Community Advocacy Coordinator (Central Valley)

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: California Youth Connection (CYC) was founded in 1988 by foster youth and adult supporters. It has evolved into a vibrant statewide youth leadership, advocacy, and training organization with county-based chapters throughout California, satellite offices, and an annual budget of nearly $2 million. CYC empowers and educates current and former foster youth, providing them with leadership and advocacy opportunities to be the lead agents of change for system improvements throughout the state through legislative, policy, and practice change.

We believe outstanding people are the key to our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we recruit individuals without regard to race, national origin, religion, gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, prior conviction, arrest history, disability, marital status, veteran status, or age.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Community Advocacy Coordinators are responsible for providing the foundational resources for youth-led advocacy and leadership development activities in county-based chapters throughout California. They do this by building and expanding the membership base and volunteers, developing sound organizing strategies specific to the chapters they serve in collaboration with members, assisting with fundraising, supporting members to run chapter meetings and strengthen engagement, facilitating community outreach and advocacy efforts, and developing and facilitating curriculum and training that support member leadership.  Each Community Advocacy Coordinator supervises members and performs a variety of complex administrative and technical functions related to overseeing programs, projects, and committees through a trauma-informed lens with an understanding of principles for positive youth development and healing-centered engagement. 

WORK LOCATION AND CONDITIONS:  This Community Advocacy Coordinator position is responsible for our Central California region, which includes
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Luis Obispo, and Stanislaus. This is a hybrid remote position that will involve working from home, in the field, and at regional CYC offices, which will be scheduled between the employee and the Director of Programs. Regular work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some weekend and evening work will be required.

CLASSIFICATION:  The Community Advocacy Coordinator is a full-time, non-exempt employee of CYC, is employed at-will, and reports directly to the Director of Programs.  As a non-exempt employee, the Community Advocacy Coordinator must receive written pre-approval to work more than 40 hours in any given week and 8 hours on any given day.  As an employee of CYC, the Community Advocacy Coordinator is subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the Employee Handbook.

COMPENSATION: The Community Advocacy Coordinator is a full-time, non-exempt salaried position and receives a salary of $62,400 annually, with an overtime rate based on $30 per hour. Because we recognize that the practice of salary negotiation can contribute to pay inequities, this salary is non-negotiable. We will share more about our approach to compensation with the final candidate. 

Full compensation includes a generous benefits package with paid health benefits (medical, dental, vision, and chiropractic), vacation and sick leave, paid holidays and Wellbeing Days, a Winter Break, life insurance, and up to a 3% employer contribution to the retirement plan.

 ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

• Provide guidance to members in specific regions of CYC’s youth-led chapters to identify local policy, practice, and challenges youth in foster care face in their community and to identify goals and strategies for systems transformation.
• Provide creative and innovative ways to engage youth and increase member participation.
• Assist chapters in developing goals for training, fundraising, and member and supporter outreach and engagement as needed.
• Meet the unique needs of each chapter through regular chapter visits (at a minimum of monthly), general support, training, and one-on-one preparation work for CYC activities and community advocacy meetings. 
• Identify and prepare members for leadership opportunities involving connection to statewide policy issues (e.g., public hearings, presentations, workshops at conferences, CYC committees, and projects) by helping members develop their talking points and presentation skills.
• Provide leadership and practical skill development for members to participate in statewide policy advocacy and leadership opportunities, including Statewide Membership Council (SMC) members, chapter chairs, committee members, and facilitators.
• Coordinate and transport youth to regional and statewide events on an as-needed basis.
• Work closely with the Director of Programs to recruit and train supporters for new and rebuilding chapters.
• Provide mediation and conflict resolution support and assistance to chapter members and supporters.
• Support curriculum development, T4T, and conferences, including recruiting and training members to be trainers at regional meetings, annual conferences, statewide policy,  and within chapters.
• Integrate work with the organizational goals in collaboration with other departments. 

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY

• Build relationships with county-level decision-makers and participate in community meetings (including member preparation/feedback and participation) related to CYC’s policy agenda and expansion of local chapter work.
• Develop and implement strategies for outreach and communication to build and maintain the chapter base.
• Engage CYC members in community stakeholder meetings by preparing members to participate in meetings and working with them to draw connections between community work and chapter work, including quarterly California Department of Social Services (CDSS) director meetings.
• Maintain and expand CYC’s visibility and represent CYC at community events.
• Partner with CYC program staff to share resources and best practices, communicate local chapter work, and build connections between chapters and members across the state.
• Listen, guide, and skillfully motivate members to learn and identify their own needs.

MANAGEMENT

• Carry out supervisory responsibility in accordance with policies and procedures, including recruiting, interviewing, and training members and supporters; planning, assigning, scheduling, and directing work; evaluating progress; approving time sheets; and addressing conflicts and resolving issues.
• Plan, coordinate, assign, and monitor performance and counsel, mentor, train, and advise members in meeting program, workshop, or project goals, and assist in completing assigned tasks.
• Supervise and support chapter chairs.
• Make decisions in collaboration with the Director of Programs and members for chapter and leadership development at the local chapter level.
• Track participation by members/supporters and update the database with attendance/participant information.

ADMINISTRATIVE

• Prepare and submit program and expense reports in a timely manner in accordance with CYC policy.
• Assist in the development of operational policies and procedures.
• Collect, analyze, and manage chapter-level data to measure the impact of various strategies.

GENERAL DUTIES

• Additional duties as assigned.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to remain in a stationary position for long periods while operating a computer to create documents, conducting Internet research, sending and receiving emails, participating in meetings, and communicating on a telephone and in person. The employee is also occasionally required to move about the office to access file cabinets and office equipment, and pack and move boxes, luggage, and training supplies up to 50 pounds.

REQUIRED SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Ability to build and oversee campaigns, programs, projects, and committees, and supervise members.
• Ability to motivate and provide training and development of members.
• Ability to plan, organize, assign, direct, review, and evaluate the members and supporters.
• Ability to lead group facilitation and training with the ability to effectively present information to youth, volunteers, staff, and community stakeholders.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret state and local legislation, including effectively communicating complicated policies and ideas in a youth-friendly format.
• Proficient knowledge of the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems.
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to prioritize and implement a work plan.
• Positive attitude and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent judgment and sound decision-making skills.
• Motivated self-starter who can identify initial and next steps needed and performs well with minimal day-to-day oversight.
• Ability to demonstrate use of clear boundaries working with young adults and stakeholders.
• Practical knowledge and understanding of engaging in restorative justice practices to resolve conflicts in individual and group settings.
• Willingness and ability to travel, including frequent travel within the assigned region and occasional travel throughout California and other locations, including overnight travel.
• Able to attend conferences, events, and meetings with multiple-day and overnight stays.
• Proficiency in using personal computers and various office software packages, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, Google calendaring, email, and data management.

REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• Associate’s degree, or equivalent from an accredited two-year college.
• At least three years experience working directly with youth and adult volunteers and a love for working with teenagers and young adults, preferably within foster care.
• Experience with foster care issues, community organizing, state legislation, policies, and working with government agencies.
• Experience and understanding of the K-12 school system and the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems as they relate to youth from foster care.
• Hold a current driver’s license with at least three years driving experience, reliable insured transportation, and the ability to drive long distances on occasion.
  

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  March 6, 2026

CALIFORNIA YOUTH CONNECTION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the California Consumer Reporting Agencies Act and, if applicable, Los Angeles’s Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

CYC encourages all applicants to apply and seeks to hire qualified staff who reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve.  We define diversity in broad terms to include race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, geography, socio-economic status, and other unique attributes that make us who we are.