Healthy Community Initiative

Job Title: Family Engagement Navigator

Reporting to: Manager, Growing Up Healthy Team

Hours per week: Full-time, 40 hrs/ week,

Pay Rate:  $22-25/hr, depending on experience

Position Type: In-person

Join Healthy Community Initiative: Thriving Youth, Thriving Communities

Our Story: 

Since 1992, Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) has created meaningful change through deep community partnership in Rice County, Minnesota. HCI brings people and systems together to identify needs and solutions, secure funding, inspire alignment around a shared vision, and measure results; a model that has driven real health, education, and career outcomes for thousands of children, youth, and families for more than 30 years.

Our Passion: 

We don't just run programs; we build bridges. By connecting youth, families, schools, healthcare, and nonprofits, we identify needs, create solutions, and measure what works. Our flagship programs; Growing Up Healthy, Youth on Boards, TORCH, RISE, and the NCCC (Navigating and Coaching for College and Careers) reflect a deep, hands-on commitment to the young people of our community.

Our Vision: 

Communities where all children, youth, and families are supported, empowered, and thriving

Position Overview 

Growing Up Healthy, a program of Healthy Community Initiative (HCI), employs bilingual individuals to work with families of students at elementary schools to foster healthy school attendance and engagement. Family Engagement Navigators help to identify places within the school and local systems where children and families experience challenges or barriers impacting attendance and school engagement. Navigators raise these up for decision-makers and leaders to advocate for system-level change. We are hiring a Family Engagement Navigator to work in Faribault supporting Faribault Public Schools.

The Role You Will Play:

• Work with elementary school staff and district leadership to identify students who are chronically absent or struggling to engage in school (cohort size will depend on student need)

• Work directly with a cohort of students and their families to understand obstacles impacting school attendance and engagement, and implement strategies to overcome these challenges

• Implement best-practice attendance and school connectedness efforts from the Attendance Works framework (www.attendanceworks.org), including home visits and individual meetings with students and families

• Alongside school building staff, track cohort students' attendance using HCI's and the school district's data systems; monitor data to assess effectiveness of outreach and inform action steps

• Attend attendance team meetings and work with school staff to determine support and interventions, including connecting students to engaging enrichment or out-of-school time activities, 

• Connect families with community resources and services, including assisting with required paperwork for services and communicating on behalf of families with local agencies 

• Work with school leadership to help foster connections between families and the school 

• Recognize and celebrate successes of students and families

• When a child needs to miss school due to illness or other circumstances, help facilitate continued connection between students/families in the cohort and school activities

• Identify barriers within local systems and regularly share this feedback with heads of these systems through participation in staff meetings alongside school leadership and teachers; advocate for systems-level change

• Build effective relationships with individuals and organizations central to the work  

• Use data to continually evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Engagement Navigator role

• Help parents build foundational skills during the elementary years so students can develop greater independence as they grow

• During weeks/months when school is not in session, support the Growing Up Healthy team's work in other areas

             Role Requirements: 

• Bilingual in English and Somali or Spanish

• Must possess and maintain a valid Minnesota driver's license and auto insurance and be able to travel throughout Faribault

• Previous experience in community organizing, education, and/or family engagement

• Excellent verbal skills in both languages, as well as excellent written communication skills in English and secondary language as appropriate

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Highly organized with superior attention to detail

• Excellent ability to multi-task and troubleshoot issues

• Ability to work with minimal supervision and as a member of a team

• Capable of completing work on time in a fast-paced environment while maintaining a positive attitude

• Ability to understand and work with different cultures and backgrounds

• Ability to work select evening and weekend hours

• Passion for equity and social justice

• Willingness to maintain the standards, carry out the purpose, and adhere to the policies of Healthy Community Initiative

• Maintenance of a cell phone is an expectation of employment

Preferred Requirements:

• Familiarity with Faribault area community organizations and resources

Who We Are - Our Core Values

• Collaboration: We build bridges between youth, families, schools, healthcare providers, and non profits, believing that lasting change happens through partnership.

• Innovation: We bring creative, data-informed solutions to complex community challenges.

• Continuous Learning: We track, evaluate, and adapt; always asking what's working and what needs to change.

Join Our Pack: 

At HCI, you will join a collaborative, mission-driven team doing meaningful work for Rice County's kids and families. We offer competitive compensation, a Simple IRA with employer match, and for staff working 30+ hours a week, a monthly stipend toward health insurance through our TriNet PEO benefits. We invest in our people the way we invest in our community: with real support, room to grow, and a shared belief that thriving youth build thriving communities.

If these look like you, we would love to hear from you!