Advocate, Early Childhood Education Project

Advocates for Children of New York • New York, NY

22h • $60,669 - $69,589 • Hybrid

About The Position

AFC seeks an advocate to join our Early Childhood Education Project. The Project provides direct representation, engages in community education, and leads policy advocacy to improve access to early childhood education for young children from low-income backgrounds so they can enter kindergarten prepared to succeed. We are looking for an advocate to join our team to help families navigate the early childhood education systems and admissions processes, secure developmental and special education services for young children with developmental delays or disabilities, and empower families to advocate on behalf of young children by leading community workshops and trainings. This position will report to the Director of Early Childhood Education.

Requirements

• Understanding of and alignment with AFC’s mission. Please review AFC’s work at advocatesforchildren.org.
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• Bachelor’s degree is required. Candidates expecting to complete their degree by June 2026 are encouraged to apply.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills and comfort with public speaking.
• Ability to work both independently and as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Organized, detail oriented, able to maintain accurate and timely records and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel within the five boroughs.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs: Word, Outlook, SharePoint.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in education, advocacy, or social services is preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish, Mandarin or Cantonese with ability to converse with families who speak these languages is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Providing case assistance to help parents secure appropriate early intervention, preschool special education, and kindergarten services and placements for their young children. This includes responding to parent inquiries and providing families with relevant educational resources; participating in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings for students with disabilities; advocating with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Department of Education (DOE) to resolve problems; and advocating for families in school meetings and mediation.
• Providing technical assistance to professionals who are working to help connect young children with the early childhood education services they need.
• Presenting know-your-rights workshops to parents and professionals to provide them with information about early childhood education programs and services.
• Developing and updating guides and other informational materials.
• Contributing to the Project’s policy work to help strengthen and expand high-quality early childhood programs and services that prepare young children for kindergarten, with a particular focus on children with developmental delays or disabilities, students from immigrant families, and children who are homeless by, for example, tracking cases in order to help identify systemic barriers and identifying families interested in speaking out about the roadblocks they faced.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level