Early Childhood Educator

Description

Job Overview

The Early Childhood Educator is responsible for providing a safe, educationally stimulating and nurturing environment for children at the AVANCE-Austin service sites and teaching developmentally appropriate concepts and skills to young children.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences for young children, with a focus on pre-literacy and math skills leading to enhanced cognitive development.
• Creates and prepares activities according to lesson plans and leads the preparation of materials.
• Follows daily schedule of children’s activities and lesson plans that meet children’s needs and interests
• Maintains theme areas in the classroom.
• Maintaining accurate, complete and correct records of children such as class attendance, health records and injury reports.
• Assures that parents sign-in all children on attendance sheet.
• Maintains a healthy, safe, stimulating and attractive learning environment for the young children.
• Regulates children in developing eating, resting and toileting skills.
• Change diapers when needed and ensure each child’s personal hygiene by changing clothing when necessary, and teaching them hand washing skills.
• Labels all children belongings and makes sure parent pick up all belongings at the end of the session.
• Conducts and documents child assessment processes. (Administering of Brigance).
• Attends staff meetings, workshops and trainings as scheduled by supervisor.
• Maintains proper hygiene in the children and all equipment and space used for care of children.
• Protects all children from physical punishment or verbal abuse by anyone in any program activity, and immediately reports any such incident to the center director or person in charge.
• Participates in recruitment activities by tabling at community events, canvassing neighborhoods and distributing flyers at targeted locations.
• Participates in organizing and planning for special events, ex. Holiday Party, Dia de los Niños, graduation etc.
• Establishes and maintains an environment conducive to positive morale and directed towards achievement of the project mission.
• Ensures high standards of ethics by maintaining high standards for participant confidentiality.
• Facilitates effective resolution of conflicts.
• Maintains a positive attitude. 
• Works well with a team and independently.
• Performs other duties as assigned

For Services provided outside of the AVANCE-Austin center:

• Assist in preparing all materials and supplies transported to external sites and used in the program and childcare services.
• Assists in setting up children’s centers and assorted activities in non-permanent sites and proper removal thereof.

AVANCE Core Competencies

• Execution & Accountability
• Problem Solving & Decision-Making
• Communication & Influence
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Stakeholder Focus
• Adaptability & Continuous Learning

Education

Required:

• High School Diploma and/or equivalent Child Development Associate (CDA). CDA or an equivalent credential that addresses comparable competencies, or equivalent experience in the field.

Work Experience

Required:

• 1+ years of experience in early Childhood Program serving infants and toddlers in a developmentally appropriate environment.

Preferred:

• Graduate of AVANCE to College Program or AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program.

Additional Skills

• Very important to this position: problem solving, active listening, reading comprehension, speaking, service orientation, writing coordination, time management, social perceptiveness, monitoring and active learning.
• Important to this position: written comprehension, oral comprehension, oral expression, speech recognition, written expression and effective presentation.

Travel

• Ability to travel to various sites: Dependable transportation is required daily with a valid driver’s license, a clean driving record (subject to annual MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) check and policy), current auto liability insurance and be bondable by AVANCE, Inc.
• This position can require up to 15% of local travel. The Early Childhood Instructor will conduct travel to and from partner and AVANCE Austin sites as required.

Working Conditions

• Work is generally performed in a virtual/hybrid work environment (home, on site, off site). 
• Noise level in the work environment is moderate to occasionally loud (examples: business office with computers and printers, light to moderate traffic, human voices). 
• Standard office equipment generally used includes:
• Telephone
• Personal Computer (monitor, keyboard, and mouse) or Tablet
• Printer/Photocopy Machine
• Calculator
• May be required to operate a motor vehicle during the course of duties.  

Mental and Physical Demands

Maintain emotional control under stress; work with interruptions and deadlines; walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling and pushing, use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; occasional: lifting/carrying, pulling/pushing 10-30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Factors  

Occasional exposure to: biological hazards (communicable diseases, bacteria, insects, mold, fungi, etc.). Occasional expose to weather related conditions when working in outside environment/neighborhoods and events. 

ADA/ADAAA Statement

AVANCE is committed to equal opportunity in employment for persons with disabilities and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, and any other applicable state and federal laws. Accordingly, AVANCE does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to application, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training or other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Moreover, it is AVANCE’s policy to provide reasonable accommodations in employment to qualified individuals with disabilities so that they can perform the essential functions of the job, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of AVANCE’s business or would change the essential functions of the position. Retaliation against an individual with a disability for utilizing this policy or seeking a reasonable accommodation is prohibited. Individuals with any questions or requests for accommodation should contact the Human Resources Department.