Responsibilities

• The Community Relations Specialist is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with key community partners, civic groups, faith-based organizations, and media outlets to promote fostering and adopting in the five-county area.
• Organize and track foster and adoptive parent recruitment activities including marketing, analyzing client needs and demographics to determine recruitment goals, researching target populations and locations to determine where best to initiate recruitment initiatives, and seeking opportunities to conduct presentations and participate in speaking engagements that enhance community awareness and increases recruitment potential.
• Partner with Community Affairs and leadership to implement and track recruitment activities, including but not limited to presentations, media interviews, social media initiatives, events, web-based, and earned media opportunities.
• Conducts data and market analysis, interviews with key informants, determines needs and reports findings to the Senior Director of Out of Home Care and Chief of Operations.
• Identify potential foster homes that can serve specific age ranges, special needs, large sibling groups, and special population groups; identify homes with one stay at home parent or retired caregivers; identify areas where children go to school; identify foster parents with educational background with children who might be developmentally delayed, autistic or other mental health diagnosis.
• Develop a Recruitment Plan for recruiting individuals who have previously held public safety and services positions, such as former law enforcement officers, first responders, military service members, teachers, health care practitioners, and emergency management professionals; complete recruitment plan and submit quarterly to the Department of Children and Families; submit monthly recruitment plan to Senior Director of OHC; submit Annual Recruitment Plan to Senior Director per contractual obligations.
• Conducts foster parent orientation monthly as a pre-requisite to interested parties participating in the PRIDE Training for foster and adoptive parents.
• Articulate the qualities desired in a foster and adoptive parent and the expectations that Kids Central has for these parents; accurately articulate needs and expectations of the population served.
• Conducts recruitment activities with community partners, to include foster parents.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Communications Advertising, or related field
• minimum of 4 years’ experience
• Ability to clear a Level II Background Screen
• Valid Florida driver’s license and insurable by agency’s current insurance carrier

Preferred

• Accredited in Public Relations by FPRA highly desired
• Experience in Child Welfare is preferred as well
• Member of Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) preferred

Benefits

• Kids Central, Inc. provides a comprehensive compensation package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) with company match, and a generous paid time off allotment.