Early Learning Specialist; bilingual English​/Spanish

Bronx, NY, United States of America

Full Time

About Masa

Masa partners with Mexican and Latino immigrant children, youth, and families to develop strong learners and leaders who fully contribute to the broader community. We offer a broad range of educational, leadership, and advocacy programs.

Masa’s community-led, integrated model engages the entire family, grounded in a deep commitment to strengthening literacy, leadership, and power for Mexican, Central American, and Indigenous People. Masa fosters a culturally responsive learning community in which families engage with direct service and advocacy programs to dismantle barriers to success .

About the Early Learning Specialist

We are seeking a FT Bilingual (English/Spanish) Early Learning Specialist to implement the Parent Child+ home visiting model with families and children. The Early Learning Specialist serves as a mentor/educator, working with parents/guardians of children aged sixteen months through four years old. Early Learning Specialists promote each child's growth and development by planning and implementing developmentally appropriate experiences focused on learning through play.

In partnerships with parents, early learning specialists create environments in which children can develop personal relationships, experiment, make choices, solve problems, and develop age-appropriate social and self-help skills.

The successful Early Learning Specialist will have a strengths-based approach, understand her/his role as a mentor/model to the parent/guardian, and as an observer of the home environment and situations to make appropriate referrals. She/he will possess and ability to relate to parents/guardians as peers and equal partners in helping prepare children for life success, be non-judgmental, and be adept at involving parents/guardians in the child's education and well-being with every activity and during each visit.

The Early Learning Specialist is expected to participate in training, case conferences, and presentations as requested by Masa and Parent Child+. Additionally, the successful candidate should support the mission and goals of Masa. This is a FT (40 hrs/week) position that involves local travel to the homes of families in the program, as well as time spent at Masa's offices in the South Bronx.

Responsibilities

Recruit families and build community connections

Engage in street outreach: share information with families in the Bronx and East Harlem communities, visit and contact agencies, schools, clinics, businesses and others to share information about our program

Meet with the parent and child twice a week in the child's home for 30 minutes modeling nurturing and responsive caregiving that reflects the developmental stages, interests, and parents’ goals

Forge meaningful relationships with parent and child rooted in cultural fluency and trauma-informed practice, as well as a strengths-based and relationship-based approach

Complete a minimum of 16-hours of training in the Parent Child+ framework delivered by the local site Coordinator(s) prior to sessions, as well as training on CPR, mandated reporting, and other required topics

Complete required assessments, screenings, session reports and other data collection and reporting with families

Provide referrals to program families for early childhood and social services on an as-needed basis

Attend and participate in weekly group supervision and professional development (minimum of two hours a week) staff meetings

Requirements

Bilingual in Spanish and English

Have a strong knowledge base of early childhood education and child development; experience working in a pre-school, Head Start, Early Head Start setting, or childcare setting…