Address
Form of work
SalaryJob Description – Playroom Coordinator
Location: Roca Lynn - Young Mother’s Program
FLSA Classification: Part-Time (20 hours) Non-Exempt
About Roca
Roca is a fast-paced, data-driven, and relentless organization that serves over 1,300 high-risk young people every year. Through a unique intervention model, Roca proves that young people who are often feared, forgotten, and left out can in fact build safe, stable, and hopeful lives. At Roca, we believe that every young person matters and that with enough time and the right opportunities, change is possible. Roca’s strong outcomes and thousands of graduates are the proof that less jail is more future and that progress happens with work. Established in Chelsea, MA in 1988, Roca now has additional sites in Boston, Springfield, Lynn, and Holyoke, MA and in Baltimore, MD, and most recently opened a site in Hartford, CT in October 2021. Roca serves high-risk young mothers out of its Chelsea and Springfield, MA and Hartford, CT sites.
Position Overview
This position reports to the Roca Hartford Young Mothers Program Manager to engage and provide supervision to children in the play area, oversee play area maintenance, and plan developmentally appropriate activities for children. This position will also support parent-child engagement activities and assist with developmental screening of children ages 0-5.
General Responsibilities
- Understand, practice and promote the vision, mission, and values of the organization.
- Ensure the safety and welfare of the children.
- Perform all tasks with an appropriate level of confidentiality.
- Create an environment where children and their mothers have a positive experience.
- Engage the children, focusing on their safety, in developmentally appropriate activities.
- Treat all children, families and staff members with dignity and respect, and allow for individual differences.
- Help with general housekeeping tasks.
- Show initiative in the improvement of children’s education and the program.
- Perform other miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.
Specific Responsibilities
- Monitor and uphold safety protocols in the play area, as determined by the organization, including but not limited to sanitizing materials on a daily basis and adhering to set head count and ages of children allowed in play area.
- Provide guidance to young mothers and staff on how to support children’s learning and development, including but not limited to formal and informal developmental observations and screenings, observing and documenting developmental and behavioral challenges, and supporting families in practicing developmentally appropriate activities.
- Plan developmentally appropriate activities for children in playroom and for parent-child engagements to support young children’s learning and development and parents’ knowledge of parenting and child development.
Qualifications
The very nature of Roca’s work requires an individual of great commitment and energy to the mission. Roca seeks a highly driven individual who is in alignment with the culture and values of Roca. In addition, the ideal candidate for this position will be a trustworthy decision-maker. He/she will have a sense of humor, feel passionate and
committed to direct work with high-risk young mothers and their children, and demonstrate interest in coaching and supporting coworkers.
Roca expects candidates to have the following skills:
- Experience working with children
- Ability to build good relationships with children, parents and/or caretakers
- Basic understanding of how children develop and learn
- Flexibility and creativity
- Patience and a sense of humor
- Ability to manage small groups of children and cope with challenging behavior
- Ability to work as part of a team
Requirements for the position:
- Willingness and ability to work outside of normal business hours
- Experience working with diverse cultures
- Bilingual (English/Spanish)
- Strong attendance and high energy
- Valid MA Driver’s License
- The hours for this position are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 11AM-4PM and Wednesday 12PM-5PM and are subject to change based on the program schedule.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, and talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to push, pull, stock, and must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Work can be repetitive in nature. Specific vision abilities required by this job include depth perception, peripheral vision, the ability to distinguish basic colors and the ability to adjust vision to bring objects into focus.
It may be necessary to wear some protective clothing and/or equipment such as rain and snow gear, boots, goggles, hard hat, full face shield, respirator, ear plugs/muffs and gloves. Work requires physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking over rough, uneven surfaces, and recurring bending, climbing, crawling, crouching, stooping, and reaching, and occasional lifting or moderately heavy items. Work requires average physical agility and dexterity.
Work Environment:
The work environment an employee is exposed to while performing the essential functions of this job.
The position can work in outdoor and indoor environments. The noise level is typically moderate. The incumbent is frequently exposed to all outdoor weather conditions.
