Position: ELRC Home-Based Quality Coach

Full-Time | Salary $44,000 - 47,470

Culture:

Trying Togetherʼs 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 Family Child Care Quality Coach supports program administration and staff in home-based child care programs in Allegheny County to develop new skills and continuously improve their early care and education practices to achieve higher program quality. The ELRC Family Child Care Quality Coach engages program administration and staff 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 while a variety of coaching strategies and practices are employed to achieve goals.

Responsibilities:

• Commitment to racial equity and inclusion and a willingness to do 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
• Strive for excellence in work by consistently incorporating cultural competencies and employing relationship-based coaching and consultation practices.
• Maintain and manage a caseload of home-based child care providers in Allegheny County.
• Complete a minimum of twelve monthly on-site face-to-face visits to provide tailored coaching, technical assistance, and resource support to home-based providers.
• Recognize and build on the existing knowledge and skills of home-based providers through observation, reflective practice, goal setting, and planning.
• Using a strengths-based approach, support home-based providers in aligning their unique learning environments with Keystone STARS standards, licensing regulations, and best practices in health/safety, child development, and early learning to support their continuous quality improvement goals. 
• Stay informed about workforce, business, and cultural trends in home-based child care, and transform these insights and best practices into practical strategies for the providers.
• Facilitate face-to-face and virtual professional development sessions, workgroups, and Community of Practice groups for providers.
• Facilitate connections between home-based child care providers and peer networks, community resources, and professional development opportunities to reduce isolation.
• Work collaboratively with ELRC and Trying Together colleagues to ensure the needs of home-based programs are being met.
• Oversee and facilitate ELRC and Trying Together initiatives for home-based providers.
• Work collaboratively across departments within Trying Together to meet the mission and accomplish the work as identified in the Strategic Roadmap. 
• Complete coaching events and case notes in OCDEL-assigned database systems according to specific timelines for the purpose of required tracking and monitoring.
• Navigate and work within OCDEL-assigned database systems for STAR movement, renewal, and maintenance support. 
• Navigate and work within Trying Together-assigned systems for professional development facilitation and other work as assigned.
• Participate in initial and ongoing professional development for the purposes of the coach's own continuous learning and expanding one’s professional knowledge base.
• Follow the procedure for reporting suspected child abuse.
• Other duties as assigned through the ELRC and Trying Together.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education; advanced degree preferred. Related bachelor’s degrees along with 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. Experience within a certified home-based child care program preferred.
• 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 Keystone STARS.
• 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 prove reliability and 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 project timelines and monitor progress toward goals.
• Must be able to interact with others in a positive, equitable, inclusive, 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.
• Must be able 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 driverʼs license and proof of insurance.

Required Training:

• Mandated Reporter Training (must be completed in the first month of placement).
• Coach Approach to Adaptive Leadership (As scheduled by OCDEL).
• New Quality Coach Training (must be completed in the first three months 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 with a Bachelor’s Degree).

Benefits:

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