Administrative Assistant - Postsecondary Readiness Project

Advocates for Children of New York • New York, NY

7d • $54,798 - $58,021 • Hybrid

About The Position

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a social justice organization dedicated to ensuring high-quality education for New York students facing academic barriers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. AFC advocates for children and youth at high risk of academic failure due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status, limited English proficiency, or involvement in the child welfare or legal systems. AFC employs integrated strategies for systemic reform, empowering families and communities, and advocating for individual students' educational rights. The organization values family-centered approaches, expertise grounded in experience, passion for dismantling educational obstacles, community collaboration, justice through legal tools, and measurable impact.

AFC is seeking a dedicated, full-time Administrative Assistant to support the Postsecondary Readiness Project (PReP) and Project Achieve. PReP focuses on supporting and advocating for NYC students and families in their high school completion and transition to postsecondary life. The Assistant will dedicate 70% of their time to supporting PReP's citywide coalition aimed at improving transition services for students with disabilities and advocating for families. The remaining 30% will support Project Achieve, AFC’s program that has been advocating for the educational rights of students in NYC’s foster system for over 20 years by building the capacity of foster care agencies to address the educational needs of children and youth in their care. This position reports to the Director of the Postsecondary Readiness Project.

Requirements

• Understanding of and alignment with AFC’s mission.
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• High School diploma/GED required.
• Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively engage across cultures, identities, and ethnicities.
• Strong writing and active listening skills with the ability to synthesize information and take accurate notes.
• Well organized with the ability to complete tasks, work on multiple priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, with attention to detail.
• Comfortable with technology and able to learn new applications with ease.
• Must have high proficiency with Microsoft applications and Adobe Pro.

Nice To Haves

• 1-2 years administrative experience in non-profit organizations preferred.
• 2-year or 4-year college degree preferred.
• Salesforce proficiency a plus.
• Knowledge of NYC education system or education issues preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish is a plus but is not required.

Responsibilities

• Supports coordination of PReP’s citywide Transition Alliance coalition meetings and Education Collaborative meetings, including scheduling, arranging logistics, preparing materials and note-taking.
• Supports PReP and Project Achieve activities by maintaining directories, managing communications with partners, sharing updates, and tracking progress.
• Assists in the development and maintenance of a comprehensive directory of transition services, including mapping pathways and resources.
• Supports the preparation and distribution of policy initiative materials, advocacy efforts, and correspondence with government agencies.
• Assists with logistics for collaboration efforts with external partners, community-based organizations, and governmental entities, including arranging meetings, preparing meeting materials, note-taking, and following up on action items.
• Contributes to the creation and execution of a robust inter-agency referral process by compiling resources, contacts, and services available to students and families.
• Assists with the documentation and reporting of Transition Alliance and Education Collaborative activities, outcomes, and impacts, ensuring that progress towards objectives is tracked and communicated.
• Provides administrative support for fairs, trainings, workshops, and presentations.
• Provides administrative support for casework including client intake, scheduling, hearing preparation, case tracking, and inputting case progress into Salesforce database.
• Supports the team in researching and compiling data on best practices in transition planning.
• Updates databases and performs other administrative tasks for the PReP team as needed.
• Supporting the overall work of PReP and Project Achieve as needed.
• Assists other AFC teams and office staff with other administrative duties as needed.

Benefits

• medical and dental insurance, with a plan option that covers full payment of medical plan premiums for staff and their qualified dependents
• 10 federal holidays
• office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• 15 vacation days
• 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment
• a 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• coverage of the premium cost of life insurance
• coverage of the premium cost of short-term and long-term disability insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED