$65,000 - $75,000

About CAA  

Chinese for Affirmative Action was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive, leading voice in and on behalf of the broader AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice.  

In 2014, CAA helped to launch the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network that focuses on long-term movement building, capacity infrastructure, and leadership support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Including CAA, there are currently 11 partnering member groups with unique strengths. Fiscal sponsorship, administrative, and operational support are provided centrally for all of these groups so they can focus on their core programs. 

More recently, CAA, along with AAPI Equity Alliance and the San Francisco State University Asian American Studies Department, launched the Stop AAPI Hate coalition to document and respond to incidents of hate at the local, state, and national levels. The mission of Stop AAPI Hate is to advance equity, justice, and power by dismantling systemic racism and building a multiracial movement to end anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate. This is an exciting period of growth and impact for CAA, AACRE, and Stop AAPI Hate. Due to the extraordinary demand and support for our work, we are poised to deepen and expand our reach and engagement throughout the country. 

Position Overview

The Community Advocate, Civic Engagement will prioritize supporting community members with access to opportunities for civic engagement, community education, and community resources across CAA’s program areas. The position supports the planning, coordination, and implementation of programs impacting limited-English proficiency (LEP) Chinese immigrant community members.  In addition to working with the community more broadly, a core component of the Civic Engagement program is the leadership development of directly impacted LEP Chinese community leaders, including the Outreach Specialists (OS). The OS’ are graduates of CAA’s Leadership Development Institute and have joined CAA as part-time staff conducting education and outreach, and encouraging community members to participate in various campaigns. This position will support the OS’ work by coordinating opportunities for engagement, conducting administrative support for the OS, and accompanying the OS to meetings and events. The Community Advocate, Civic Engagement represents CAA amongst directly impacted Chinese LEP community members and must be familiar with our values, activities, campaigns, and partnerships. 

A non-exempt position supervised by the Civic Engagement Program Manager, the Community Advocate will work both at CAA’s San Francisco office and remotely. The percentage of remote versus in-person hours will be determined by the Civic Engagement Program Manager; however, as a position that works primarily with community members, the position must dedicate a significant portion of hours in-office, with increasing in-office hours as the pandemic subsides. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Supporting CAA’s civic engagement work which includes assisting community members to access opportunities for their voices to be heard on CAA issues, and making CAA campaigns accessible to LEP Chinese immigrant community members;
• Supporting monolingual Chinese-speaking CAA staff with administrative tasks by bridging technological and linguistic barriers;
• Participating in planning, coordination, and staffing of CAA program and organization events, virtual and in-person, which may take place on evenings and weekends, with logistics support, engagement with monolingual Chinese-speaking participants, and limited translation and interpretation responsibilities
• Monitoring trends and concerns within low-income, monolingual, and LEP Chinese immigrant communities to inform Civic Engagement programming;
• Coordinating, drafting, and sending bilingual digital communication, including outreach materials, with crucial information, and available community resources; 
• Administrative duties to support CAA services and programs including logging outreach and education sign-in sheets and digital media work, responding to simple inquiries and connecting community members to appropriate staff for further services, maintaining documentation of our civic engagement work and outreach, safely handling any sensitive and confidential information; and
• Other duties as assigned, related to the advancement of CAA’s civic and community engagement work.

Qualifications

• Oral fluency in English and Cantonese is required; Mandarin fluency and Chinese literacy are a plus;
• Previous work experience with low-income, limited English proficient Chinese immigrants;
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to provide exceptional community service in one-on-one or group settings;
• Knowledge of San Francisco’s neighborhoods and immigrant-serving community-based organizations is preferred;
• Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail;
• Ability to work in-office at CAA’s San Francisco office, remotely, and independently;
• Proficiency with Google suite, Microsoft suite, Salesforce, Zoom, WeChat, and Canva;
• Experience with Chinese word processing;
• Commitment to the mission and goals of CAA;
• Ability to work between standard office hours from 9 am to 5 pm and occasionally flexible hours including evenings and weekends.

How To Apply

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to employment@caasf.org. In the subject line, please write “Community Advocate, Civic Engagement.” In your cover letter, please address the following questions:  What about our mission or values inspires you? What has been your most impactful work and/or life experience so far, and why? For more information about CAA, please visit www.caasf.org.

CAA is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and immigrants are encouraged to apply. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.