Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first website that I searched for jobs that I found appealing was Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.BA72/Careers.htm#Careers).  The job that I was interested in was an Information and Documentation Specialist for Education and Child Development; this position is responsible for writing and designing promotional materials and organizing events for the organization.  This position is full-time  and requires a minimum of a Masters degree with five to eight years of experience working with children.

The second website that I searched was UNESCO (https://careers.unesco.org/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl). The career opportunity that interested me was the director of the Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development.  The requirements are that you have an advanced degree in education or the social sciences and it is preferred that you work for the United Nations or a similar organization for 15 years minimum.  This job is rather far fetched for me as I do not work for the UN and I do not foresee that happening, but this is a job that I would enjoy; Gandhi was such an inspiration for peace and education that it would be an honor to work on this project.

The third website that I reviewed was the UNICEF site (http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_67677.html).  The career that stuck out to me was a temporary position as an education specialist in Sierra Leone.  An advanced university degree is required in the field of education or social sciences.  This job appealed to me because there are so many children and families who need an advocate for them in this region. 

Job Roles in the ECE Community: Federal and National

     One site that I found was http://www.makingthedifference.org/federalcareers/education.shtml.  This is a federal jobs website where you can search by the field that you are interested in.  The job that I thought would be extremely rewarding was a foreign language teacher for the department of defense.  This job requires that you teach military and other government personnel how to speak another language in both a professional capacity as well as personal capacity. 
     A second organization that I found to be interesting was the National Afterschool Organization.  I found this site to be a good resource for my challenge as well because of my focus on latchkey children.  The organization is ran out of Virginia, but their focus is on a national level.  The website is  http://www.makingthedifference.org/federalcareers/education.shtml.
     The third organization that I found to be interesting as far as a career in ECE was the National Parents Council.  This organization focuses on educating the parents of children from all over the U.S. about their rights, best practices that should be used at home to teach responsibility, and many other areas of parenting.  The website for this organization is http://www.npc.ie/npc/page.aspx?pageid=29.

     

    

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

     The first organization that I found on the state level that appealed to me is called Families First.  Here in Georgia, this organization is responsible for helping to provide resources to the homeless families as well as counseling, adoption and foster care services, and resources for young parents to help them be successful.  This organization thrives because of many dedicated volunteers.

http://www.familiesfirst.org/T80-home-page

     The second organization that I found to be very interesting is Georgia's Head Start program.  I actually learned a good bit about this program while in the Master's program because a colleague of mine spoke of it often.  I think that the services that Head Start offers are wonderful and I especially like that the program focuses on the children before they enter school which helps the family as well as the child.

http://www.georgiaheadstart.org/

     The third organization that I found is called Quality Care for Children.  The goal of this non-profit organization is to help families find quality childcare for their children at no cost to the parents.  They also have a food program that aims to provide healthy meals to families who are struggling to put food on the table.  I chose this organization because there are so many families who face these issues daily, but are not aware that help may be available to them.

     One job opportunity that interests me is Curriculum Director for a Head Start program.  If I was not currently working in the classroom, I would choose to work with Head Start in a leadership capacity so I could help the families of younger children and infants.  I think that it is important to make parents aware of the resources that they have available to them before they are in such dire need that they put the safety of their children or themselves in jeopardy. 
     With advances being made to provide the families with the best possible resources, as of September of this year, a coordinator must have a Bachelor's degree or higher with a concentration in early childhood education.