oriented
• Must be able to manage multiple projects at one time
• Written and verbal communications skills
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Adaptable and a self-starter
• Culturally competent and knowledgeable when working with diverse populations
• Flexible schedule to meet the needs of families
• Comfortable working in fast paced environments
• Ability to learn early childhood landscape and terminology

Preferred Skills:

• Data entry and/or database usage
• Fluency in Spanish
• Community resource knowledge
• Familiarity with northern Kent County

The job description is intended to provide the employee with a general, broad understanding of the job’s responsibilities, and not necessarily to specify all activities and responsibilities.