Community Resource Coordinator

Kandelia’s mission is to address systemic inequities so immigrant and refugee families and communities can thrive without having to compromise values, heritage or ethnicity.

For over 15 years, Kandelia has worked in partnership with Seattle World School (SWS) to provide high quality youth enrichment programs to all students and families enrolled in the school. SWS is the only public school in King County designed as a preliminary entry point for refugee and immigrant children of middle and high school age: 100% of students have immigrant or refugee status and 97% identify as a student of color. Our Youth Enrichment Programs offer a model that bridges in-school and out-of-school learning time across multiple school and community partners.

Our Youth Enrichment Program has a proven track record – to date, more than 80% of students have increased their English and math scores by the equivalent of one or more grade levels each year as measured by standardized tests. Active Kandelia students have consistently increased their school-day attendance rates compared to their peers. In 2014, an independent evaluator found that students who participated in our programs consistently scored higher (an average of half a grade level) on math and English standardized tests compared to their peers.

Position Overview

Annual salary: $44,000 – $46,500

Full-time employees are eligible for health insurance, PTO, Sick Days, and Holidays.

Note: this position is entirely grant-funded and funding is only secured through June 2021. We will evaluate the need for the position leading up to June 2021 and renewal may be possible.

Location: Remote until January 2021, with some days required at Seattle World School. After January 2021 (if state laws permit), this position will be based daily at the Seattle World School once possible under school and district Covid-19 guidelines, with some regular meetings at the Kandelia office in Columbia City. This role requires frequent driving in the Seattle metro area.

Hours: Full-time Monday through Friday, with some flexibility, occasional Saturdays (with comp time)

Kandelia is seeking a mission-driven, service-oriented, enterprising Community Resource Coordinator who wants to make a daily impact from start to finish through direct, on-theground services as the primary person supporting the needs of refugee and immigrant youth and families through obtaining, managing, delivering, and distributing culturally-appropriate food, supplies, and other goods, while also leading our efforts to educate students about healthy food options and Covid-19 resources. This role will research and connect students and their families to community resources that address basic needs barriers, while also collecting data to show community need and project impact, to allow students and families to engage in programming focused on academic support, vocational training, leadership development, community building, and more.

The Community Resource Coordinator will be supervised by the Youth Program Manager to ensure smooth and consistent operation and will work closely with the Volunteer Coordinator and Community Engagement Manager. This position will exercise a high degree of independent decision-making and autonomy in regards to their daily duties and requires frequent driving in the Seattle metro area.

Core Responsibilities

Direct Delivery of School-site Services

  • Daily – Organizing, serving, and keeping inventory of food, snacks, and supplies for students
  • Principal responsibility for managing volunteers on-site, working with Volunteer Coordinator • Daily interaction with teachers, school administrators, and students to identify needs
  • Organizes and executes deliveries and drop-offs to multiple sites, such as grocery deliveries to student homes, working with Family Engagement Manager and Youth Program Manager

Obtaining and Maintaining Community Resources

  • Principal responsibility for working with government and community partners like food banks, social service orgs, or local businesses to obtain or purchase food items, goods, and supplies o Recent examples include food, school supplies, Covid-19 masks, hotspots, laptops o Specific emphasis on obtaining culturally appropriate and relevant food items for diverse populations with varying dietary needs and restrictions
  • Principal responsibility for pickup, storage, set-up and delivery of food items, goods and supplies
  • Works with Community Engagement manager and Volunteer Coordinator to attract donation of in-kind goods and services
  • Connect students and families to other community resources, like Fresh Bucks and food banks

Healthy Choices Education

  • Partner with Seattle World School Health Clinic staff and other partners to design and provide lessons about healthy food choices

o Example: chronic conditions caused by sugary drinks, activities emphasizing healthy alternatives

o Another recent example: leading a culturally-focused cooking class for students

  • During Covid-19, we’ve produced materials (in multiple languages) summarizing resources for families

Program Ownership

  • Collects all data and records for resources obtained and distributed
  • Manages financial details of donation and distribution of in-kind goods, working with Finance and Admin Coordinator and Community Engagement Manager
  • Principal responsibility for reporting for city, county, and state grants, working with Youth Program Manager and Senior Program Manager
  • Supports Program team with daily needs, particularly at the school site – fills in where needed

Qualifications

  • Professional experience in direct services, experience with resource access (especially food), experience in schools, or experience in youth development programs is expected
  • Patience, confident leadership, and kindness toward young people, especially teens
  • Attitude of service where you’re not afraid to “get your hands dirty” – this job involves a lot of transporting, sorting, setting up, and cleaning up items like perishable food
  • Demonstrated ability to work with teachers, students, volunteers, and partners
  • Demonstrated ability to manage volunteers
  • Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations and diverse learners, especially ELL students and immigrant and refugee students and adults
  • Experience with tracking and coordinating logistics for multiple locations and activities
  • Must have ability to prioritize multiple assignments; work independently and collaboratively; communicate about challenges; plan; and most importantly, follow through
  • Highly proficient computer skills in Zoom, Google Suite (Gmail, calendar, forms and Drive) and Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and their Google Docs equivalents).
  • Experience planning, tracking, and delivering program content and data
  • Bilingual fluency in Spanish, Maya Quiche, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, Tigrinya, Russian or Ukrainian is a plus.
  • Experience in urban education is a plus, whether as a professional or as a student

○ Previous experience in Seattle Public Schools preferred

Other Requirements

  • Valid driver’s license and clean driving record required
  • Daily access to a reliable vehicle for work is required
  • Legal clearance to work with minors and within the school is non-negotiable and you must pass a background check and any other tests required by Seattle Public Schools or government partners.
  • Strong ethics, maturity, and appropriate boundaries for adult interactions with minors, including compliance with all Seattle Public Schools HR and reporting requirements
  • Must be available to work flexibly, including occasional evenings and weekends
  • Ethical integrity and legal responsibility in managing a large number of goods at any one time, all intended solely for our clients who are in need of support
  • Physical demands include working at the computer but also loading and transporting supplies (boxes up to 50 pounds, paper, printers, supplies, technology, t-shirts, food, etc.)

Characteristics

  • Strong connection to the Kandelia mission
  • Empathy, humility, flexibility and willingness to serve and lead in a fast-moving and oftenchallenging public school environment
  • Ability to prioritize multiple events and goals at once – highly organized approach to planning time
  • Positive, solution-oriented approach in a team working toward common goals
  • Cultural competency learned from experience with diverse needs, challenges and communication styles
  • Strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
  • Strong work and financial ethics
  • Kindness, discretion, and patience in helping students and families with problems and life challenges that require sensitivity, care and understanding
  • Must have the utmost integrity and an ability to process, protect and exercise discretion in handling confidential information and materials
  • Professional and ethical commitment to student protection and student privacy.

Hiring Process

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume to hr@kandelia.org. The position will begin as soon as October 2020, pending candidate’s availability. Qualified candidates must be available for up to 2 interviews, likely in consecutive weeks, through Zoom.

Kandelia is an equal opportunity employer.