Overview
ABOUT ROOM TO GROW
Room to Grow is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the vision that one day all parents will have the resources they need to unlock their families’ potential and become champions for babies and their community. Its mission is to offer structured parent support, material goods, and community connections to support parents as they activate their natural strengths and expand their knowledge, so children thrive from the start. Room to Grow was founded in New York in 1998 and expanded to Boston in 2005, currently partnering with over 1,500 families with an annual budget of $5M and a team of 45 passionate and dedicated staff members.
Room to Grow uses a two-generation, preventative, and strengths-based approach to engage families. Through its unique program, parents and caregivers partner with program staff to develop strategies to support their child’s development, select the material items that their child needs, and connect with community resources that can expand their support network. Room to Grow program staff work alongside parents and caregivers as they build upon their existing skill sets and parenting styles and promote the well-being of their children and family.
As an entrepreneurial and growth-oriented organization, Room to Grow is in an exciting period of development as it continues to expand its reach and impact in Boston and New York and potential future locations. In 2020, Room to Grow adapted and digitized parts of its model to continue supporting families during COVID-19, and it will continue to leverage best practices and resources to support low-income communities as circumstances evolve.
ABOUT THE POSITION
The Family Support & Site Operations Associate position at Room to Grow helps guide families through the second hour of their visit (in-person and virtually), while working alongside other members of the Site Operations team to manage the Baby Boutique. This position reports to the NY Executive Director. The ideal candidate for this role is resourceful, energetic, organized, and comfortable interacting with children and adults and must be highly professional and passionate about Room to Grow’s mission.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Help guide parents in the Baby Boutique to ensure they can find what they are looking for
- Guide parents in their selection of books, toys, clothing, equipment that are best suited for their child while enthusiastically supporting parents’ choices and decision making
- Answer parents’ questions as they go through the boutique while noticing and affirming parents’ demonstrated knowledge and strengths
- Stage and maintain a well-organized and well-cared for Baby Boutique that communicates warmth, dignity, and comfort
- Maintain constant communications with Site Operations team members to ensure the inventory needs of our families are met in our Family Centers
- Restock inventory, including ordering from the main site/warehouse as needed
- Organize inventory daily and maintain organization of the overstock/volunteer space and site readiness
- Maintain a safe environment for children that is conducive to brief parent-child interactions such as exploring new books and introducing toys
- Collaborate closely with Room to Grow Clinical Family Support team members to ensure coordinated support of families
- Ensure data completion forms are updated and uploaded to Salesforce for every family visit
- Additional responsibilities and projects may include:
- Lead volunteer sessions and build relationships with volunteers to encourage further engagement with Room to Grow
- Make suggestions for regional community engagement activities and play an active role in planning and implementing such activities
- Support central Family Support in answering and directing incoming phone calls
- Support regional projects, including special events, and social media collaborations
QUALIFICATIONS
- A passion for the mission, vision, and core values of Room to Grow
- Energetic and hospitable with strong customer service skills
- Organized with high attention to detail
- Strong communication skills and comfortable with external engagement
- High level of professionalism, integrity, accountability, and judgment
- Highly resourceful, adaptable/agile, and ability to multitask
- Must be a team player and also be able to work individually and take initiative
- Adept at using technology and documenting information in an electronic system
- Experience working directly with young children and families strongly preferred
- Able to lift 40 pounds
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
- No diploma or certification required
- Fluency in English, Spanish required
CORE COMPETENCIES
Mission & Culture Alignment – Allows a candidate to thrive at Room to Grow and to be highly motivated by the organization’s work and mission. A successful candidate:
- Embodies RtG core values, including integrity, respect, growth, collaboration, community and inclusion; articulates an authentic passion for and unwavering belief in RtG’s mission, demonstrating a commitment to and literacy around the issues of equity that undergird the work
- Demonstrates comfort with growth and navigates ambiguity and changes in direction with ease, presents as collaborative and flexible with a strong service mentality and ability to navigate a local/national structure
- Approaches work with a learning orientation, continuously seeking to improve his or her own work and the work of the organization
Relationship & Community Building – Enables a candidate to build strong rapport with a broad range of stakeholders, especially family participants and community partners. A successful candidate:
- Possesses good communication skills, and the ability to hold relationships with families, especially children
- Is motivated to advocate for Room to Grow on and off-site
- Is able to initiate, cultivate, and maintain meaningful relationships with key stakeholder groups including the Room to Grow family participants, colleagues (remote and on-site), prospective families, volunteers, and community partners
- Thinks proactively about ways in which RtG can engage with the community and reach more families
Resourcefulness with a Service Focus – Enables a candidate to handle difficult situations that will arise quickly, responsibly, and respectfully with all constituents involved.
- Is able to find innovative ways to overcome obstacles, solve problems, or deal with unforeseen/challenging situations with limited/no resources
- Possesses customer service skills, the ability to anticipate a participating family’s needs and respond to them in a timely and courteous way
- Is forward thinking, having the ability to anticipate consequences of situations or implications of certain actions, and then to respond appropriately
- Demonstrates thinking and ability to provide speedy and effective resolution of client issues and complaints
- Possesses good judgement in high stress situations
Professionalism – Enables a candidate to represent Room to Grow in the best way possible regardless of the situation, including taking ownership of self and of the space as a whole.
- Has a positive attitude and welcoming demeanor with all visitors of Room to Grow
- Demonstrates ability to treat all diverse population of clients with sensitivity, respect, compassion, and dignity
- Demonstrates the ability to adapt to whatever changes occur without losing focus on goals
- Possesses the ability to apply their knowledge to new circumstances
Operational Focus – Enables a candidate to successfully offer quality service to RtG families through the efficient management of the baby boutique and reception. A successful candidate:
- Embodies integrity in their work with special attention to detail
- Demonstrates expertise in and innate desire to tackle operational challenges in maintaining inventory in the baby boutique and reception area
- Embodies the growth mindset, taking every challenge as an opportunity to build efficiency
- Possesses organization skills necessary to manage operational processes including managing orders, cleanliness, etc.