Job Description

Family Advocate - Middle School

$50,000 - $56,000 with competitive health benefits package, paid time off and 403b retirement plan.

Domus is a nonprofit helping nearly 900 teens and young adults achieve self-sufficiency through school engagement and workforce development services.

The Domus SPS Middle School Family Advocate works directly with middle school students enrolled in Stamford Public Schools and partners with their families with the goal of helping students re-engage in their school community, reduce behavioral incidents, and increase attendance with the goal of successfully completing middle school.

Responsibilities include:

Relationship Building with Students


Engage students in 1-1, face-to-face, positive, life changing relationships and become a trusted, go-to resource Utilize teachable moments to teach/model interpersonal communication skills Provide skills building "on the hoof" (in real time) Use method of assertive friendliness - actively seeking contact with students rather than waiting to be greeted, or for a student to ask for help Address students' past and current traumas and stressors as they relate to the underlying drivers of current behavioral challenges Utilize Thoughts, Emotions and Behaviors (cognitive behavioral skills) to build students emotion management and resilience Use Domus' core principles to build relationships, most importantly never giving up and giving many chances Document daily face to face interactions with students as well as any behavioral or attendance challenges the students may have

Collaborating with Families

Communicate consistently with families, and connect with each student's family to plan together for the success of the students on your caseload Provide regular, monthly updates around academic & social-emotional progress of students Assess ongoing needs of the household and provide connections to resources as necessary Connect students who need it with tutoring, mentoring and other community supports Document monthly family engagement targets

Collaborating with School Staff

Conference with teachers to monitor progress of students and troubleshoot when necessary Find out from teaching staff any missing class/homework of students and work with students to complete work and hand it in Provide crisis intervention in the classroom Attend any student meetings including PPT meetings, SST meetings, staff meetings, etc. Connect students who need it with tutoring, mentoring and other community supports Document any interactions with school staff in support of program students

This is a full-time, nonexempt, year-round position working a minimum of 40.0 hours per week. We believe in work-life balance, and there will be times when the balance tips to work and when the balance tips toward life.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree and/or experience working with target population preferred Able to work some evenings, weekend days and other non-traditional work hours for school events etc. A great sense of humor Willingness to work within systems, with a nuanced understanding of the balance of building relationships and advocating within an institution that is not operated by Domus. Commitment to the Domus mission, values and core principles. Knowledge of school attendance and behavior policy, and the ability to translate the implications of these for students and families' daily decision making. Certified or able to become certified in CPR. Valid drivers license. In this role you must be able to drive students to and from school so you MUST be able to pass a V endorsement on your driver license.

SKILLS

Required:


A strong work ethic High emotional intelligence, able to easily develop deep, trusting relationships with diverse individuals from many different backgrounds Ability to receive and respond to constructive feedback General computer literacy, and prior experience with Google and Microsoft office Ability to collect required data and respond to the data Flexibility and adaptability, able to shift styles to fit the needs of a wide range of cultures, people, and organizations Ability to work in a program where we will be learning together as we continue to adapt our program model to help students reach their short and long-term outcomes Impeccable written and oral communication skills Ability to work independently, prioritize multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines Ability to maintain relationships with outside community supports and connections as appropriate for students Ability to help young people repair relationships, using a variety of methods including a restorative justice model

Preferred:


Spanish speaking

Domus is an equal opportunity employer.

People of color and bilingual Spanish speakers, especially those from Stamford, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Domus is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. Domus does not discriminate based on race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.

Please submit a resume and cover letter to apply.

Core Program Beliefs

We believe that within each of us is a desire to move towards health and achievement, under the right conditions. It is our job to provide young people with those conditions. We believe that every young person wants to love and be loved. It is our job to love these young people, and to help them learn to love themselves and others. We believe in the power of belonging. It is a core human condition to want to be missed when we are gone. We will miss young people when they are absent, and we will express that: "We didn't see you yesterday. We missed you. We are glad you are back". We will make sure every young person belongs in our community. No matter what. "She drew a circle to shut me out. Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win. We drew a circle that took her in" (Edwin Markham) We accept young people for who they are. Right here. Right now. They do not have to change to be respected and loved and valued and be a member of our community. Behavior is not a condition of their worth as human beings. We believe that every young person wants to be in charge of their own life. To that end, we will give young people a voice in this program, and choices of how to best accomplish their goals. We are hungry to understand if our interventions are having the intended impact. We will be meticulous in our data entry, and ruthless in our hunt to understand the data and learn from it. If what we are doing is not working, we will set aside our egos, intentions and preconceived notions and we will change what we are doing. We believe that the young people with whom we work deserve our full attention and our best selves. Therefore, we will: NOT allow our personal beliefs or baggage to interfere with our work; we will commit to doing excellent work all the time on behalf of our young people; we will be honest and transparent with ourselves, our colleagues and our partners. To be very clear, by working in this program we are committing to: + Engaging in self-care outside of work so that our personal issues don't interfere with our ability to focus on our young people;
+ Open communication - Bringing all issues directly back to the person OR to the group session in a way that fosters a healthy team;
+ Learning our craft before practicing on our youth;
+ Giving and receiving honest feedback, even if it is uncomfortable to hear or say