Job description

About us

Higher Ground Resource Center is branching into Chandler, AZ. We are supportive, rewarding, innovative and our goal is to Empower one person at a time to reach, transform, and elevate their community through love and character building.

How does it work?

Our team is deployed at each school site to partner with the school. We address all the non-academic needs of the school allowing the principal and the teachers to focus on high-quality education, curriculum, and other academic needs of their school. The school is then allowed to thrive as all the needs of the students and families are addressed allowing them to focus on learning while the classroom.

Restart SMART: Empowering Communities through the school

Is a healthy child a direct reflection of a healthy community? Yes! When we improve the health of a child, so follows our community. By creating community connections in our schools, we can create positive and life-altering outcomes, for both children and families.

Restart SMART is an initiative to create a community school hub system in Tucson through a multi-generational framework. Community school systems have existed in the US for decades with proven results in community empowerment, lower chronic and situational poverty, lower dropout rates, higher attendance, higher rates of attainment for students, and healthier community economic metrics.

Through Restart SMART we can support, streamline, expand, and create systems for schools' existing efforts around:

• Family and Community Engagement
• Trauma-Informed Care
• 2-generation approach
• Social and Emotional Skill Development
• Workforce & Career skills
• Addressing the Eight dimensions of wellness
• Executive Functions
• Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS)
• Enriched learning time opportunities
• After-school and summer enrichment programs

Our work environment includes:

• Wellness programs
• Growth opportunities
• On-the-job training
• Lively atmosphere
• Safe work environment

JOB SUMMARY:

Family Support Specialist - Phoenix

The Family Support Specialist’s primary job is to build relationships with parents/guardians and/or families of Willis Junior High School located in the Chandler Unified School District in Maricopa County, Arizona ensuring that the mission of Higher Ground is reflected. They remain in constant communication with families, to effectively gather necessary information and risk factors to coordinate and adapt programs to effectively serve the youth and their families. Their primary focus is providing services to the family members and creating an environment where all families feel welcomed and heard in the school community. This site will be Higher Ground’s first Restart S.M.A.R.T. Site outside of Pima County and will serve as the tourable site for Phoenix-based legislators and stakeholders to understand Higher Ground’s implementation of Community Schools.

Willis Junior High School has the largest middle school campus in the Chandler Unified School District, serving students in the seventh and eighth grades. As an open-enrollment school, Willis Junior enrolls students from the surrounding neighborhoods and across town, becoming home to a more than 70% minority student population, as well as tenured and alumni staff. Willis Junior creates community amongst students through their homeroom house system. Through their part-time Family Liaison, Willis Junior leverages community assets to stock their resource room with basic needs for students and families to take home weekly. Band, orchestra, Thunderbird athletics, and STEAM Academy are highlights of student life on campus.

REPORTS TO:

Reports directly to the S.M.A.R.T. Schools Director (SSD).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The major responsibilities and target accomplishments expected of the position, which include the typical problems encountered in carrying out the responsibilities are, but not limited to the following:

1. Relationship-building with families

• Create opportunities to build effective relationships with families through proactive communication with students and families.
• Plan and manage events that will allow staff and families to build community.
• Plan and facilitate parent and student meetings, and occasional home visits.
• Observe the different needs and stories of the families.
• Research details about family situations to find out risk factors.
• Support the relationship-building between families and school staff.

2. Coordination and communication of services to the families and community

• Recruit community partners to address different problems that youth and families may have.
• Provide general support service to the families. Assist families with various needs including but not limited to emergencies. financial assistance, parenting classes, marital classes, stress management, healthy lifestyle creation, etc.
• Educate students and families about different opportunities and how to develop themselves out of the poverty mentality and break generational cycles.
• Communicate resources and help available to families, and community needs of families to community resources.
• Create effective routes to connect families with the proper resources in the community.
• Create and provide different solutions and resources to the different issues of families.
• Provide support in individual student mapping development and analysis. Ensure the relevance and up-to-date information of all family background information collected from all the sources.
• Analyze, investigate, and evaluate individual family situations to make necessary adjustments to service delivery and communicate to the Community School Team and appropriate school staff.
• Understand behavioral health regulations, policies, and functions in relation to families and Higher Ground.
• Report to the SD on a weekly basis about the needs of the families at a site.

3. Professionalism

• Must follow Higher Ground’s Policies and Procedures Manual and stay informed of updates, revisions, and any additions.
• Must follow company standards of Honor, Integrity, and Excellence.
• Must exhibit company core beliefs of Giving Love, Teaching Self-Control, Nurturing Passion, and Encouraging Vision.
• Must remain professional during work hours and in the presence of guests, students, and community members, and when in community events, or places outside of Higher Ground or the school site.
• Be professional during meetings that involve other members of the community such as CFTs, Parent Teacher Conferences, and Cafecitos.
• Provide high levels of customer service to parents, students, and community members at all times.
• Represent Higher Ground’s standard of conduct.
• Become familiar with and follow school site policies as deemed necessary by the SD.
• Maintain open communication with all other staff members and work cohesively with stakeholders.
• Assist in any events of the school site and Higher Ground as required by Higher Ground or the SD.
• Speak in schools, community agencies, and events as needed by Higher Ground.

4. Other duties as deemed necessary by the SD

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent experience. Continuing education would also be accepted in place of actual degree. Psychology or Social Work Background preferred. Currently taking classes at University or Community College in a related field of study would also be accepted.
• Must have strong relationship-building skills.
• Must be able to effectively communicate with all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.
• Must be comfortable with public speaking and a proactive communicator.
• Bilingual (English and Spanish, verbal and written) is highly preferred.
• Knowledge of the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Gila River Indian Community is preferred.
• Knowledge of the minority experience in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA and ability to work with minority communities.
• Must be able to prioritize and manage competing demands.
• Competent with digital literacy skills.
• Experience with middle school aged youth is preferred.
• Experience communicating with parents and legal guardians of middle school aged youth is preferred.
• Experience navigating stability and self-sufficiency resources for youth and families within the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA is preferred.
• Must have strong relationship building qualities. Must be able to effectively communicate with all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. Must be comfortable with public speaking and a proactive communicator.

THIS POSITION IS IDEAL FOR SOMEONE WHO DEMONSTRATES

• Strong cross-cultural and generational awareness and sensitivity
• Passion for the community to move from poverty mentality to development
• Passion and / or experience in one or more of the following areas: Housing Stability, Nutrition or Healthy Eating, Social Interaction or Networking, Engagement of Elderly and Differently Abled Populations, Transportation Solutions, Citizenship and Immigration Support
• Creative and eloquent communicator
• Passion to serve
• High skills in Human and Personal Relations
• High ethics
• Ability to take direction well and be proactive
• Strong problem-solving and asset-based approach usage
• Cohesion and collaboration skills
• Strong Loyalty to Higher Ground
• Keen ability to relate to all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Individual must be willing to spend a lot of time walking from different areas of the school site and constant physical activity on their feet which can cause fatigue.
• High energy environment located mostly indoors with some outdoor. Individual is faced with constant interruptions and must meet with others on a regular basis.
• There are a number of mental and emotional stresses associated with this position, constantly hearing and dealing with emotional and traumatic situations of families.
• Individual must be willing to work with a variety of people dealing with emotional situations.
• Individual must spend hours of intense concentration, analyzing data and connecting resources. Individual must also be willing to spend long hours on the phone and in front of people.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $19.00 - $21.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Do you live in the Phoenix/Mesa/Chandler/Metropolitan area, and how familiar are you with the surrounding community?

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

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