Summary

The YWCA of Asheville is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. As part of the YWCA of Asheville team, this role directly supports our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women by providing dependable, high-quality care that allows families to thrive . The Early Learning Program Infant Teacher provides high-quality care and education for infants in a safe, nurturing, and responsive environment. This position supports each child's physical, cognitive, language, social-emotional, and sensory development through individualized care, meaningful interactions, and developmentally appropriate experiences. The Infant Teacher partners closely with families to ensure continuity of care between home and school while maintaining compliance with North Carolina Child Care Licensing Regulations and YWCA of Asheville policies and procedures.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Responsive Caregiving and Child Development

• Create a warm, nurturing, and emotionally secure environment that promotes healthy attachment and trust.
• Build positive, responsive relationships with each infant through consistent interactions and individualized care.
• Plan and implement developmentally appropriate learning experiences that support infants' cognitive, language, physical, sensory, and social-emotional development.
• Follow each child's individual feeding, sleeping, and care schedule while gradually supporting age-appropriate routines.
• Encourage developmental milestones such as tummy time, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, self-feeding, and early communication.
• Engage infants through singing, reading, sensory exploration, music, movement, and age-appropriate play experiences.
• Provide daily opportunities for supervised floor play and exploration.
• Model positive interactions and language throughout the day.

Health, Safety, and Supervision

• Maintain active supervision of infants at all times.
• Conduct daily health observations upon arrival and throughout the day.
• Follow all North Carolina Child Care Licensing Regulations and YWCA health and safety policies.
• Adhere to safe sleep practices, including placing infants on their backs to sleep in approved cribs free of prohibited items.
• Complete and document required safe sleep checks.
• Practice proper handwashing and sanitation procedures.
• Follow universal precautions and infection control procedures.
• Maintain required staff-to-child ratios at all times.
• Immediately report health, safety, or maintenance concerns to administration.
• Follow emergency procedures, including fire drills, evacuations, lockdowns, and emergency response plans.
• Report suspected child abuse or neglect in accordance with mandatory reporting laws.

Feeding and Daily Care

• Prepare and serve bottles and meals according to each infant's feeding plan and family instructions.
• Properly label, store, warm, and handle breast milk, formula, and infant foods according to licensing requirements.
• Support infants during feedings through responsive, individualized interactions.
• Maintain accurate feeding records throughout the day.
• Change diapers promptly and follow approved diapering and sanitation procedures.
• Support toilet learning readiness as developmentally appropriate.
• Monitor infants for signs of illness or developmental concerns and communicate observations to families and supervisors.

Classroom Environment

• Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and welcoming classroom.
• Sanitize toys, cribs, diapering areas, feeding equipment, and high-touch surfaces according to program schedules.
• Ensure classroom materials are developmentally appropriate, safe, and rotated regularly.
• Create engaging learning environments that encourage exploration and discovery.
• Maintain classroom bulletin boards and displays that reflect children's learning.

Child Assessment and Documentation

• Observe and document developmental progress using approved assessment tools.
• Maintain accurate developmental records and portfolios.
• Participate in developmental screenings and ongoing assessments.
• Develop individualized learning goals based on observations and assessment data.
• Support smooth transitions into the toddler classroom.

Family Engagement

• Develop trusting relationships with families through open, respectful communication.
• Communicate daily regarding feeding, sleeping, diapering, activities, and developmental milestones.
• Conduct family conferences as required.
• Encourage family involvement and provide resources to support infant development at home.
• Maintain confidentiality of all child and family information.

Collaboration and Professional Responsibilities

• Collaborate with co-teachers to maintain consistent, high-quality care and classroom operations.
• Participate in staff meetings, coaching sessions, and professional development.
• Work collaboratively with specialists and early intervention providers when applicable.
• Maintain required certifications and annual training.
• Demonstrate professionalism through dependable attendance, punctuality, teamwork, and respectful communication.
• Support YWCA events, initiatives, and organizational goals.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of infant development and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Understanding of safe sleep requirements and infant health and safety standards.
• Ability to build nurturing relationships with infants and families.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent observation and documentation skills.
• Ability to remain calm, patient, and flexible in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Basic computer skills, including email and child management software such as Procare.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• EDU 119 plus six (6) semester hours in early childhood coursework or willingness to obtain.
• Qualify as a Lead Teacher under North Carolina Child Care Licensing Regulations.
• CPR and First Aid Certification or ability to obtain upon hire.
• Criminal Background Check Clearance.
• Minimum six (6) months of experience working with infants or equivalent educational experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field.
• Infant/Toddler Certificate or Infant/Toddler Credential.
• Experience in a licensed infant classroom.
• Familiarity with developmental assessment tools and North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development.

Working Conditions

• Daily interaction with infants from approximately six weeks through twelve months of age.
• Frequent exposure to childhood illnesses.
• Regular outdoor activities, weather permitting.
• Occasional evening or weekend meetings or events.

Physical Requirements

• Frequent lifting and carrying of infants up to 35 pounds.
• Ability to lift classroom equipment and supplies up to 50 pounds.
• Frequent bending, kneeling, squatting, sitting on the floor, and reaching.
• Ability to respond quickly during emergencies.
• Ability to push infant evacuation cribs and safely transport children during emergency evacuations.

Travel Required

• Minimal travel for field trips, professional development, or community events.

Other Duties

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties, responsibilities, or activities. Additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to support the goals, mission, and operations of the YWCA of Asheville Early Learning Program.