Director Of Family Services

Why Join Concordia Place?
Do you want to positively impact children's growth? Interested in teaching a fun and purposeful play-based curriculum? What about working with qualified teachers in beautiful indoor and outdoor play areas? If the answer is a resounding yes, then Concordia Place is right for you!

Founded in 1981, Concordia Place is a vibrant mission driven organization providing multigenerational programs including early learning, after-school, and teen leadership for Chicago communities. Our centers are located in the Avondale, Ravenswood, North Center and Old Irving Park neighborhoods, with plans to expand into Albany Park. While we are diverse, we are united by our mission to create involved communities where all our neighbors can gather, learn, and grow. Concordia believes everyone deserves opportunity, and that it is best served when it is broadly inclusive.
Our Guiding Principles

• Faith in Action
• A Place of Yes
• A Place for All
• A Place of One
• A Place of Excellence

Director of Family Services
Recognizing that the family is the child’s first teacher, the Director of Family Services oversees our programming that supports parents on their journey into and through parenthood. While providing direct supervision and leadership to the Home Visiting program, the Director is also a resource and guide to all children’s program staff as they support children and families. Reports to the Vice President of Program Services.

Responsabilities

Leadership and Team Development

• Provide dynamic leadership to a team of professionals, setting clear expectations, fostering collaboration, and promoting a culture of empathy and support.
• Meet regularly with Concordia’s Family Support leadership to discuss and review cases
• Prepare and submit appropriate documentation and reports, maintain client records in accordance to professional standards and funder requirements
• Provide ongoing program assessment and evaluation of best practices to include trends, patterns and changes in the Home Visiting programs environment and implement appropriate programmatic changes based on current needs and congruence with the mission and vision of Concordia Place
• Complete monthly home visit observations and give timely feedback.
• Support Home Visitors in planning and facilitating bimonthly socialization activities.
• In the absence of a Home Visitor, take on responsibility for the home visiting caseload including making home visits and all data entry and record keeping.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing team, fostering professional growth and maintaining a positive work environment.
• Provide training and professional development opportunities for staff to enhance their skills in serving families effectively.

Social Connections

• Cultivate, establish and maintain strategic partnerships with various organizations, to include civic and private entities, agencies, and other partnerships throughout the state to utilize those relationships to strategically enhance the goals of the ECE Home Visiting programs.
• Organize monthly group activities to provide support, education, and information on topics that reflect families’ needs and interests, such as child development and parenting
• Encourage family inter-connections, engagement and sharing
• Promote activities to families to ensure high attendance
• Invite home visiting families to Concordia’s center-based events; and foster relations between families

Outreach, Enrollment and Program Development

• Actively recruit families for home visiting services; maintain a relevant pipeline to maximize caseload
• Collaborate with Concordia program leadership to refer families and children between programs
• Network in the community to provide a Concordia presence and visibility; interact professionally with business and community leaders to develop community relationships and collaborate with other agencies and services
• Participate in meetings, conferences, in-service training required by Concordia and DFSS; represent Concordia at external meetings
• Work as cohesive part of the leadership team to develop a sense of shared mission, coordinating and collaborating with other Concordia sites and departments
• Collaborate with senior leadership and other departments to secure financial and nonfinancial resources to expand and sustain the Home Visiting programs, e.g., identify grant opportunities and make applications as appropriate for both current and new programs, cultivate alliances to secure funding, obtain and manage partnership for services, initiate MOUs, obtain contracts for services and pursue and acquire any other resources.
• In collaboration with the VP of Finance, provide fiscal management of the Home Visiting programs, including budget preparation, budget monitoring, provision of data, metrics, deliverables and any other reporting requirements.
• Implement appropriate resources to ensure the operation management of Home Visiting programs are appropriate and successful, e.g. effective supervision of key staff, hiring and retention of competent qualified staff.
• Attend professional development applicable to the field and population being served on an ongoing basis.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Experience and Skills

• REQUIRED: Minimum of a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) in Social Work, Human Services, Early Childhood Education, or a related field.
• REQUIRED: Family Specialist Credential level 5 from Gateways
• Maintain Parents as Teachers certification
• Experience in child development, early childhood education, social work, or related field
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing. Bilingual Spanish & English is preferred
• Ability to establish priorities, work independently, and monitor progress towards outcomes
• Knowledge and understanding of communities served

Requirements

• While limited remote work is possible, this role requires extensive local travel
• This role will interact with families, Concordia program leaders and other team members that requires mostly in-person meetings, onsite visibility, and events within and outside of normal business hours
• Requires some evening and weekend hours for outreach events and one-on-one family meetings
• Own vehicle, with proof of valid driver’s license and current automobile insurance are required to complete caseload responsibility
• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment. This position requires the person to talk and hear, long periods of sitting, and computer and phone use; other activities while performing this job the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; handle or feel; reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, and may frequently lift up to a 30-pound child
• A commitment to the mission and guiding principles of Concordia Place
• Be comfortable working for a faith-inspired organization; Concordia Place is a social service mission of Concordia Lutheran Church that serves everyone regardless of any religious beliefs or affiliation.

Salary, Perks and Benefits

• Salary Range: $65,000 - $70,000 annually
• Signing bonus of $1,000!

Concordia Place offers a generous compensation and benefits package to employees. Here is an overview of the many perks of working at Concordia Place (PLEASE NOTE: must work 30 hours or more per week for eligibility):

• 403b Retirement Savings Plan (with an Employer Match)
• Vacation Days
• Sick Days
• Medical insurance
• Life insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• 10 holidays off per year
• Employee Referral program
• Childcare tuition discount for employees
• Quarterly in-service days and professional development resources for teaching staff