Job Opportunity- Parent Advocate Network Coordinator

The Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP) is a parent/professional partnership dedicated to public child welfare reform in New York City through meaningful parent involvement in policy and practice. Most of their staff, and about half their Board of Directors, are parents who have been personally affected by ACS- many of whom have had children in foster care, have reunited their own families, and now work to help other families facing similar challenges, and to function as a collective force for system change.

CWOP has long advocated for the creation of staff positions in foster care, preventive, and legal services agencies for life-experienced Parent Advocates, and have trained close to a hundred parents for such positions.

In collaboration with the Parent Advocate Initiative, they now seek a full-time Parent Advocate Network Coordinator, to help create and facilitate a new membership organization for Parent Advocates employed by New York City foster care agencies.

Duties

Under the supervision of CWOP’s Executive Director, the Network Coordinator will:

* Assume primary responsibility for convening and facilitating a newly-created network of foster care Parent Advocates in the child welfare system
* Work with the Network membership to reach consensus regarding the goals and purposes of the Network
* Assist with the drafting of by-laws, a mission statement, a meeting schedule, and a reporting format for Network activities
* Engage in research, policy analysis, and report writing consistent with the mission and goals of the Network
* Report back to the Parent Advocate Initiative at least twice per year; work in cooperation with the membership of the Parent Advocate Initiative to promote increased opportunities for Parent Advocates
* Represent the Network at meetings with public and elected officials, child welfare service providers and educators, and the media
* Explore various strategies for achieving Network fiscal independence, including but not limited to dues collection, government and foundation funding sources
* Outreach and recruit new Parent Advocates to the Network
* Participate in the broader range of system change activities including, but not limited to, giving testimony at public hearings, writing for publication, guest lecturing at schools of law and social work, offering direct support to parents affected by the system, and training parents in self-advocacy skills

Qualifications

Required

* Minimum one year experience as a Parent Advocate required
* Must have the drive, energy, and commitment essential to pioneer a new organization in start-up mode, combined with the humility and diplomacy needed to faithfully serve the interests of a diverse, vocal constituent group
* Good writing skills (sample required)

Preferred, but Not Required

* Community organizing, supervisory, and/or administrative experience
* BA in human services
* Computer skills
* Bilingual/bi-literate in English/Spanish

Salary and Benefits

* This is a full-time, 35 hour per week position
* Starting salary $35,000 – $40,000 depending upon education and experience
* Full benefit package including vacation, personal, holiday, and sick time, family health insurance, life, unemployment, and disability insurance

To apply, please mail or email your resume and cover letter to:

Michael Arsham

Executive Director
Child Welfare Organizing Project
East Harlem Neighborhood Center
80 East 110th Street, 1E
New York, NY 10029

mikearsham@aol.com