Position: Interactions Design Strategist
Full-Time| Salary Range: $50,000 – $55,000

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:
Building relationships from a strengths-based approach are fundamental to this position. The Interactions Design Strategist supports program administrators, educators, and home-based child care providers with developing new skills to continuously improve their daily interactions and achieve increased program quality. The Interactions Design Strategist engages program administration and staff that work with children in a collaborative process that involves reflective communication, professional growth, and goal setting to affirm the importance of human interactions in children’s lives. The Interactions Design Strategist’s approach begins by building on what professionals already do well and is based on the understanding that the “active ingredient” in a child’s growth is the developmental relationship between the child and the adults that care for them.  The Interactions Design Strategist oversees the project development of the innovative technology tools, Message from Me and MindfulNest and the work of Everyday Interactions Matter (EIM).

General 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. 
• Have knowledge of local, state, and national systems for early care and education.  
• Is willing and able to engage in honest self-reflection about progress and their contribution to the process. 
• Can foster a program’s capacity building and assume a strengths-based approach.
• Can establish credibility as a resource worthy of the program’s respect and trust. 
• Can facilitate a program’s own problem-solving process. 
• Has the ability to maintain a project timeline and monitor progress toward goals. 
• Must be able to work independently and as a team member.
• Must be able to interact with others in a positive and professional manner.
• Has the ability to work comfortably in a variety of settings. 
• Can maintain confidentiality.
• Follow the procedure for reporting suspected child abuse. 
• Has good judgment and decision-making abilities.
• Must demonstrate enthusiasm and flexibility. 
• Work collaboratively across departments within Trying Together to meet the mission and accomplish the work. 
• Participate in initial and ongoing professional development for 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. 

Everyday Interactions Matters (EIM) Responsibilities:

• Based on the work of Fred Rogers and the Fred Rogers Institute, facilitate learning communities for program leaders, assistant teachers, co-teachers, and head teachers to help strengthen daily interactions with children and assure quality programming based on developmentally appropriate practice. 
• Visit early learning programs to capture video footage of authentic interactions between early learning professionals and children.
• Facilitate  professional development series for program leaders and classroom teaching teams.
• Recognize and build on the existing knowledge and skills of program staff through reflective practice, close observation, and peer discussion.
• Facilitate supportive discussion between early learning team members with a focus on strengths, connection, and appreciation.
• Using a strengths and practice-based approach, ensure that the leadership team and staff sustain their learning by way of reflective thinking and goal setting.
• Provide feedback loops and support for the purpose of increasing program administration and teacher confidence and competence.
• Develop and support the implementation of an individualized plan that identifies relational strengths, needs, and goals for each program’s staff.
• Support and coordinate resources for the program leadership team and staff to develop programming that is both equitable and inclusive to provide a better learning environment that aims to prevent suspension or expulsion. 
• Consistently model the Everyday Interactions Matter philosophy in interactions with early learning leadership and educators.
• Have a working knowledge of the Everyday Interactions Matter approach and philosophy.

Message from Me Responsibilities

• Leads the expansion of Message from Me into PNC  markets across the United States serving children from birth to age five.
• Excel at building relationships with early learning programs and convincingly showcase the value of Message from Me.
• Design and facilitate innovative face-to-face, hybrid, and online professional growth opportunities for educators on the use of Message from Me; including, developmentally appropriate use of digital media and technologies with children birth to age eight, robotics and early learning, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning concepts, and nurturing children’s 21st century skills. 
• Design and manage updates of Message from Me resources in English and Spanish. 
• Working knowledge of digital technologies such as, an iPad, online learning management systems, and web-based conferencing. 
• Complete monthly monitoring reports or coaching logs for assigned visits and submit them according to timelines for the purpose of tracking and monitoring. 
• Attend national, state, and local presentations, conferences, PNC marketing events, and other educational settings as needed.

Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in child development, early childhood education, or related field preferred. 
• Two years of early childhood classroom experience and two years at an administrative level in an early care and education setting.
• Candidates should be highly self-motivated, capable of taking initiative, and comfortable making informed decisions.
• Experience working with adult learners and knowledge of adult learning principles. 
• Experience with video production and editing is a plus.
• Proven experience with increasing sales is a plus. 
• Proven experience with data collection and leveraging it to maximize program adoption is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Intermediate to advanced computer skills, internet, and email skills. 
• 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.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends. 

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.