Status: 40 hours/week, full time, salaried, exempt

Reports to: Education Programs Director

Key Relationships: Education Director, UMOJA Programs Manager, Permanency Team, Foster Care Team

Salary: $43,000-45,000 annually

WHO WE ARE + WHAT WE DO

EVOLVE Family Services is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit whose core vision is a world where everyone has nurturing, permanent, and supportive familial relationships. We accomplish this by providing a full breadth of inclusive ethical programing in adoption, foster care, pregnancy support, youth services, therapeutic support and education. Our programs are supported through individual and corporate gifts, grants, earned revenue, contracted services, and special events. With 30 highly dedicated, experienced staff, EVOLVE serves all of Minnesota and western Wisconsin through a child-focused lens. In many of our programs, EVOLVE works within and alongside the child welfare system. Our agency recognizes the disparities caused by structural oppression and systemic inequities and works to address and combat these.

EVOLVE expects each individual employed at EVOLVE to be actively engaged in antiracist, anti-oppressive practices. We practice intercultural communication while holding each individual accountable to continued growth, knowing that these skill developments exist on a continuum and is without end. Please see our EVOLVE’s standards of antiracism and anti-oppression here.

At EVOLVE, we believe in the power of family and work to strengthen connections and relationships in all of the child-focused services we provide. EVOLVE works to support and preserve families using a culturally responsive, collaborative and transparent approach. We understand that each situation is unique, personal, and significant, and we treat it as such. We welcome and are committed to serving all individuals and families, regardless of race, religion, age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or marital status. Our staff is dedicated to helping families throughout their process, supporting them in their transitions, and giving them tools to thrive as a family.

EVOLVE Family Services is currently serving families digitally, as able due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our agency is following guidelines to stay safe during the pandemic and will continue to do our work remotely until safely able to resume services in-person and within our office again.

Read more about the services we offer, our team and clients at www.evolveservices.org.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES + EXPECTATIONS

The Education Specialist position supports the Education Programs Director and UMOJA MN Program Manager in ensuring all program goals, grant deliverables and core values are being met. This position holds a main focus in UMOJA MN, a DHS grant-based program designed to support and connect Black youth and their adoptive, kinship, and foster families through two large scale weekend-long camp events per year with adult and youth programming, entertainment and connection activities, as well as programming in between events. This position also collaborates within the adoption, permanency and foster care teams to update training content, coordinate training schedules, and directly facilitate trainings and groups for adoptive and foster families. This position would benefit from skillsets in document organization, event planning, group facilitation, written and oral communication, administrative and database management, knowledge of and passion for Afrocentric programing for youth and families, as well as knowledge and experience pertaining to the needs of children who have experienced trauma of family separation, racism, adoption, foster care, and kinship care. Agency educational programming is intended to prepare families for foster care and adoption and includes curriculum relating to child-development, attachment, child-welfare, trauma-informed parenting skills, identity, interracial and transcultural parenting, LGBTQ+, differing needs, and other forms of diversity.

• Participate directly in the planning, coordination and successful implementation of two large scale UMOJA MN events per year and in-between program activities, adhering to all grant guidelines and provisions.
• Manage family registrations for each UMOJA MN camp.
• Communicate with families between events and leading up to camps including monitoring and responding to UMOJA emails, and sending biweekly emails with anti-racism or anti-oppression resources.
• Provide ongoing tracking of family data and systems for organizing data for camps, grant reporting, site visits, and other services for families
• Post on UMOJA social media pages throughout the year, including anti-racism/anti-oppression resources for families, upcoming training opportunities, podcast episodes created by UMOJA staff, blog posts, etc.
• Regular tracking of families’ grant scholarships and informing team members of status
• Maintain Planning Checklist for each UMOJA MN camp
• Assist with envisioning, planning and implementing Afrocentric curriculum for youth and children, ages 0-18 years, for UMOJA MN events.
• Assist with planning, organization and implementation of family activities for each UMOJA MN event as needed.
• Organize and supply Lead Teachers with classroom supplies as needed

• Occasional domestic travel to attend conferences and maintain relationships with potential partners and collaborating agencies
• Provide technical support to the Education/training team, i.e., PowerPoint, Video conference, basic computer glitches, etc.
• Participate in weekly L10 meetings and record minutes.
• Participate and engage the community by leveraging opportunities to develop and support agency programs, specifically UMOJA MN, recruiting both families & volunteers.
  • Includes meetings, presentations, conferences and vendor tables

• Facilitate parent training and discussion groups, including Parenting in a Diverse Society and CORE Trainings.
• Coordinate Education trainings given by EVOLVE staff, including sending reminders to facilitators and participating families and helping schedule all trainings for the coming year

• Work with Program Director and staff to assess, evaluate, improve, and update content of current client education and educational events.
• Participate in the development of 1-2 new educational events and workshops for clients each year (informed by surveying EVOLVE families about desired education topics)
• Coordinate and facilitate monthly anti-racist practice group for families using established curriculum, updating curriculum as needed
• Assist with staff training facilitation and development of new trainings through participation in the agency’s Cultural Responsiveness Committee
• Participate in collaborative agency meetings, including education sessions, marketing meetings and development meetings

• Actively support, participate, and engage staff in agency-wide commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, antiracism, anti-oppression and intercultural work.
• Complete work in a timely manner and communicate effectively around individualized need.
• Utilize supervision for consultation, challenges, needed support, and accountability around agency expectations.
• Maintain continuing education requirements, as well as ethical and professional standards as required by agency and any applicable licensing board.
• Contribute to the agency’s overall well-being and effectiveness by fully communicating needs, ideas, and concerns directly to supervisor.
• Participate fully as a team member in day-to-day tasks as well as special activities.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor and/or director.

This job is for you if you are (a)…

• Committed to practicing with an antiracist and anti-oppressive lens
• Very detail oriented and well-organized
• Enjoy a mix of close collaboration with teams and individual project work
• Critical thinking skills to identify unmet needs and propose new responses to meet them
• Aligned with our agency values
• Adaptable and flexible with learning and navigating program service differences
• Experience in visual learning aides, i.e. PowerPoint, videos and other computer applications
• Able to prioritize and meet deadlines for grant requirements as well as changes in education or programming per state statutes and guidelines

As well as…

• Ability to work with peers and clients cross-culturally
• Comfortable engaging with and leading small groups
• Self-motivated and proactive
• Ability to effectively engage across differences in views, experiences, and beliefs, and participate in challenging conversations
• Experienced in event planning, following timelines, developing and executing checklists to keep on track
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

LOGISTICS

We have two office locations; a large office suite in West St. Paul located off of Robert St. and Thompson Ave. and a building in Oak Park Heights off of highway 36 just outside of Stillwater. This position offices out of the West St. Paul location and has ability to conduct work remotely, though does require some in-office hours. All staff are provided with a laptop and have access to the server remotely. If working from home, you will need access to high-speed internet and cell phone service. Your home workspace must be conducive to perform the specific work you will be doing. Typical business hours for this position are Monday-Thurs, 8:30-4:30, with evenings or weekends as required for special events and grant deliverables. Our agency allows some flexibility around adjusting work schedules for individualized needs, outside of required staff meetings. Your direct supervisor will communicate details of logistics and expectations specific to your position.

RACIAL IDENTITY + OUR WORKPLACE

For full transparency of racial identities within our workplace at EVOLVE, racial identities within our workplace are listed below. Our current EVOLVE team is comprised of 26 team members.

TO APPLY

Fill out our application. In addition to our application, please also submit a cover letter with a social justice statement and resume. The position will remain open until filled.

Compensation and Benefits

$43,000-$45,000 annually, paid biweekly.

Benefits include health care (family coverage available), dental + vision coverage, 20 days of PTO in first year, increasing annually up to 240 hours after 10 years of service, 13 paid holidays, 16 hours paid community engagement time for volunteering, service, activism, etc., flexible work schedule, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) options, $50,000 Life insurance benefit, Short term and long-term disability insurance, Continuing Education benefit, $1,500 adoption benefit, Parental, Jury, Voting, Military, and Bereavement Leave, and Investment options.

EVOLVE Family Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the agency, in recognition of the essential rights of all children and individuals, to provide agency services and employ staff without regard to race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, union or political affiliation, religion, national origin, citizenship status, age, marital status, disability, or reliance on public assistance except where a bonafide qualification exists. People of color and individuals of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.