Program Assistant, Senior - Care Programs

Position Description

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham.

Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve.

A nationally accredited team of passionate professionals devoted to building better lives and a better community through the power of parks and recreation. Our talented team at Durham Parks and Recreation is devoted to community service and provides a diverse range of programs, services, opportunities, and experiences while being united through our core pillars of creating equitable economic impacts; advancing conservation; rejuvenating health and wellness; enhancing quality of life and sustaining social equity.

Incumbent maintains regular communication with parents concerning general updates, behavior issues, and other information pertinent to participants.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Prepares, implements, and leads games and recreational activities for children.
• Assists participants with completion of homework tasks using available resources.
• Interacts with participants, listens to concerns, and works to offer a fun and engaging environment.
• Recognizes and responds to opportunities for group and individual problem solving.
• Provides behavior management, adjusts as needed to mitigate issues, completes write-ups, and escalates problems to supervisor as needed.
• Documents and submits incident and accident reports to program supervisor.
• Collaborates with supervisor, other staff, and volunteers to conduct activities.
• Assists with the development of daily schedules, coordinates space, identifies resources and plans developmentally appropriate activities.
• Assists with personal care, mobility, communication, and other basic needs.
• Assists with employee training, observes and evaluates staff, and plans and leads staff meetings to provide opportunities for feedback.
• Helps to assure adherence to program objectives and state licensure standards.
• Attends workshops/ trainings, classes, seminars, and lectures to meet professional development requirements and to enhance and maintain knowledge of trends and developments in School-age care.
• Addresses patron questions, concerns, and complaints and escalates concerns to Supervisor as situation warrants.
• Assists with processing participant registrations and fee payments in Active.Net recreation software system.
• Administers medicine according to authorized Medication Administration Forms and policy; and provides first aid in case of minor injury.
• Performs duties in the setting of Summer Camp programs.
• Indoor and outdoor environment Recreation Activities (All weather types)
• In water supervision of program participants (swimming).

POSITION SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES MIGHT INCLUDE:

• Participant mediation to help resolve conflicts to include other participants and staff.
• Program inventory - findings reports communicated to Recreation Specialist.
• Program classrooms decorations (Bulletin board creations, furniture arrangement, hanging artwork etc.)
• Ensure compliance and accuracy for sign in/out program procedures.

• Underlying principles, practices, and objectives of childCare Programs.
• North Carolina Division of Child Development childcare licensing regulations and quality indicators.
• Behavior management strategies and techniques.
• Basic arts and crafts.
• Elementary math, science, writing, etc.

• Interacting positively and communicating effectively with children and adults.
• Organizing and actively facilitating a variety of recreational and social activities.
• Communicating instructions effectively to individuals and groups.
• Evaluating existing practices and recommending improvements.
• Clear and precise written and oral communication.
• Exhibiting character, integrity, and adaptability.
• Report writing and record keeping.
• Critical thinking.
• Problem solving.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• High School diploma/equivalent (GED, HiSet, TASC).
• 2 years of experience in child development, elementary education, recreation administration, or a related field.
• A minimum of 1 year verified experience working in a licensed childcare program or a minimum of 1.5 years hours working in an unlicensed childcare program.
• Valid North Carolina Class C Driver’s License with a satisfactory driving record.
• Valid Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED – with Anaphylaxis and Epinephrine Auto Injector Certification within the first six months of employment.

Additional Preferred Skills

• Childcare Credentials I and II and 6 semester hours coursework in school age care or post high school training in Elementary Education, Recreation or a related field.
• Experience supervising activities in recreation or a related child development field (including but not limited to Recreation Programming, Elementary Education, Child Development, Recreation Administration, Physical Education, and Early Childhood).
• Experience with developing and maintaining a licensed after school and/or summer camp program through the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education.
• Minimum of 1 year verified experience working in a licensed childcare program.
• At least 1 year of experience working with children ages 5-12
• Available between the hours of 2:00pm-6:00pm Monday-Friday.
• Comfortable in your abilities to manage behavior expectations, engage with participants daily and encourage participants to be involved in group/individual activities for children ages 5-13.