The Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence is an inclusive and welcoming intergenerational congregation of diverse spiritual beliefs and practices.  Our mission is to build a caring community where children and adults can safely learn and grow, where we are supported and challenged on life’s journeys, called to service and to our higher selves, and inspired to better our world. 

Description of Position

The Early Childhood Educator is responsible for the Sunday morning programming for crawling babies through 5/ 6 year olds. On Sunday mornings, our youngest children have the opportunity to play together and explore what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist (UU). With stories, songs, and activities, the students learn about values, spirituality, and social justice while they build community within their class. Additionally, the ECE has the opportunity to work with multi-age groups on Sundays after the service and at other special events. 

The Early Childhood Educator has the opportunity to create their own curriculum or use other UU resources. They report to the Director of Faith Development and Community Engagement.  They teach with high school assistants from the congregation whom they are responsible for hiring, training, supervising, and scheduling.

Requirements:

• Experience working with young children and their families
• Training in childcare, child growth & development, &/ or early childhood education
• Commitment to equity and inclusion

Other required skills and attributes include: 

• Passion for supporting young children in developing their identity and values; interest in social justice education and service learning
• Strong skills in communicating with and nurturing young children, as well as their adults
• Ability to create and maintain a safe, clean, and creative space for young children
• Familiarity with Unitarian Universalism and its values is helpful, but not necessary
• Ability to structure and manage play time and circle activities (stories, singing, etc); develop lesson plans
• Interest in collaborating with other staff & volunteers
• Commitment to safety and best practices for early childhood spaces
• Flexibility; the ability to anticipate as well as to respond to change, and to quickly adapt priorities based on which students are present and what they are needing
• Experience in training and managing staff

The Early Childhood Educator is a part time non-exempt position based in downtown Northampton, MA. The position is 2-5 hours per week, including 2-4 hours on Sunday for set up, time with children, and clean up (generally 9:30-11:30; occasionally 9:30-1:30 if there is programming after the service for parents and caregivers).  0.5-1 hours flexible timing work from home for lesson planning and family communication. There are also monthly weekend evening opportunities to work. 

How to Apply

Please send your resume and a cover letter telling us a little bit about yourself, why you want to work at the Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence and why the Early Childhood Educator position is a great fit for you, and why you are a great fit for this position. Please also share how you learned about this opportunity. 

E-mail dre@uunorthampton.org with documents as attachments. Please put “YOUR FIRST NAME LAST NAME JOB TITLE” as your subject line.  

Candidates will be considered on a rolling basis. Deadline to apply is April 26, 2026. Ideal start date would be July 1, 2026.

We offer competitive salary, growth opportunities, and a respectful workplace environment. 

The Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; people of color and people from a historically marginalized and oppressed background are strongly encouraged to apply.