Job Opportunity for Coordinator – Early Childhood Development & Disability (ECDD) at UCDC in Mumbai

About Ummeed:

Ummeed is one of India’s premier non-profit organizations providing family-centered care to children with developmental disabilities and their families. We believe that all children with developmental disabilities can be included in society and reach their maximum potential, if given the chance. As an organization with a workforce of ~100 committed professionals, Ummeed’s transdisciplinary approach works towards:

·        Supporting children with developmental disabilities and their families through direct clinical and other services towards a journey of acceptance and empowerment

·        Building a cadre of trained professionals and community workers who can prevent, diagnose, and manage developmental disabilities effectively

The team at Ummeed is a diverse group of highly passionate, motivated and talented individuals.

Ummeed offers its team members opportunities to grow professionally and personally, inculcating and reflecting a strong culture of supervision and mentorship and the space for continued learning.

Context of ECDD’s work:

India has over 50 million children with disabilities under the age of 15 years. Children with developmental disabilities and their families, especially from rural and low-income geographies, receive inadequate to poor health care services, be out of school, and are possibly unaware of their rights.

During the period from birth to three years in a child’s brain develops most rapidly and lays the foundation for health, wellbeing, learning and productivity throughout life. During this period a child’s brain is also most susceptible to environmental influences such as those related to poverty. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) conducted in 2015-16, more than 55% of children in India under 5 years have anaemia, 38.4% are stunted, 35% are underweight, and more than 20% suffer from malnutrition. While these are overall statistics for the country, the status in rural and underserved communities is worse than urban areas. These factors compounded by poverty, lack of information and resources increases the risk, precluding these children from achieving their optimal development potential to become contributing members of society.

There is, thus, an urgent need for early childhood programs that incorporate and address health, nutrition, security, responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning. Investing in early childhood development is one of the best investments a country can make to boost economic growth, promote peaceful and sustainable societies, and eliminate extreme poverty and inequality. Equally important, investing in early childhood development is necessary to uphold the right of every child to survive and thrive.

About the Early Childhood Development and Disabilities team’s programs:

In keeping with Ummeed’s work of building a cadre of trained professionals and community workers, the ECDD team has developed programs that creates and strengthens capacities in organisations for promotion of early child development. The program is delivered at different levels:

·        Training for community workers and their supervisors.

·        Mentorship and periodic interventions with supervisors for problem solving and creating a system of supervision to monitor how the program is being delivered

·        Facilitation and support for organisation managements to better integrate child development initiatives and goals with organisational initiatives and goals.

·        Creating awareness about inclusive early childhood development in different organizations/ stakeholders

About “the position” at Ummeed: Coordinator – ECDD

Ummeed’s ECDD team is looking for enthusiastic individuals with a passion for working in the social space to come on board as coordinators

Primary Responsibilities:

·        Compilation of training material from preparation, printing to sending to organizations

·        Communication with organizations and candidates about registrations, feedback forms, any other form of feedback

·        Updation of the Training Management System (TMS)

·        Compilation and organization of training drives for information storage with appropriate materials

·        Coordinating with the communication team for any video/flyer related work

·        Coordination for translations of training material as and where required

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelors degree from any stream. Experience of working as a coordinator in other projects will be an added advantage.

Essentials Skills Required:

·        Language proficiency in English, Hindi, Marathi

·        MS office skills

·        Communication skills to coordinate between different people

Reporting to: Program Manager – ECDD

Others:

Ummeed would give preference to a candidate who is interested in putting in at least 20 hours per week. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.