Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery·Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Child Development Specialist provides direct care for children newborn through six years of age in a trauma-informed environment. They are responsible for planning age-appropriate activities, managing behavior, and maintaining accurate logs of daily activities and progress.
Job Title: Child Development Specialist
Department: Children’s Services
Reports to: Children’s Services Manager
Supervises: None
2:45 pm - 11:00 pm; Part-Time (0.6 FTE). All Shifts Require Staff to Work Every Other Weekend.
*This is a union-represented position under AFSCME Local 3481.
As a trusted resource for families, the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery partners with parents to promote strong, healthy families by offering free, voluntary services for parents who face barriers such as unemployment, homelessness, medical or mental health concerns, poverty, domestic violence, or other difficult situations. We help strengthen families by connecting them to resources, caring for their children during difficult times, and setting goals that promote self-sufficiency and make the relationship between the parent and child stronger.
The Child Development Specialist provides direct client care for children, newborn through six years of age, who are voluntarily placed by parents at the Nursery. The Child Development Specialist will engage in intentional, developmentally, and trauma-informed interventions that use three days of protective care to prevent child abuse and neglect, provide security, restore predictability, soothe trauma-related arousal, and provide care that helps children and strengthens families. All staff working on the shift report to the Children’s Services Manager, but may take direction from the Lead Child Development Specialist.
Role model healthy, professional behavior while working with children, families, staff, volunteers, and anyone else you come into contact with at the Nursery.
Communicate effectively with other staff, supervisors, and volunteers.
Work well as part of a team to complete duties and meet agency needs.
Value diverse economic, cultural, and racial backgrounds outside of your own background and experience.
Commitment to inclusion.
Willingness to challenge one’s own perspective and learn and understand other’s perspectives.
1.
Must be 19 years of age for day and evening shifts; 21 years of age for overnight.
2.
High school diploma or equivalent required; preference will be given to those with early childhood training, Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood education, Psychology, Social Work, Human Services, or related field.
3.
The Child Development Specialist will be a self-starter, creative, and a multitasker and be able to carry out group and individual activities for children ages newborn through six years of age.
They will have the ability to work both independently and collaboratively and to make decisions under pressure in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.
They will work with other staff on their shift to ensure proper care of children and that daily duties are completed.
Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and orally.
They will be passionate about the Nursery’s mission and values.
5.
• Current CPR/First Aid certification, or be willing to become certified within 90 days of employment.
Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery is committed to practicing diversity, equity and inclusion as an organization, and embedding this approach in everything that we do. We welcome candidates who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ, and people of all genders.
Market context
In Minnesota, Child Development Specialist roles often draw candidates with early childhood training and hands-on experience, so openings can be competitive when employers prefer both education and direct work with children. These positions are especially appealing to applicants who can handle the physical demands of the job and work a PM schedule. On this platform, job requirements and benefits are AI-summarized from the original job description, helping you review the details faster before applying.