ELRC Quality Coach - Trying Together

Position: ELRC Quality Coach
Full-Time | Salary Range: $44,000 - $47,740

Culture:
Trying Together’s mission is to support high-quality care and education for young children.

Trying Together is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that supports the work of early childhood by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the adults who interact with them. A fast-paced organization, Trying Together looks for dedicated and passionate staff who bring positivity to their work and a solution-oriented sensibility.

Trying Together encourages its team, partners, and communities to interact compassionately and honor the range of cultures, ideas, and identities that root each person. Young children develop and learn by example; this means that children whose early learning environments reflect just actions, equitable opportunities, diverse representation, and inclusive approaches experience healthier interactions and build relationships that enable them to thrive.

Trying Together is an equal-opportunity employer. Trying Together does not discriminate and encourages qualified candidates of any gender, race, class, sexual orientation, faith, disability, or age to apply. All candidates will be evaluated on a merit basis.

Purpose:

Coaching is inherently relationship-based work. The Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5 Quality Coach supports program administrators, classroom staff, and home-based child care providers in Allegheny County to develop new skills and continuously improve their early care and education practices to achieve higher program quality. The ELRC Quality Coach engages program administration and staff that work with children in a collaborative process that involves observation, reflective communication, professional growth, role-modeling, and goal setting. Whenever possible, a mutual learning partnership is developed to share responsibility and accountability for project goals. Coaching is customized and every effort is made to establish trust and respect for educators and program leaders and a variety of coaching strategies and practices are employed to achieve goals. 

Responsibilities:

• Commitment to racial equity and inclusion and a willingness to do the ongoing personal work to bring about a more just society by actively participating in professional growth opportunities. 
• Actively work with peers to create a culture of belonging at Trying Together. 
• Willingness to disrupt practices that do not honor children’s, families’, educators’ and colleagues’ humanity. 
• Recognize and build on the existing knowledge and skills of program staff through observation, reflective practice, goal setting, and planning.
• Collaborate with classroom staff and program administration for the purpose of creating a cohesive approach to continuous quality improvement with the program team.
• Provide one-on-one and small group coaching to classroom staff to help strengthen child development practices and ensure quality programming.
• Facilitate face-to-face and virtual professional development sessions for providers.
• Complete on-site face-to-face program visits offering support and strategies for continuous quality improvement. 
• Provide regular time and space to foster a learning community among program administrators and teaching staff that includes opportunities for reflection and learning about cultural respect and responsiveness. 
• Review STARS scores with the program leadership team and staff to help identify areas of strength and develop goals for improvement. 
• Using a strengths-based approach; provide constructive feedback and support for the purpose of increasing program administrator and educator confidence and competence.
• Develop and support the implementation of an individualized plan that identifies strengths, needs, and goals for each program staff.
• Strive for excellence in work by consistently incorporating cultural competencies and employing relationship-based coaching and consultation practices. 
• Work collaboratively with ELRC and Trying Together Quality Initiatives team members to ensure the needs of Allegheny County early care and education programs are being met. 
• Work collaboratively across departments within Trying Together to meet the mission and accomplish the work. 
• Follow the procedure for reporting suspected child abuse.
• Complete monthly monitoring reports or coaching logs for assigned visits and submit them according to timelines for the purpose of tracking and monitoring.
• Participate in initial and ongoing professional development for the purposes of continuous learning and expanding one’s professional knowledge base. 
• Consistently use the NeonCRM platform to build relationships with constituents, record data that measure project performance, and support continuous quality improvement in the organization's resources and services.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education; advanced degree preferred. Specialized certifications welcome. Related degrees and ECE experience considered. 
• Two or more years of early childhood classroom experience and two years of experience at an administrative level in an early care and education setting. 
• Ability to employ a variety of consultation and coaching strategies that are based on appropriate and culturally competent practices and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct.
• Capacity to align consultation with professional development content. 
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team. 
• Knowledge of state assessment tools. 
• Experience working with adult learners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Intermediate to advanced computer, internet, and email skills.
• Knowledge of local, state, and national systems for early care and education.
• Willing and able to engage in honest self-reflection about coaching progress and personal contribution to the process.
• Ability to foster a program’s capacity building and assume a strengths-based approach.
• Ability to establish credibility as a resource worthy of the program’s respect and trust.
• Ability to facilitate a program’s own problem-solving process.
• Ability to maintain a project timeline and monitor progress toward goals.
• Must be able to interact with others in a positive and professional manner.
• Acceptance of diversity and ability to work comfortably in a variety of settings.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Good judgment and decision-making abilities.
• Must demonstrate enthusiasm and flexibility.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends.
• Must own a reliable vehicle as the nature of this job includes regularly visiting early learning programs in-person across Allegheny County.

Required Clearances: 

• Clean Act 33 Child Abuse Clearance.
• Clean Act 34 PA State Police Clearance.
• Clean Act 73 Federal Criminal History Clearance.
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Verification.
• Valid driver’s license and proof of insurance. 

Required Training:

• Mandated Reporter Training (must be completed in the first month of placement).
• NeonCRM Training (required and recommended online courses must be completed in the first three months of placement).
• PQAS Professional Development Instructor Certification (must be obtained within the first year of employment for staff with a Bachelor’s Degree).

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Appreciative inquiry and strengths-based review process.

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