Education Specialist

JOB SUMMARY: The Education Specialist will ensure that over time all children and youth, during and after redevelopment have access to a cradle to career continuum of solutions, and are connected to those solutions that will foster their academic performance and college and career readiness. The Education Specialist will support implementation of selected initiatives and activities related to early learners, younger children (pre-school, ES), or older children and youth (MS and HS). The Education Specialist will also support Adult Education by partnering with the Economic Mobility staff. Specific job duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinate supports for families and students to access and have success with high quality early childhood education resources
• Coordinate supports for families and students to access and have success with high quality school and out of school time resources
• Support student’s transition to elementary school, from elementary school to middle school, from middle school to high school, and from high school into and through postsecondary education and into the workforce, including any comprehensive readiness assessment determined necessary.
• Support Parent and Family Engagement and supports, which may include supporting families at school or at home.
• Coordinate activities that support post-secondary and workforce readiness, which may include job training, internship opportunities and career counseling
• Coordinate community-based support for students who have attended the schools in the area served by the pipeline, or students who are members of the Greater Dunbar community, facilitating their continued connection to the community and success in post-secondary education and the workforce
• Ensure family and student access to social, health, nutrition and mental health services and supports.
• Write reports.
• Represent Urban Strategies at local meetings, take notes and write up reports to share learning and points of connection.
• Troubleshoot education related matters as needed
• Coordinate and align services regularly with Family Support Specialist to ensure that all job-related duties are aligned.
• Secure information about school choice opportunities, make it readily available, and assist families in navigating the various options so that parents and guardians can make informed decisions about what is best for their child (ren).
• Ensure the education data integrity within LEARN and facilitate the documentation of stories to support outcomes.
• Actively participate in national education webinars/calls and other training opportunities.
• Actively advance attendance strategies
• Achieve goals as outlined in the HUD CNI People Plan Education Strategy.
• Maintain successful educational partnerships, track leverage and regularly convene education partners to share data, learn about partner’s work, align resources and contributions, and collaborate on special initiatives, as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain an updated Educational Resource Portfolio

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in human services or other relevant field and at least three years of work experience demonstrating the ability to manage all aspects of a project AND at least two years of experience administering complex contracts or grants
• A passion for community building and ability to share that enthusiasm with residents, staff and the larger community
• Ability to draw conclusions and make decisions based on research data and findings.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Skilled in writing reports
• Strong organizational skills
• Experience with case management and service coordination
• Skilled in building and maintaining good relationships while managing key contacts
• Ability to analyze and synthesize large amounts of detailed information and communicate key points in a concise manner
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs including MS Word, Excel, Power Point and desktop publishing software; proficiency is SPSS or other data analysis software is a plus
• Strong interest in social entrepreneurship
• Ability to function as part of a cross-disciplinary team
• Ability to hold privileged information in a professional and confidential manner
• Flexibility to attend evening and weekend functions and to travel occasionally as required
• Knowledge of the community and area at which the position serves

Urban Strategies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer