Position Title:                               Children’s Bereavement Program Assistant 

Reports To:                                  Senior Director of Children’s Bereavement Services

Supervisory Responsibilities:      No

FLSA Classification:                    Exempt

Full-Time Equivalent:                  .7 FTE (28 hours)  

Hours of Work:                            M-Th, 6-7 hours/day, with some Friday hours as needed. 

Work Location:                           Hybrid. Some in-office time at CaringMatters in Gaithersburg, MD.

                                                    Some teleworking with an agency- provided computer. 

Date:                                           Updated June 2024 

 

ABOUT CARINGMATTERS, INC.: CaringMatters, founded in 1989, is a community-based nonprofit organization that provides compassionate support services and community education for people facing serious illness, end of life, caregiving challenges, loss and grief.  Program areas include Patient and Caregiver Services, Adult Bereavement Support Services, Children’s Bereavement Support Services, and Community Education.  We offer a competitive salary, paid time off, an IRA with agency match, continuing education, beautiful workspace, and a caring, supportive work environment.  More information about CaringMatters can be found at www.CaringMatters.org.   

 

POSITION SUMMARY: The Children’s Bereavement (CB) Program Assistant is a part-time, 28 hour per week position.  The Program Assistant works under the supervision of the Senior Director of Children’s Bereavement Services to support three programs, all designed to support children and families who are grieving the death of a loved one.  Responsibilities include coordinating volunteer projects, liaising with school personnel, managing program-related paperwork, generating data reports, proofreading, and editing letters and documents, and more.  This position requires outstanding organizational and interpersonal skills, strong attention to detail, ability to multitask, meet deadlines, be flexible, and demonstrate compassion and patience.  A sense of humor is a must!

 

GOOD GRIEF CLUBS (GGC)

1. Oversee new GGC volunteers to help them orient to and efficiently utilize the GGC Closet and the supplies/materials needed for their assigned GGCs. 

2. Maintain relationships with experienced CB volunteers, assisting them as needed.

3. Review GGC intake forms and permission slips to ensure they are completed properly. Communicate with school counselors for missing and/or additional information.

4. Maintain GGC status spreadsheets daily.

5. Maintain and update volunteer records annually.

6. Work with GGC facilitators to track club schedules, respond to their weekly logs, send GGC evaluation links on a schedule, track and report all volunteer hours, etc.

7. Supervise preparation of GGC packets by volunteers.

8. Send GGC evaluation links to school counselors and follow-up to ensure completion.

9. Liaise with the Office Manager to purchase the program supplies and materials. 

10. Organize and coordinate the flow of data to make the task of entering GGC data into Access as smooth and efficient as possible.

11. Maintain the GGC Closet – keep inventory stocked for facilitators and purchasing and/or creating new activity kits as demands increase.

12. Collect and review paperwork for completed GGCs, disseminating it to various sources for data entry, then following through with all the processes to close out the GGC.

 

FAMILY NIGHTS (FN)

1. Ensure Family Night’s art project description is complete and updated for each session.

2. Research where to order supplies needed for each Family Night’s art project, then provide links to the Office Manager to be purchased in a timely manner.

3. Coordinate volunteers who pack bags for participants of Family Night.

4. Coordinate volunteers to deliver bags to participant families, plus follow-up with the families to confirm receipt of materials.

5. Collect volunteer hours and send report to Office Manager after each FN event.

 

PARENTING WHILE GRIEVING (PWG)

1. Prepare the handouts and other materials needed for the PWG workshop.

2. Coordinate volunteers who assemble and pack bags for participants of PWG.

3. Coordinate volunteers who deliver bags to participants, plus follow-up with each person to confirm receipt of materials.

4. Complete PWG paperwork and scan for data entry.

5. Collect volunteer hours and send report to Maria Alvarez after each PWG Workshop.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Assist with the annual Children’s Bereavement 2-day training of new volunteers.

2. Assist with the annual Children’s Bereavement Back-to-School Tea.

3. Compile data for grant reports and other agency-wide documents.

4. Assist with and support new endeavors and projects.

5. Attend and work at CM fundraising events.

6. Other duties as assigned.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.

2. Excellent writing and editing skills

3. Competency in Microsoft Office

4. Comfort in learning new technologies and databases.

5. Outstanding record keeping skills and attention to detail.

6. Ability to multi-task and work independently. 

7. Bachelor’s degree or a minimum of 5 years of related work experience. 

8. Flexibility and a sense of humor a must! 

 

TO APPLY:  Please send cover letter and resume to Maria at Mariaja@caringmatters.org.  Put Children’s Bereavement Program Assistant in the subject line.