Phoenix - Early Childhood Education Liaison
Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest
- Phoenix, AZ
- $21.50 per hour
- Permanent
- Full-time
Reports to: Program Supervisor Department: Refugee and Immigration
Program: Refugee and Immigration Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Position Type: Regular Date Reviewed: March 2024General DescriptionIn concert with the Supervisor, this position is tasked with effectively integrating and educating
refugee children, ages birth to five, through the RSI Program. This involves maintaining
eligibility documentation, managing referrals, and facilitating enrollment into RSI-funded
activities using the ARRPODS system. The Education Liaison develops and implements
specialized support programs for eligible refugee children and families. These programs include
services like English language training, early childhood education resources, school readiness
activities, and early childhood development tracking support. Additionally, they offer assistance
to refugee families navigating the U.S. early childhood education system, including school specific orientations, cultural navigators, and language access support. Overall, the Education
Liaison's role is to ensure the smooth operation of the RSI Program, from coordinating services
and managing referrals to collaborating with early childhood providers and stakeholders to meet
the needs of refugee children and families.Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following: WEIGHT DESCRIPTION
50 Training and Activities
1. Provide activities under the Refugee School Impact (RSI) Program to
effectively provide early childhood education resources including connections
with early childhood providers in the community.
2. Maintain eligibility documentation and manage referrals for eligible children in
ARRPODS.
3. Create mechanisms for tracking, managing, and reporting on services provided
to refugee children.
4. Develop and implement an annual Refugee early childhood education strength
and needs assessment to guide program decisions and services to children and
families.
5. Provide assistance to families navigating the U.S. education system through
orientations, cultural navigators, and language access support. Assess, design,
develop, and update training materials such as training schedules agendas,
guides, handouts, case studies, role-plays, visual presentations and so forth for
use in training workshops.
6. Follow-up with clients on attendance, progress in workshops, and address any
special needs that may arise.
45 Children and Family Educational Services
1. Liaise with early childhood education programs and school districts in
consultation with case managers to address any concerns and advocate for
refugee children including assisting case managers and children with special
needs.
2. Working closely with the RSIG team at other agencies to ensure participation of
LSS-SW clients in RSIG activities.
3. Contribute to capacity development for school systems to address unique needs
of refugee children and ensure access to necessary resources.
4. Coordinate and consult with case managers for school enrollment and early
childhood education referrals.
5. Coordinate and supervise extended cultural orientation
experiences/programming for refugee children and families.
6. Developing and conducting the training of staff on critical issues involving
refugee children and families.
7. Collaborating with the Community Integration Team to network and support
professional partnerships with multiple agencies for the clients' benefit
including attending meetings, community events, presentations, etc....
5 Extra duties as assigned:
1. Maintain an established work schedule, including a high level of self-direction
and responsibility. May include State and National travel.
2. Follow internal protocol immediately regarding safety, health, and the
environment of the member and employee workspace and workplace
equipment.
3. Maintain status for professional credentials.
4. Present a professional attitude and always wear professional attire.
5. All other duties as assigned.Qualifications:To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty
satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or
ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with
disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor's degree in early childhood education, social work, psychology, sociology or a
preferably working with immigrant populations, and/or training; or equivalent combination
of education and experience may substitute for a bachelor's degree.
- Prior experience working with children, schools, or educational programs is strongly
- Must be at least 21 years of age.
- Provide and maintain a current certification in First Aid and CPR.
- Provide and maintain a current Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card, clear the Department
motor vehicle screening; must maintain valid AZ Driver's License, a clear driving record and
reliable transportation for the duration of employment.
- Must have a clear driving record for at least 36 months.
- Must maintain a clear driving record during the time of employment.
- Must have reliable transportation, a valid AZ driver license and current automobile
- Ability to work independently with high initiative.
- Ability to travel throughout the state or nationally as requested by supervisor.
- Proficient computer skills and knowledge of Outlook and Microsoft Office Programs (i.e.
- Skills in English/ Spanish composition, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
- Ability to relate well with families of varied lifestyles, backgrounds and ethnicities.
- Experience in cultural diversity.
- Ability to assess family's strengths and weaknesses.
- Ability to recognize signs of abuse/neglect.
- Ability to participate as a member of a team, including collaboration, cross-training, and
- Participate in ongoing Professional Development Training. Training must be relevant to
- Ability to work independently with high initiative.
- Ability to travel throughout the state and provide own transportation as requested by the
from diverse backgrounds non-judgmentally. Ability to effectively present and represent LSSSW and the program's needs to religious and community groups as well as others in the social
services community. Fluent in English, both spoken and written; bilingual ability in one of the
predominant languages of the local client base is preferred.Mathematical Skills:Good ability to calculate figures.Reasoning Abilities:Ability to define problems, collect data, evaluate information, draw conclusions, and take
appropriate action based on this information. Ability and confidence to make decisions when
appropriate and when to solicit guidance from the Program Manager.Physical Demands/Work Environment:The physical demands and work environment characteristics here are representative of those that
must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the
essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be required to sit or stand for
- The employee frequently is required to use hands to hold objects and operate office
- The employee is required to be able to listen and communicate effectively.
- The employee may be required to occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
- The noise level in the work environment varies with the activity level of the facility.
- Maintain valid AZ Driver License, vehicle insurance and reliable transportation.
- Ability to work within the mission of LSS-SW.