Playroom Coordinator

Purpose

The Playroom Coordinator creates and holds the daily experience of the Family Playrooms. This role runs playroom sessions: preparing the space, welcoming families, engaging children and caregivers, modeling play, and making sure every family who walks in feels seen and included.

The role is the organization's most direct point of contact with drop-in families, and often the first experience a family has of Family Connections.

Family Playroom sessions are two-generation by design. While children play, the Coordinator also supports the adult caregivers in the room: listening for what they need, offering encouragement, modeling engagement, and connecting them to resources and referrals. Floor time with children, support to caregivers, and connection to resources often happen at the same time, and this role holds all three.

Essential Job Functions

1. Session Delivery and Family Engagement

• Serve as Family Connections' day-to-day point of contact for assigned site partners.
• Share session schedules on the partner's requested cycle (monthly or quarterly), provide participation data as requested, communicate changes and cancellations, respond to changes or issues raised by the site, and report space issues or incidents promptly. Keep the Playroom Program Manager informed and bring the Manager in when an issue needs escalation.
• Prepare the playroom before each session and restore it afterward, including setup, cleanup, and sanitizing of materials.
• Welcome every family, with particular attention to families who are new, hesitant, or unfamiliar with the space.
• Actively survey the room and engage families rather than supervising passively, modeling parent-child interaction and encouraging caregivers to play with their children.

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• Adapt in the moment to the needs of individual families, including children with sensory or developmental needs and caregivers who are struggling.
• Maintain a safe, clean, and developmentally appropriate environment throughout each session.

2. Materials and Environment

• Maintain playroom materials, including regular cleaning, laundering of soft items, repair, and rotation to keep the space fresh.
• Identify and request supplies and materials needed for sessions and activities.
• Set up enrichment activities and learning centers that support early literacy and development.

3. Caregiver Support, Referral, and Connection

• Build trusting relationships with returning families and note changes or concerns worth following up on.
• Share information about other Family Connections programs with families who might benefit, and connect them to the appropriate staff.
• Provide in-session support to caregivers, such as listening for needs, offering encouragement, and sharing information about community resources, while keeping children engaged on the floor.
• Make referrals and warm hand-offs to community resources and partner agencies. Where partners are on site, such as agencies and Root Cause Coordinators at the Community Resource Center, accompany a caregiver to that partner when a second staff member remains in the playroom and supervision requirements are met.
• Maintain working knowledge of community resources available at and near each assigned site, including food assistance, housing, utilities, health care, benefits, childcare, and employment supports.
• Follow up with returning caregivers on referrals, where appropriate, to learn whether the connection was made.
• Escalate urgent or complex family situations to the Playroom Program Manager, and follow the Family Connections mandated reporter procedure where required.
• Support Parent Cafes and other family programming hosted in the playroom spaces.

4. Documentation

• Record attendance and participation accurately for every session, following the organization's data standards.
• Record referrals and follow-ups made during sessions in the referral log, following the organization's data standards.
• In the first year, help build the playroom referral log in coordination with the Playroom Program Manager.
• Document notable family interactions, milestones, and stories that illustrate program impact.
• Complete any grant-required documentation applicable to playroom sessions.

Required Qualifications

Education, Training, and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent required; coursework or degree in early childhood education, child development, or a related field preferred.
• Experience working with young children and families in a group setting.
• Experience in a drop-in, childcare, preschool, or family support environment preferred.
• Experience connecting families to community resources, such as family support, benefits navigation, or referral work, preferred.