Parent Program Operations Associate (Immediate)

The Primary School (TPS) is a new non-profit organization dedicated to dramatically improving health and educational outcomes for children. Fueled by the belief that the current model of school is too limited to close the achievement gap for our nation’s most at risk children, TPS is designing a new model of primary education and primary care which braids together education, health, and family support services starting at birth. In doing so, the school will expand the traditional definition of “school” in order to prepare all children to succeed in college, career, and life. TPS was seeded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a major national philanthropy.

TPS’s innovative new model of support has three defining characteristics:

• Provide integrated and comprehensive services: The new school will partner with an existing health care organization. Educators and health care professionals will provide integrated academic and health (physical, mental, and socio-emotional) services to students and families.
• Begin serving children at birth: The school will admit students at or before birth, and will provide early childhood supports alongside medical care during the critical years of child development, ensuring that students are school-ready by the time they enter the elementary school grades.
• Offer two-generation supports: Families will receive services, including primary care and intensive parenting education, to help them better support their children and become healthier themselves.

We opened our first site in East Palo Alto in 2016 and will serve 300 children and their families (age 0 to 5) by spring of 2017.

In addition to our core focus on directly serving children and families, TPS is committed to designing a model that is replicable in other communities. We are investing in design, research, evaluation, and dissemination that will allow us to replicate our model and/or transfer our learnings to others.

ABOUT THE ROLE

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The Parent Program Operations Associate is responsible for the smooth and effective functioning of day-to-day parent program administration that does not relate directly to coaching. This position will take on a variety of operational responsibilities managing parent program support staff (e.g., childcare workers) and owning the management of the parent program’s “Ohana” office, parent communication, facilities, food and materials procurement, and compliance. As an early member of the parent program team, the Parent Program Operations Associate will play a critical role in the development of systems and structures that will allow the coaching program to “hum” and enable coaches and parent program leaders to remain focused on parent wellness and family health.

Note: This position requires occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds with frequent lifting of up to 25 pounds, and regularly requires the individual to be on their feet for ~6 hours per day.

Responsibilities

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• Open coaching space in the morning, ensure property is ready to welcome families and children, and lead secure shutdown and closure of space in the evening.
• Own and manage welcoming and organized “Ohana” office that upholds our commitment to family and community. Attend to and troubleshoot all urgent incoming requests from parents and TPS staff.
• Perform administrative tasks in support of parent program and/or TPS operations needs (e.g., file, copy, produce letters, document translation, schedule meetings).
• Support operations for program-wide events; prepare and execute parent communication (e.g., newsletters, mailings, text/phone blasts) in collaboration with Sr. Manager of Parent Coaching and other program staff.
• Organize and coordinate supplies and materials, and manage ongoing purchasing needs.
• Build partnership with key vendors for childcare, space, copy and print, custodial, IT, facilities maintenance and repair.
• Manage all facilities-related needs, including scheduling/meeting vendors and handling after-hours facilities emergencies.
• Create and effectively execute strong procedures for childcare and space, and coordinate with vendors and contractors daily and troubleshoot issues as they arise.
• Manage, record and report on family data in partnership with coaches, school and TPS staff; ensure that physical and electronic child and family records are properly maintained and when necessary, transitioned to school.
• Provide logistical and technological support for the administration of parent surveys and assessments.
• Serve as on-site IT contact, including managing of assets, troubleshooting staff with basic issues, and escalating broader issues to Sr. Manager of Program Operations.
• Support management of parent program expenses and partner with Parent Program and Operations leaders to ensure consistency with short and long-term budget strategy.
• Support compliance reporting for federal, state, and local entities; and ensure parent program upholds all regulations at all times.
• Work with other program staff to ensure organizational-wide processes, systems, and procedures are implemented with consistency and efficiency.

ABOUT YOU

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• You have at least two years of experience in an operations, coordinator and/or administrative role.
• You have practiced habits of organization and project management, and can quickly move back and forth between the 30,000 foot and on-the-ground levels.
• You can juggle multiple priorities and take pride in consistently meeting deadlines.
• You are a natural problem solver, fixer and finder of resources; when the going gets tough, you are calm under pressure and show excellent judgment.
• You get joy out of building efficient, user-friendly and results-oriented work flows and processes.
• You have the ability to motivate peers and colleagues to get things done – with or without the leadership title.
• You are extremely self-aware and self motivated, and have a strong desire to learn.
• You are comfortable in ambiguity and environments that change rapidly environments.
• You want to work with and learn from all TPS team members, from early childhood education to parent coaching to community engagement.
• You believe in the mission of The Primary School and that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things.

A Plus If

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• You are an East Palo Alto or Belle Haven native and/or have experience working with the East Palo Alto and Belle Haven communities.
• You are fluent in Spanish (written and oral).
• You have experience supporting children and families managing the effects of trauma and poverty.

HOW TO APPLY

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TPS values diversity; people of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please complete the following application and submit your most recent resume. These short-answer questions are designed to replace a cover letter, so take your time with them and copy in your answers from a separate document. If you feel that the questions do not accurately capture what you have to offer The Primary School, you are also welcome to attach a cover letter. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis so we encourage you to submit yours soon. We look forward to reading your application!