Education Advocate, Immigrant Students' Rights Project

Advocates for Children of New York • New York City, NY

3d • 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 juvenile/criminal legal systems. AFC employs integrated strategies for systemic reform, empowering families and communities, and advocating for individual students' educational rights. The organization values being family-centered, leveraging expertise from over 50 years of experience, driven by passion for dismantling educational obstacles, fostering community collaboration, using justice and law as tools for equity, and focusing on impact to achieve concrete results. The Immigrant Students’ Rights Project (ISRP) within AFC specifically works to protect the education-related rights of underserved immigrant families who encounter unique obstacles in NYC public schools due to their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This role is for an advocate to serve immigrant families with children who have disabilities and are English Language Learners (ELLs).

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
• A bachelor's degree
• Fluency in Spanish
• Organized, detail oriented, and able to work independently on tasks and deliverables
• Strong presentation skills and comfort with public speaking
• Strong writing ability and analytical skills
• Ability to explain complex concepts in a manner that is easy to understand
• Ability to multi-task and respond to changing needs
• Available 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 working with children or families preferred

Responsibilities

• Assisting families with school related issues such as special education, school enrollment, bilingual programs, and bullying
• Conducting intakes of new clients
• Participating in school meetings and school visits
• Providing know-your-rights trainings to families across New York City and staffing tables at information fairs
• Locating and connecting families with resources in their communities
• Drafting and updating informational materials for immigrant parents
• Supporting ISRP policy advocacy efforts 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
• Generous time-off policies including 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
• 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• 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: Mid Level