Position: COLLABORATIONS AND SUPPORTS STRATEGISTFull-Time | Salary Range: $43,000 - $45,000

Culture:Trying Together’s mission is to support high-quality care and education for young children.

Trying Together is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that supports the work of early childhood by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the adults who interact with them. A fast-paced organization, Trying Together looks for dedicated and passionate staff who bring positivity to their work and a solution-oriented sensibility.

Trying Together encourages its team, partners, and communities to interact compassionately and honor the range of cultures, ideas, and identities that root each person. Young children develop and learn by example; this means that children whose early learning environments reflect just actions, equitable opportunities, diverse representation, and inclusive approaches experience healthier interactions and build relationships that enable them to thrive.

Trying Together is an equal opportunity employer. Trying Together does not discriminate and encourages qualified candidates of any gender, race, class, sexual orientation, faith, disability, or age to apply. All candidates will be evaluated on a merit basis.Purpose:

The Collaborations and Supports Strategist is responsible for organizing and implementing a comprehensive strengths-based approach of providing strategies and supports for Allegheny County early learning programs to ensure that young children at risk of being suspended or expelled are retained in their program. The Collaborations and Supports Strategist will work with the ELRC Region 5 Local Leadership Council partners and Rapid Response Team to intentionally develop a team that is prepared to respond quickly to requests from early learning programs and families in Allegheny County when a child is at risk of being suspended or expelled. 

Responsibilities:

• Commitment to racial equity and inclusion and a willingness to do the ongoing personal work to bring about a more just society by actively participating in professional growth opportunities. 
• Actively work with peers to create a culture of belonging at Trying Together. 
• Willingness to disrupt practices that do not honor children’s, families’, educators’ and colleagues’ humanity. 
• Identify Allegheny County agencies familiar with the early childhood education system, early intervention behavioral health, and infant/early childhood mental health systems that have the capacity to provide support to early educators and program administrators. 
• Identify key stakeholders, develop and maintain a Rapid Response Team for Allegheny County. 
• Create a process for referrals from early learning programs, early intervention, and families when a child is at risk of being suspended or expelled from a program.
• Design a referral process for the Team to take action to support an early learning program and a child at risk of suspension or expulsion. 
• Serve as a consultant to early learning program administrators and educators in collaboration with the ELRC 5 Quality Coach. 
• Ensure that the Team responds within 48 hours after a referral is received. 
• Ensure that the Team works through a Pyramid Model in partnership with the early learning program administrator and educators, family, and child. 
• Work collaboratively with the program director, teaching staff, early intervention staff, Team, and Quality Coach to assess and develop strategies to support the family and child. 
• Work collaboratively with the program director, teaching staff, early intervention staff, Team, and Quality Coach to create a plan of action to support the child. 
• Work collaboratively with the program director, teaching staff, Team, and Quality Coach to support families by connecting them to resources and information throughout the process. 
• Ensure that there is follow up with the early learning program director, Team, early intervention staff, and Quality Coach. 
• Collect data from the beginning of the process to the conclusion of the intervention with the early learning program. 
• Serve as an active member of the Quality Initiatives and ELRC teams to effectively respond to the needs of the field and the systems they work within. 
• Meet regularly with the Quality Initiatives and ELRC teams to provide feedback and brainstorm new ideas. 
• Work collaboratively across departments within Trying Together to meet the mission and accomplish the work. 
• Participate in initial and ongoing professional development for the purposes of continuous learning and expanding one’s professional knowledge base. 
• Consistently use the NeonCRM platform to build relationships with constituents, record data that measure project performance, and support continuous quality improvement in the organization's resources and services.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Child Development, Early Childhood Education, or related field and five years of related experience in early childhood intervention, or human/social services working with children and families. 
• Ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

• Ability to work both independently as well as part of a team.
• Ability to maintain a project timeline and monitor progress toward goals.
• Must be able to interact with others in a positive and professional manner. 
• Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society. 
• Ability to maintain confidentiality. 
• Excellent data collection and analysis skills. 
• Strong attention to detail. 
• Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends.

Required Clearances: 

• Clean Act 33 Child Abuse Clearance.
• Clean Act 34 PA State Police Clearance.
• Clean Act 73 Federal Criminal History Clearance.
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Verification.

Required Training:

• Mandated Reporter Training (must be completed in the first month of placement).
• NeonCRM Training (required and recommended online courses must be completed in the first three months of placement).
• PQAS Professional Development Instructor Certification (must be obtained within the first year of employment for staff with a Bachelor’s Degree).

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Appreciative inquiry and strengths-based review process.

Interested Applicants:

Applicants can apply below and upload their cover letter, resume, and three work-related references. Phone calls will not be accepted. Posting will remain open until filled.