What are the responsibilities and job description for the Part-Time Dad Engagement Specialist position at The Up Center?
Dad Engagement Specialist: Grant funded position through December 2025
The Up Center is the oldest and largest child and family services agency in Hampton Roads and has been part of our community since 1883. Purposefully evolving over the years to meet the changing needs of our region, we continue the work responding to the needs of our community’s most vulnerable children, families and individuals with a mission partnering to improve outcomes. As one of the largest non-profit providers of evidenced-based mental health services in our region we provide innovative services with understanding how trauma, substance use and mental illness impacts families’ ability to thrive. We execute in collaboration with other organizations, invest in the professional development of our staff and are committed to using a trauma informed approach to focus on recovery and resilience and to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in all our work.
Within our communities there is growing need to address what is considered disengagement of dads from children and families. According to the Department of Education, one out of every three children in America live in a home without their biological father present or engaged with them. There are a number of variables that contribute to this problem, which require a multi-prong approach to address. We know this is an important priority as recurring research reminds that fathers’ engagement in their children’s lives is important for fetal growth, infant and childhood development, health and social well-being. Specifically, dads have compounding impact on moms and children throughout the entire lifespan. When dads are not engaged families and communities experience more protective factor gaps and lose critical protective factors that exacerbate over generations. Interrupting a cycle of dad disengagement influences the current generation as well as future generations.
A Dad Engagement Specialist plays a significant role in a community by engaging and working with dads to attach to their children and develop their critical role within the family unit, improve maternal health outcomes related to childbirth and delivery, and provide the most basic protective elements of safety, stability and nurturing.
Responsibilities
- Conducting community outreach and campaigning around “Fathering Up”, an initiative that provides skill building pathway for dads to engage effectively with their children and family.
- Delivering supportive services and interactions using the following frameworks: trauma informed, client-centric, strength based, dignity affirming, and family focused.
- Providing care coordination that results in access to needed resources and services.
- Facilitating group-based support targeted to meet the needs of dads; creating a space that is supportive, educational, nonjudgmental and contributes to changing community norms on asking for and receiving help.
- Providing 1:1 coaching and mentoring that assist dads in developing a positive pathway towards being an engaged or more engaged dad.
- Developing and maintaining collaborative relationships with other community agencies and organizations, in consultation with supervisor, to increase the safety net and access to important resources.
- Accurately completing timely documentation and reports required by agency, program policies and funding sources.
- Working collaboratively with all Early Childhood Home visiting team members to effectively respond to needs of families within the ECHV program.
- Demonstrating a preference for learning and applying best practices.
- Participating productively in all training, agency meetings, and funder requirements.
- Developing and consistently apply knowledge and implementation of agency policies and procedures.
- Partnering with supervisor to identify areas and develop plans for professional growth.
- Contributing to organizational life by participating in agency wide committees or problem-solving with teams as appropriate.
- Contributing to agency visibility and development of community linkages by representing the program in community groups or committees, as assigned.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling or a closely related field, preferred.
- 3 years of experience in a comparable position in the human services field.
- Excellent oral and written skills and ability to communicate effectively with fathers, family members, referral sources, and stakeholders.
- Experience with group engagement and facilitation.
- Organized and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Flexible and able to multi-task.
- Cultural competency to serve targeted populations.
- Familiarity and use of frameworks addressing impact of trauma on development, a plus.
- Bilingualism, a plus.
- Familiarity with using a results-based work approach.
- Ability to drive and a working cell phone.
