Parent Educator

Parent Educator

The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is a non-profit organization established in 1976 to serve immigrants, refugees, and the broader community in Portland, Oregon. Our mission is to welcome, serve, and empower refugees, immigrants, and people across cultures and generations to reach their full potential.

Position Summary: Parent Educators are trusted and trained by early childhood professionals. Their services promote healthy child development, support families in preparing young children for kindergarten, and connect parents/caregivers with primary care providers, schools, and early intervention services as needed. This position works under the guidance of the Director of Early Learning and Assistant Manager of Home Visiting. This position does not supervise any employees. It will, however, be asked on occasion to train, orient, and direct the work of new employees of IRCO.

Essential Functions:

• Conduct home visits with families and provide education for supporting their children with social, emotional health and awareness.
• Maintain accurate records of interactions, assessments, and progress notes.
• Provide recruitment and engagement support for the parent education workshops, including translation needed during the workshops.
• Assist families with kindergarten enrollment.
• Provide referrals and support in accessing Special Education services.
• Assist families in getting access to available social, health and educational resources
• Work to host and prepare culturally and linguistically specific services that meet the needs of targeted communities and families with zero to 5 years old children. This could include client intakes, referrals to needed resources, offering ESL classes, monitoring child development, conducting ASQ-3 & ASQ SE 2, and home visits.
• Attend all PCDS and EL team meetings, monthly check-ins, and all required collaborative trainings.
• Complete monthly data and demographic reports for enrolled families
• Prepare and translate educational materials as needed.
• Facilitate communication between the health care system, early intervention, school system, and parents/caregivers, including directly advocating for families and their specific needs.
• Attend partner, community, and agency meetings as assigned.
• Maintain up-to-date records (on paper and share information technology platform, Apricot 360) and files on all families enrolled in the project.

Secondary Functions:

• Ability to meet multiple, including conflicting deadlines
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Ability to communicate with a variety of personality types and levels of the organization as well as with people outside of the organization
• Ability to work flexible hours to meet the availability of clients
• Support community outreach and community education regarding health and well-being.
• Support early learning events organized by the early learning staff.

Education & Experience:

• Associates degree or equivalent and/or professional training
• 1-2 years' experience in early childhood education and/or ECE coursework equivalent
• Must be proficient in the English language and one of the languages listed
• Oral and written communication skills commensurate with the needs of the position
• Is part of, has background, and/or experience in working with immigrant and refugee communities and understanding the cultural values and beliefs of that community
• Self-motivation and the ability to work independently with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 software

Physical, Mental, & Environmental Requirements:

• Hybrid Setting job
• Physical: Positions at this level require minimal physical effort such as light lifting, carrying or movement, etc. Physical capability involves use of office or equipment where some agility and hand eye coordination is needed.
• Mental: There is regular variation in tasks, and the job holder must decide which tasks to complete as well as the order in which tasks are completed.
• Environmental: This level has a work environment that is usually well protected, free from hazards or obstacles. There is little element of personal risk or hazard. Job conditions are usually comfortable, with only occasional issues, including, temperature change
• Schedule: The work schedule is mostly stable and does not fluctuate without prior notice.

What We Offer:

• Many flexible working arrangements and schedule
• Amazing opportunity to work with people who come from all over the world
• Work that helps your community?
• 3 to 6 weeks of PTO per year?
• 401k match of over 100% on first 5%, immediate vesting?
• 3% match for student loans or college savings?
• 12 Paid Holidays and 1 Floating Holiday
• Medical & Dental insurance options with 90% coverage for employee AND Families, no deductibles
• Employer Paid Life, Short term, and Long-term Disability Insurance?
• Flexible spending account

Required Engagement:

Engage fully in recommended professional development, as well as other assigned or required training activities. This engagement can also include participation in optional activities that embrace IRCO's mission, vision, and values based initiatives.

How To Apply:

1. Complete the IRCO application in our Careers Portal: IRCO Application for Employment.
2. Upload your resume and cover letter addressing your qualifications for this position IRCO Careers.
3. For questions about this position, please email View email address on click.appcast.io

Please note that physical applications are accessible from IRCO's main office, 10301 NE Glisan, Portland, OR 97220. Due to the high volume of applications received, we will not be able to contact applicants or return calls regarding applications. Complete applications should include a cover letter, resume, and IRCO application.

IRCO is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any characteristics protected by law. We will make reasonable accommodations to meet our obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws.