This Child Care Access Coordinator position will work with many local stakeholders and departments to develop and implement an accessible system for connecting families with high quality child care to support their child(ren)'s learning and wellbeing from infancy and to meet the logistical needs of the families. The Coordinator will work closely with Family Child Care Providers and Child Care Centers throughout Somerville, along with the City’s Department of Health and Human Services, Somerville Public Schools, the City’s Workforce Development team, Somerville families, and other stakeholders. The Coordinator will also help to implement the City of Somerville Child Care Access and Affordability Financial Assistance Program. The position will report to the Director of SomerPromise or their designee.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

Offer Support to Child Care Providers in Partnership with Somerville Public Schools (SPS)

• Co-lead the Somerville Partnership for Young Children (SPYC) Initiative in collaboration with the SPS Early Childhood Department
• Convene Directors of Somerville Partnership for Young Children partnership providers to support collaboration and increase access to Child Care programs; provide one-on-one support to child care providers based on individual program needs
• Provide ongoing, direct outreach to cultivate new partners among community-based child care centers and manage the onboarding of these centers into the SPYC network, including informal care networks and family child care
• Build strong relationships and trust with all partners and stakeholders involved in the work; provide opportunities for partners to contribute to the ongoing development of local initiatives
• Work collaboratively with the First Five Somerville Steering Committee and support the Outreach & Awareness Campaign across Somerville to enroll eligible children in early education and care through the City of Somerville Affordability Fund
• Coordinate with all First Five Somerville members and SomerPromise Youth and Family Resource Navigator to identify and enroll income eligible families into available slots in the City of Somerville Affordability Fund
• Maintain knowledge of available inventory and capacity in Somerville early learning programs
• Work closely with consultants, specialists, and service providers to plan for and implement SPYC quality and wraparound initiatives

• Organize training and professional development opportunities for child care providers with a focus on wraparound services and family support
• Manage reimbursements, recruitment and fiscal components of contracts that provide training and professional development opportunities to Somerville residents

Childcare Access and Affordability Financial Assistance Program

• Coordinate with SomerPromise Director and the SomerPromise Family and Youth Navigator on continuing design and implementation of the Child Care Access and Affordability Financial Assistance Program
• Conduct meetings with families accepted into the program. Provide detailed information about child care options including curriculum models and availability of wrap-around services
• Bridge communication and support transitions between families participating in the financial assistance program and partner centers
• Oversee the everyday operations of the program, e.g., invoice monitoring and reporting

Family Support

• Work cooperatively, and communicate regularly, with other agencies and initiatives to meet the full range of needs of families and children served, including prenatal-school entry entities such as Somerville Children’s Cabinet (and By All Means), Somerville Family Learning Collaborative, Somerville Hub Connect and First Five Somerville Steering Committee
• Raise community-wide awareness about the importance and availability of child care; conduct outreach and support outreach modes and materials (web presence, flyers, etc.)
• Identify barriers to child care access for families and work with cross-sector partners at an operational level to reduce or eliminate such barriers
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with school staff, family liaisons and other community outreach staff to increase access

Community Child Care Support

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with Family Child Care providers
• Provide information, referrals and assistance to residents interested in becoming licensed Family Child Care Providers
• Maintain knowledge of available inventory and capacity in centers and programs
• Build knowledge, expand resources, and support system wide solutions pertaining to Child Care access, Workforce Development and Early Childhood Mental Health supports

Recommended Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree and three to five (3-5) years’ experience in Early Childhood Education and Child Care, or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Early Education and Care (EEC) Director 2 qualified preferred. Bilingual fluency in Spanish or Portuguese strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill:

• Knowledge: Knowledge of and commitment to the overall vision of the Child Care Access and Affordability initiative and to the concept of Collective Impact (including a mixed delivery program model across school, city and community options to honor family choice); knowledge of EEC Licensing regulations; knowledge of state and federal programs about early learning, including Head Start; knowledge of current child development landscape and best practices; knowledge of community, group facilitation/cross-sector initiatives, programs that serve children and families; knowledge of and interest in child development, education and data-informed/evidence-based interventions. Knowledge of and familiarity with the local area, local organizations, and understanding/experience working with municipalities preferred.
• Abilities: Ability to work at a fluid, start-up level and willingness to adapt; ability to work with diverse stakeholders; ability to work autonomously, as part of a department, and as part of a cross-sector team.
• Skill: Strong community engagement and facilitation skills; strong analytical and communication skills; strong project management skills. Bilingual in English/Spanish or Portuguese strongly preferred.

Work Environment:

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with frequent exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. Employee may be required to work beyond a set weekly schedule in order to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills:

Few physical demands are required to perform the work beyond frequent travel around the city. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. May also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.)

Motor Skills:

Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.

Visual Skills:

Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Hours: Full-Time
Salary: $64,945.93 annualized + benefits
Union: Non-Union
Pre-employment Requirements: Successfully pass fingerprinting screen.
Date Posted: October 20, 2022

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Benefits Somerville Offers

• 4 weeks annual vacation (for non-union positions) & for union positions this varies by contract
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
• Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
• Vision care through the Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Long term disability through Sun Life
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
• Flexible spending plans through Benefit Strategies
• Deferred compensation through a choice of three vendors
• Employee assistance through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
• Cancer screening & wellness release
• Somerville Retirement Pension System
• Tuition reimbursement
• MBTA pass program
• FREE Blue Bikes membership
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville. This is not a binding contract, for any questions relating to benefits for specific union and non-union positions please contact the Human Resources department by calling (617) 625-6600 x 3300.

COVID-19 Vaccination Required

To better protect the health and safety of staff and the public, all City of Somerville employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of November 1, 2021. Exemptions and/or reasonable accommodations are not guaranteed and will be reviewed by the City of Somerville Human Resources Department on a case-by-case basis. Learn more at www.somervillema.gov/HR/COVID19.

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