Seattle Job Opening - Educational Advocacy Coordinator

Educational Advocacy Training Coordinator
Treehouse is seeking a part-time (25-hours per week) Educational Advocacy Training Coordinator. Treehouse, founded in 1988, is a lead organization in Washington that addresses the special educational needs and circumstances of foster children. The statewide Educational Advocacy training project offers training support to foster, adoptive, relative and birth parents; providing them with resources, information and skills to advocate for the children in their care.
This innovative, fast-paced position will work to improve the educational outcomes for youth in foster care by leading the development, delivery and management of the project. The successful candidate will have a Bachelor degree, or commensurate experience in a related field such as social work or education, will have 3 or more years of experience with advocacy and training, and have a demonstrated ability to establish and maintain successful working relationships with community partners, independent contracted trainers and agencies. Ability to travel within a seventy-five mile radius of office site is required.
Salary, $22,100 – 26,000, depending on experience. Benefits offered.
Treehouse is an Equal Employment Opportunity organization. Job Posting closes 9/13/09.
To apply, please send a cover letter referencing job title and resume to jobs@treehouseforkids.org (send as attachment) or Treehouse Human Resources, 2100 – 24th Avenue South, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98144. No calls, please.

POSITION OBJECTIVES
• Improve the educational outcomes for youth in foster care by leading the development, delivery and management of the Educational Advocacy Saturation training project.
• Provide training curricula that addresses identified needs of diverse audiences including youth, caregivers, social workers and community partners.
• Effectively collaborate with community partners to increase awareness and knowledge around the educational needs of youth in care.
• Accurately track all efforts and outcomes of the work for grant reporting and program evaluation purposes.
• Recruit, train and support Peer Trainers statewide.

AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Program Management
• Recruit community trainers statewide from the following groups: foster parents/relative caregivers, kinship providers, CASA volunteers, birth and adopted parents and youth following all formal Treehouse hiring practices.
• Systematically evaluate and define the educational training needs of identified groups.
• Manage and monitor all budget activity.
• Monitor trainer outcomes through on-site observations, training evaluations and community partner feedback.
• Analyze pre and post evaluations completed at each training and report results to the Program Manager.
• Develop systems to track behavioral change in participant advocacy as a result of training completion.
• Adhere to grant requirements including reporting, budgeting and annual renewal.
• Work with Program Assistant to ensure all required information and support is provided to meet trainer, community and grantee requirements.
Curriculum Development and Adoption
• Review and refine existing curricula based upon feedback from workshops, trainers, community partners and Treehouse staff.
• Identify training gaps and develop new curricula.
• Identify children whose referring educational concern can be addressed by the CA social worker, child’s caregiver and/or birth parent or other significant person in the child’s life.
• Provide the adult or youth with written materials to assist in their ability to advocate.
• Coach the social worker or caregiver about advocacy steps in person, by phone or email. Provide support at meetings if necessary.
Marketing
• Develop workshop marketing plan to meet grant objectives.
• Collaborate and network with state and community agencies to build partnerships, provide trainings, and recruit training participants.
Training
• Present train-the-trainer workshops and trainings to caregivers, social workers and community partners.
• Communicate about all trainings and train-the-trainer activities with Educational Advocates.
• Ensure that curricula, materials and resources are available and provided to trainers for community workshops.

2009-2010 DELIVERABLES
• Meet/exceed all grant deliverables by convening an Educational Advocacy Saturation project summit attended by a diverse group of caregivers, trainers and staff to foster relationships with agencies and organizations who have the ability to imbed and institutionalize the Peer Trainer model within their operations.
• Explore additional funding and in-kind support.
• Hold 5 two-day “Train the Trainer” workshops targeting individuals involved in community groups, agencies and organizations serving out-of-home care children. Two workshops will provide advanced skill and knowledge training for developing regionalized networks of educational advocacy trainers and resources.
• Provide training and support resources to 1,000 to 1,500 caregivers, social workers, CASA’s and other interested adults.
• Support Regionalized networks through the development of trainer identified communication tools such as newsletters and social networks.
• Develop one curriculum and workshop focused on advanced educational advocacy skill and knowledge development.
• Complete all reporting and database tracking requirements within the given timelines. Provide staff with all reporting information requested within given timelines.
• Collaborate with other Treehouse programs for best outcomes for youth.
Reports to: Educational Advocacy Program Manager

QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor’s degree or commensurate experience in a related field, such as social work or education.
• 3 or more years of professional experience with advocacy and training.
• Demonstrated understanding of federal and state education law, including special education.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and coordinate services with community agencies in a professional manner.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain successful working relationships with agency staff, community partners, independent contractors and volunteers.
• Ability to successfully manage time and prioritize workload.
• Demonstrated ability to work with individuals of diverse social, economical, and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability and aptitude with Word, Excel, and database management programs.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Transportation and the ability to travel within a seventy-five mile radius of office site is required.