ORCAS EL Parent Educator

The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is a non‑profit organization established in 1976 to serve immigrants, refugees, and the broader community in Portland, Oregon. Our mission is to welcome, serve and empower refugees, immigrants and people across cultures and generations to reach their full potential. Find out more o.org.

The ORCAS - Oregon Refugee Children Assistance Services Program is a collaborative project with Lutheran Community Services NW and IRCO. Our goal in ORCAS Early Learning is to support refugee families’ w/children ages 0-5 years in kindergarten readiness/activities, developmental screening, referrals/navigation supports to community resources, and parenting education workshops.

Parent Educators are trusted and trained by early childhood professionals. Their services promote healthy child development, support families in preparing young children for kindergarten, and connect parents/caregivers with primary care providers, schools, and early intervention services as needed.

• Conduct home visits with families and provide education for supporting their child(ren) s’ social, emotional health and awareness.
• Travel throughout the Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas County area in person for visits and parent/child group meetings.
• Maintain accurate records of interactions, assessments, and progress notes.
• Provide recruitment and engagement support for the parent education workshops, including translation needed during the workshops.
• Assist families with kindergarten enrollment, particularly for those not receiving Refugee & Placement (R&P) services.
• Provide referrals and support in accessing Special Education services.
• Assist families getting access to available social, health and educational resources
• Work to host and prepare culturally and linguistically specific services that meet the needs of targeted communities and families with zero to 5 years old children. This could include client intakes, referrals to needed resources, offering classes for target populations, monitoring child development, conducting ASQ 3 & ASQ SE 2, and home visits.
• Attend bi-weekly ORCAS team meetings, monthly check-ins, and all required collaborative training.
• Complete monthly data and demographic reports for enrolled families
• Prepare and translate educational materials as needed.
• Facilitating communication between the health care system, early intervention, school system, and parents/caregivers include directly advocating for families and their specific needs.
• Attending partner, community, and agency meetings assigned.
• Maintain up-to-date records (on paper and share information technology platform; Apricot 360) and files on all families enrolled in the project.

• Ability to meet multiple, including conflicting deadlines
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Ability to communicate with a variety of personality types and levels of the organization as well as with people outside of the organization
• Ability to work flexible hours to meet the availability of clients
• Support community outreach and community education regarding health and well-being.
• Support early learning events organized by the early learning staff.
• This position works under the guidance of the Director of Early Learning and Assistant Manager of Home Visiting. This position does not supervise any employees. It will however be asked on occasion to train, orient, and direct the work of new employees of IRCO.

• 1-2 years’ experience in early childhood education and/or ECE coursework equivalent
• Must be proficient in the English language and one of the languages listed
• Oral and written communication skills commensurate with the needs of the position
• Is part of, has background, and/or experience in working with immigrant and refugee communities and understanding the cultural values and beliefs of that community
• Self‑motivation and the ability to work independently with strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 software

• Strong communication skills in a multilingual,…