September 17, 2021

---

Bethany is changing the world through family. We began our work by serving one child more than 75 years ago. Today, Bethany is an international Christian nonprofit partnering with communities in more than 30 states and in several countries around the world.

We strengthen and preserve families, support displaced people fleeing danger, and find safe, loving families for children who need them. Bethany is at the forefront of creating and implementing solutions to meet the growing needs of vulnerable children and families in the U.S. and around the world.

The Safe Families for Children Coordinator is primarily responsible for church and volunteer recruitment, training, vetting and coaching volunteers, along with community outreach and intake. This individual is a key staff role that establishes SFFC partner churches and growing and developing the base of well-trained and supported volunteers. The SFFC Coordinator also provides end-to-end operational coordination of all the Bethany Safe Families for Children hosting arrangements and services.

This position is expected to work independently with regular supervision, while following the guidelines given on procedures, along with agency, contractual, federal, and state regulatory requirements.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Identify and engage churches in the following levels: participating, lead, and community lead;

Identify, recruit, and train church ministry leads and coach them on how to develop their ministry teams;

Effectively coach ministry leads to ensure SFFC churches regularly recruit, support, and empower their volunteers;

Oversee the continuous growth of SFFC Church in chapter to ensure the engagement of current and new volunteers for

Circles of Support;

Develop faith forums or other pastoral gatherings, as needed;

Ensure volunteers and churches are resourced appropriately to meet the needs of parents and their children;

Network within the community to build positive alliances and create opportunities for the recruitment of volunteers;

Provide regularly scheduled compelling presentations to audiences of various groups and sizes related to the work of the

Safe Families program;

Secure the interest of new volunteer applicants according to agreed targets, and assist them through the Safe Families for

Children selection process;

Assist in organizing and delivering high-quality training to volunteers on a regular basis;

Offer resources and coaching for SFFC church ministry leads and Circle of Support teams, while ensuring good communication between the Safe Families office, churches, and other community organizations involved;

Generate and provide written reports to management, the board, and key stakeholders, as requested;

Provide clinical and safety oversight of SFFC program implementation;

Conduct supervision, along with developing and implementing training for SFFC volunteers;

Develop and establish positive relationships with referral sources to ensure referral numbers meet performance metrics;

Provide emergency and on-call support to SFFC volunteers;

Assist in promoting program community relations and publicity to include but not limited to outreach to community service providers;

Build and maintain positive relationships with church representatives and community agencies;

Conduct home studies and complete the documentation in a timely manner;

Facilitate clinical interviews of all Host Families and Family Coaches, along with approving and denying volunteers;

Supervise, train, and support the Family Coach and Host Family volunteers on all aspects of the hosting process, to include being available on an emergency and on-call basis;

Effectively encourage Family Coaches to help parents set goals and work towards accomplishing the goals;

Assist with maintaining all Safe Families volunteers’ files to ensure completeness;

Assist in the networking process for local community resource providers to create a referral base and resource network;

Consult with supervisor on referrals to determine program “fit” for host families, while also assisting with establishing hosting arrangements;

Plan, develop, and administer program to ensure the basic developmental, and therapeutic needs of clients in care are met;

Actively participate in the tracking and reporting of information pertinent to recruitment, training, and vetting volunteers;

Assist in the Safe Family selection, transportation, and placement of children into Host Family homes and other supportive services with Safe Family volunteers;

Assist in the connection of Safe Families volunteers, local churches, and community members;

Maintain current knowledge pertaining to Safe Families family coaching; while also continuing professional development through seminars and conferences;

Participate in all Safe Family staff functions, weekly meetings, and supervision;

Participate in quality assurance and quality improvement activities;

Participate in fundraising activities and other events that promote the Safe Families for Children movement.

Serve as a champion for the compassionate ethos of Safe Families, and show kindness and hospitality to those in need;

Complete other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s level degree in Social Work, Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Child Development, or related field of study from an accredited college,

Master’s level degree in Social Work, Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Child Development, or related field of study from an accredited college, preferred;

Prior experience working with at-risk children and families;

Prior experience working collaboratively with local faith communities, preferred;

Experience with public speaking in a variety of settings to include child welfare, faith communities, and collaborative networks, preferred;

Excellent verbal and written communication skills;

An ability and willingness to work some evenings and weekends, as needed;

Prior experience in recruitment, marketing, volunteer management, or coaching;

Prior experience with and demonstrated ability to utilize social media;

Possess strong interpersonal and organizational skills;

A self-starter with an ability to work autonomously;

Reliable with time sensitive deadlines and tasks;

Exercise a high level of confidentiality;

Work well under pressure and adaptable to change;

Active motor vehicle license and maintain a reliable automobile with adequate insurance coverage;

Pass a criminal history screen, including state and local child protection agency registries;

Subscription to and integration of the agency Statement of Faith, Mission Statement, and Cultural Diversity Commitment.

We value and embrace the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion; our culture is strengthened and our workplace is more dynamic. We are a global organization with multicultural staff, clients and stakeholders, so we strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. More work remains, but we are deeply committed to honestly acknowledging and addressing the impacts of race and racism throughout the organization. This work can be uncomfortable and even painful, but we believe that the greatest challenges bear the greatest rewards.

Preferred contact phone number: (616) 254-7721

Back to listing