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Employment

Current Open Positions at SPAN

Project: Leaders Empowered as Advocates with Dignity (LEAD Project)
Title:  Part-time Community Health Worker (15 hrs/wk)
Location:  Southern Region (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland, or Ocean counties)

Originally posted July 18, 2022
The LEAD project seeks a part-time Community Health Worker who lives in one of the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland, or Ocean. The ideal candidate will train and provide resources to community organizations and other providers to support women of childbearing age and their families to ensure they receive culturally competent services leading to positive outcomes and positive relationships with professionals.  The Family Resource Specialist will also work with trained peer leaders in the community to provide peer-to-peer support and run support groups in partnership with community-based organizations.  FRSs work remotely but must collaborate with organizations, attend meetings in specified counties, and attend meetings required by SPAN.
Responsibilities
Training and Technical Assistance
  • Conduct outreach and provide training and support to health care providers that care for women of childbearing age and professionals who work with them.
  • Provide information, technical assistance, and parent-to-parent support to families and professionals.
  • Assist women of childbearing age to navigate multiple systems, including health, mental health, health insurance (including managed care), social services, juvenile justice, child welfare, and community-based service systems.
  • Provide information to families about available services, resources, and supports within the context of health and education, including but not limited to: family engagement, early and continuous screening/child find and evaluation, medical homes that coordinate with other services including schools, community-based services that are easy to use including child care, and after-school care, adequate healthcare financing, and transition to adult systems of care and adult life).
  • Enhance family self-advocacy capacity across multiple systems.
  • Participate as a parent voice in health and education quality improvement efforts.  Assist professionals to provide more family-centered, culturally competent, and coordinated care.
  • Present at and attend professional meetings relating to project goals and SPAN’s mission.
Administrative
  • Maintain and update current knowledge related to project components.
  • Maintain records and information that support the project under the direction of the supervisor.
  • Collect and maintain all required data for reporting and program implementation.
  • Contribute content related to activities and relevant topics to the Project’s and organization’s publications, presentations, social media, and website.
  • Attend necessary and mandatory professional development activities.
Qualifications
The successful candidate must be a resident of one of the southern counties where they work, have significant experience serving families, and work with community organizations in this region. In addition, through experience, as well as training, the candidate will demonstrate the following knowledge, abilities, and skills:
  • Bi-lingual English/Spanish required.
  • Outstanding planning, communication & organizational skills
  • Demonstrated commitment to the goals of the project and organization.
  • Experience in providing training to adult learners is a plus.
  • Excellent outreach, family engagement and empowerment, and ability to partner with other professionals.
  • Knowledge of state, regional, and local community resources.
  • Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment and sound decision-making.
  • Outstanding ability to work well with a wide spectrum of people.
  • Excellent planning, organizational, leadership, and interpersonal skills are required.
  • Proficiency working with MS Office Suite, Google Suite, Smartsheet, Eventbrite, social media, video conferencing platforms, and mobile apps.
  • Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends with reliable transportation. (SPAN employees are working remotely temporarily.)
How to Apply
For immediate consideration, please forward the following documents to hr@spanadvocacy.org.
  • A letter of interest describing qualifications and accomplishments.
  • A current résumé.
  • A list of three professional references: Name, Organization, and Contact Information.

Project: Parents as Champions for Healthy Schools (PAC)
Title:  Part-time PAC Regional Coordinator (10 hrs/wk)

Originally posted March 25, 2022
The SPAN Parent Advocacy Network is seeking a qualified individual to serve as the Regional Coordinator for the Parents as Champions for Healthy Schools (PAC) Project. The candidate must demonstrate a commitment to the importance and significance of engaging empowered and educated parents/caregivers as partners with school staff to promote, implement and sustain improvements to school health in New Jersey’s public schools.
The PAC Project is part of the New Jersey Department of Health’s School Health NJ Project, a collaboration among the Department, SPAN, and three regional grantee agencies. Together, they seek to improve the health (physical, mental, emotional, social) and well-being of students and school staff as well as the health and safety of the school environment, through work with schools, youth, and family engagement.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinating the implementation of PAC program components according to grant award from the New Jersey Department of Health;
  • Planning, outreach, implementation, and facilitation of PAC trainings in the assigned region;
  • Providing ongoing support and training for project grantees and train the trainer participants around developing and supporting PAC leaders;
  • Coordinating activities with other SPAN projects in order to effectively implement project programs and support other SPAN projects;
  • Contributing articles on project activities and relevant topics to SPAN and DOH newsletters, social media blogs, and website;
  • Developing and presenting workshops and other information sessions about the project at meetings and conferences relevant to the goals of the project and the mission of SPAN;
  • Assist in project evaluation activities and data collection.

Qualifications

  • Demonstrate any combination of education and experience that encompasses the following knowledge, abilities, and skills:
  • Strong presentation skills both in-person and online for workshops, webinars, and other presentations;
  • Outstanding planning, communication, and organizational skills;
  • Experience in working with school staff, parent support groups; advisory boards SEPAGs, PTAs, and other parent groups;
  • Experience in working collaboratively with school and district administrators;
  • Experience promoting and supporting parent leadership development;
  • Experience in performing outreach to school districts and communities;
  • Must have strong written and verbal communication, strong Spanish skills a plus;
  • Knowledge of local community and resources;
  • Experience with computers and knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, database software, and the internet is essential;
  • Strong social media platform knowledge is a must
  • Familiarity with and understanding of the Centers for Disease Control’s Whole School Whole Community Whole Child model, including the importance of family engagement and best practices, laws, statutes, and regulations related to the model’s 10 components of school health.
  • Outstanding ability to work well with a wide spectrum of people;
  • Ability to work flexible hours;
  • Ability to work well independently as well as with a team;
  • Reliable transportation and ability to travel throughout the state.  Some national travel may be required;
  • Outstanding planning, communication, training, & organizational skills.
  • Demonstrated commitment to the goals of the project and organization

How to Apply

For immediate consideration, please forward the following documents to hr@spanadvocacy.org.

  1.  A letter of interest describing qualifications and accomplishments.
  2. A current résumé.
  3. A list of three professional references: Name, Organization, and Contact Information.

Project:  START-Engaging Parent of Students with Disabilities (START-EPSD)
Title:  Part-time Bi-lingual Parent Group Specialist, Northern NJ | Counties of Bergen, Essex (Charters), and Sussex
Originally posted March 4, 2022
START-EPSD Project is currently looking for a self-motivated and self-directed individual who has a strong commitment to the importance and significance of the involvement of empowered and educated parents/caregivers in improving academic & health outcomes for children in New Jersey through the development of parent groups and participation in strong family/school partnerships. Key functions include:
Building collaborative relationships to promote family-school partnerships.
Establishing special education parent advisory groups and other parent groups.
Maintaining the membership and effectiveness of existing groups at various stages of development.
Responsibilities

  • Training and Technical Assistance

  • Provide training and workshops on initiating and developing effective special education parent advisory groups, parent involvement in the IEP process, and additional topics as needed.

  • Increase parental awareness regarding their role in improving special education systems within their district and at the state level through parent-professional collaboration.

  • Inform parents about their rights to be involved in educational planning for their children.

Network Building

  • Identify and collaborate with parent and education leaders, SEPAGs, parent and community groups, networks, and/or formal organizations (FSC, CCYCs, FSO, RFSPC, PTAs/PTOs/HSAs, etc.) currently serving, supporting, or interested in supporting families with children with special education needs.

  • Provide outreach to identified groups/networks/organizations to determine what resources or information may be needed to sustain their development.

  • Coordinate opportunities for parents, parent group leaders, and professionals to network, share resources, engage in mutual problem-solving to increase parent leadership capacity, and help build family/school partnerships.

  • Network with families, educators, and service providers, as well as attend conferences and training in their counties, regions, and throughout the state regarding family-centered principles and practices.

Administrative

  • Maintain and update current knowledge related to project components, including parent groups, literacy development, the inclusion of students with disabilities, and NJTSS.

  • Maintain a database of the district- and community-based groups to connect parents with the group(s) in their communities.

  • Collect and maintain all required data for reporting and program implementation.

  • Contribute content related to activities and relevant topics to the Project’s and organization’s publications, presentations, social media, and website.

  • Attend necessary and mandatory professional development activities.

Qualifications
The successful candidate must be a resident of a county in the region they work, must have experience working with their local district SEPAGs, and be aware of other parent and community organizations in this region. In addition, through experience, as well as training, the candidate will demonstrate the following knowledge, abilities, and skills:

  • Bi-lingual English/Spanish required.

  • Experience as the parent/caregiver or advocate of a child with disabilities.

  • Demonstrated commitment to the goals of the project and organization.

  • Experience in providing training to adult learners is a plus.

  • Excellent outreach, family engagement and empowerment, and ability to partner with NJDOE-OSE partners, district personnel, and other professionals.

  • Knowledge of state, regional, and local community resources.

  • Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment and sound decision-making.

  • Outstanding ability to work well with a wide spectrum of people.

  • Excellent planning, organizational, leadership, and interpersonal skills are required.

  • Proficiency working with MS Office Suite, Google Suite, Smartsheet, Eventbrite, social media, video conferencing platforms, and mobile apps.

  • Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends with reliable transportation. (SPAN employees are working remotely temporarily.)

How to Apply

For immediate consideration, please forward the following documents to hr@spanadvocacy.org.

  1.  A letter of interest describing qualifications and accomplishments.
  2. A current résumé.
  3. A list of three professional references: Name, Organization, and Contact Information.