Family Connector

Job Description

Open Arms is hiring two full-time, temporary, Family Connector positions that will serve the African American/Black and Latinx communities. The Family Connector positions are the first of its kind at Open Arms and made possible by a pilot-program funded by Best Starts for Kids’ (BSK) Help Me Grow program. The Family Connector positions are fully funded by this BSK pilot program until December 2021. Funding renewal for the positions will be dependent on the Best Starts for Kids levy renewal and through a funding renewal process.

The Family Connectors will focus on serving the African American/Black and Latinx communities by providing Open Arms’ families and community referrals with connection to culturally relevant resources such as housing and other basic needs, rental and utility assistance, health and medical resources, food resources, transportation, and system navigation. To align with Open Arms’ community-based service model, priority consideration will be given to candidates who are of and from the two focus communities and who can provide culturally responsive care by bridging language and culture. Fluency in Spanish is required for the Latinx focused position.

The Family Connectors will join the Family Support Services team and report directly to the Family Support Services Director and work closely with a team of two Intake Coordinators and a program Administrator. Family Support Services is a new team at Open Arms that serves as a central hub for the intake and referral process, for supporting clients with resources and referrals, and for maintaining and strengthening community-resource partnerships. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of building a new team and setting up a first-time program at Open Arms. The ideal candidate must be very adaptable and comfortable with adjusting to change and new systems, have excellent communication skills cross-culturally, be familiar with community organizations and resources available for serving the African-American/Black and Latinx communities, and must be extremely people oriented and collaborative. Work schedule flexibility is an option with occasional night and weekend activities required.

Open Arms deeply appreciates the skill and experience that birthworkers bring to our world. Based on the demands and requirements of this particular position, if the applicant is interested in taking on any births for Open Arms clients, full-time staff are asked to devote the first 90 days to training and focusing on adjusting to their new position. After the 90-day period, with approval from their direct supervisor, the staff member can take a maximum of 1-2 births per quarter depending on the timing of other work projects and adequate team coverage. Being an active or current doula is not a requirement of the position.

Note about COVID-19 work environment: Since March 2020, Open Arms quickly adjusted to a remote-work model for all office support staff and an adapted visit model for home-visiting doulas. We anticipate keeping a remote-work schedule until further notice and the leadership team is carefully evaluating options for a safe reopening with input from staff and doulas. Meetings are all conducted virtually and some of the responsibilities outlined below will be put on hold or modified while we continue working remotely. Other activities may be conducted with limited in-person contact and with a strict COVID-19 protocol in place. Open Arms will provide you with the technology and protective equipment you need to be able to work comfortably and safely. We have also encouraged staff to flex their schedules to accommodate for children being at home and we support adjustments that parents need to make to juggle this complicated time. Feel free to discuss any concerns you have during the interview process.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct individual meetings and follow up with clients, doulas, and lactation support peer counselors.
• High amount of local travel to meetings with clients and community partners. Access to reliable transportation for in-person meetings.
• Support with systems navigation, and the coordination of resources and referrals for Open Arms families, and other non-enrolled families as needed.
• Respond to requests from providers and clients for resource recommendations through email, phone, virtual meetings and other methods as required.
• Track and distribute resources, including “Barrier Buster” funds, to Open Arms families.
• Collaborate with Family Connector counterparts employed at United Indians of All Tribes (serving the American Indian/Alaska Native communities), Global Perinatal Services (serving the Somali community), and other partnering programs.
• Assist in finding and coordinating internal and external resources to providers and clients based on need and availability.
• Contribute to a comprehensive list of resources organized by needs and demographics. Keep information in the database up to date with light data entry.
• Support organizing and implementing of program-related events, including Community Connection nights and Resource Roundtables.
• Support the coordination, preparation, pick-up and delivery of baby items from our Baby Boutique and our community partner, Westside Baby.
• Support the Family Support Services Director and team in exploring opportunities for resource partnerships and in maintaining existing partnerships around community resources.
• Support data and trend collection and analysis as it relates to Family Connectors and Family Support Services.
• As needed, support the operations of providing essential baby items, including baby item pick up and deliveries, and tangible resource acquisition for clients.
• In partnership with PEPS, Open Arms provides a parenting group for Latinx families. The Family Connector serving the Latinx community will support this group and work with the facilitators on content and logistics.
• Recognize, assess and share successes and challenges with connecting families to community resources and communicate those to the Family Support Services Director and Help Me Grow network.
• Gather information and create educational materials and communications pieces that can be shared with Open Arms Providers, families, and other partner organizations.
• Engaging in ongoing learning and professional development by attending relevant trainings, conferences, workshops, etc.
• Occasional night or weekend work for events or meetings. Advance notice will be provided.

Required Qualifications

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills over the phone, through email, and face-to-face, primarily in English.
• Fluency in Spanish is required for the position serving the Latinx community.
• Demonstrated, successful work experience in providing community-resource connection for families (resources, referrals, support planning, services management, advocacy support). Additional work experience in birthwork and early childhood parenting is a plus.
• Demonstrated success and passion for community-based work including providing references and examples of community-based work with the focus communities.
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and organize work projects solo and as a team
• Comfort with change and adapting to new structures and systems
• Ability to maintain confidentiality around HIPAA-protected information
• Experience in working with a diverse staff and with communities of color, especially working with the positions’ focus communities.
• The applicant should have a strong racial, disability, gender and economic justice framework
• Commitment to anti-oppression and de-colonization work with a focus on racial equity and reproductive justice, specific to birth justice
• Able to provide unbiased guidance and collaboration to families and coworkers.
• Aptitude for solving problems with creativity and resourcefulness
• Ability to develop positive relationships with clients, doulas, providers, organizations, and staff as well as partner organizations
• Have basic computer skills including sending emails, editing documents, and attaching files to emails using Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel, Outlook and Word.
• Experience with cloud-based applications such as Microsoft OneDrive
• Comfort with light data entry
• Ability to meet program deadlines and expectations.
• Valid Washington State Driver’s License and reliable transportation with current automobile insurance. This position requires frequent driving and visits to client homes.
• Offer for employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Mental and Physical Requirements

The physical/mental demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Mental Requirements:

This position continuously requires interpersonal skills, teamwork, customer service, use of discretion, performing basic math, independent judgment and/or independent action, and reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English. Frequently requires decision-making and problem analysis to make recommendations for improvement and/or be involved in discussions around changes. The position occasionally requires creativity. Attention to detail also required.

Physical Requirements:

This position continuously requires sitting, hearing (using assistive devices if needed), and repetitive motion of the hands/wrists. Open Arms is housed in a wheelchair accessible, scented building, with wheelchair accessible bathrooms. Access to reliable transportation will be required for work-related travel. Daily working conditions include an open-office work environment at our Seattle location on Beacon Hill, normal office work, and frequent driving and travel to our storage site in South Seattle and other locations as needed. Some tasks require the ability to lift items heavier than 10lbs. Employment is not dependent on the applicants’ ability to lift items.