Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The three international organizations that appealed to me are: Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), FHI 360, and Save the Children

ACEI is a charitable organization that shares approaches to educating children in order to enhance their skills and abilities to be successful in life.  This organization consist of a community of educators and advocates worldwide that have come together with their background, education, and experience to explore ways to educate and advocate for children.  Their mission is to promote and support the education, development and wellbeing of children. 

As I explored the website for ACEI, I didn’t come across a career link but I discover ways to become a member and get involved in global initiatives.  At the local level, the organization offers professional development, information on obtaining CDAs, and award, grants, and scholarships to future your education as it relates to ECE.  They also offer summits or conferences each year, to help your build your global COP and utilize the information shared at international events.  One of the opportunities that captured my attention was becoming a diplomat for education.  By becoming an education diplomat, I can help shape the world by advocating for the quality of education children are to receive.  For more information, please visit   http://www.acei.org/

The second organization of my choice is FHI 360.  FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization that’s simply dedicated to improve lives through areas of health, education, economics, nutrition, gender equality, etc.  This organization serves at least 70 countries, plus the U.S.  I am attracted to this organization and would like to become a part of their community of practice because of the basis of their vision and mission.  FHI 360 believes that everything is connected so in essence it will take all of us to help children meet their full potential.  We must collaborate and partner with other experts within civil society to help meet the issues that affect communities. 

FHI 360 offers internships, fellowships, consultation proposals, as well as career opportunities.  From the list of jobs I browsed, I didn’t see anything I was interested in because most of them are analyst, program management, or financial positions that are outside my expertise.  I did see a few jobs related to education, but it was at the secondary level and I’m most interested in the primary or early education years.  However, they do offer opportunities to partner with them through solicitation, consolation, and small business approach.  For more information, please visit http://www.fhi360.org/.

And, in my opinion, to save the best for last, my third choice is Save the Children.  This organization has created programs and built partnerships to make sure children have their own rights.  As I consider my own COP, this organization would be one that I would use as a mentor, coach, and guideline to what it means to influence social change.  Save the Children works around the world, saving the lives of children, through protection, medical aid and assistance, food and nutrition distribution, emergency disaster recovery, and education.  I seriously considering how to become a part of their efforts from a long term perspective. 

Save the Children does offer job opportunities and they have several within the U.S and in other countries.  One job that caught my interest is the Family Services Coordinator. This job links directly to the challenge I have set during this course.  One of the main responsibilities is to help parents set goals and encourage them to get involved in their child’s education.  I know this jobs takes me away from the ECE field, where I won’t work directly with children, but I will still impact their lives from a different approach.  A lot of parents struggle with which direction and plans they have for themselves which affects their children.  This position is will give me the opportunity to meet the parents where they are, educate them, get then on track, so in turn their children will have a better outcome.  Based on the qualifications, I lack an associate degree in social work but I do have degrees that relate to family and human services.  I also lack experience at the adult education level, but if they will consider the informal encounters I’ve had over the last three years, where I have trained and educated new teachers, then I might just qualify.  For more information, please visit http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm