$65,000 - $75,000

Organization Background

Chinese for Affirmative Action was founded in 1969 to protect the civil rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. We advocate for systemic change that advances equity and addresses challenges facing our community.

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-AAPI hate. This is an exciting period of growth and impact for CAA, AACRE, and Stop AAPI Hate. 

At the grassroots level, our community building work nurtures the ability of immigrants to participate fully in civic life. These activities include direct services, leadership development, and civic engagement with limited-English proficient newcomers and immigrants on issues that impact our community. At the systemic level, CAA leads advocacy, communications, and movement building work to improve public policy and shape public discourse. We produce community-based research, publish policy analyses and recommendations, influence opinion through media, organize to engage elected and government officials, and nurture a range of progressive coalitions.

Position Overview

The Education Equity Community Advocate will work to advance policy advocacy on equity issues prioritized by AAPI communities at the local level, including with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and City College of San Francisco. CAA believes that the purpose of public education is to develop a more democratic society and that educational opportunities should be available to all communities, particularly low-income immigrant students of color. To that end, CAA’s education equity work centers racial justice and racial and linguistic diversity from an AAPI perspective in solidarity with other communities of color. This position will focus on issues that include multilingual education, immigrant student/family engagement, and disaggregated data.

The ideal candidate has experience in community engagement or advocacy on education issues in the local context of the San Francisco Bay Area. They are comfortable with highly external-facing work and are able to tailor communication of complex policies to a range of audiences, from student groups to elected officials. They are able to build and maintain relationships with partners from a diverse range of backgrounds. The advocate has strong writing and analytical skills, with the ability to apply CAA’s vision of education equity to evaluate policies and programs. 

This is a non-exempt position supervised by the Education Equity 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 Education Equity Program Manager; however, as a position that includes engagement on local issues, the position will include in-person participation for external meetings, such as public forums and committee hearings.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, and implement projects via cross-team collaboration, particularly with CAA’s community-facing and local direct services programs;
• Cultivate relationships with stakeholders and lead in formal and informal collaboratives, including with students, parents,  community leaders, public officials, and city departments on key strategies to advance education equity and CAA’s other core issue areas;
• Drive narrative change work by articulating education equity subject matter analysis, particularly through a racial justice and civil rights framework; 
• Support CAA’s policy agenda in education equity through research, writing, and producing public-facing content and materials;
• Represent CAA in external communications, including community meetings, public hearings, in traditional and digital media, and other spaces;
• Contribute to organization-wide activities and programming that support CAA’s strategic priorities.

Qualifications

• Commitment to the mission, values, aspirations, and goals of the organization
• Strong familiarity with education equity initiatives at SFUSD, including, but not limited to, personal, volunteer, or professional experiences with SFUSD
• Demonstrated confidence engaging on controversial and/or complex issues
• Strong written and oral communications skills
• Experience and culturally competence in working with low-income, newcomer, and immigrant AAPI communities in a social justice context
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including proven ability to work effectively with a diverse set of stakeholders and community leaders
• Experience in and comfort with external communications, including public speaking and media engagement
• Chinese language (Cantonese or Mandarin) proficiency a plus, but not required
• Availability to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed, with options for flex time or overtime pay

How To Apply 

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to employment@caasf.org. In the subject line, please write “Community Advocate, Education Equity.” In your cover letter, please address the following questions: What about our mission or values inspires you? What has been your most impactful work 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, and LGBTQ individuals are encouraged to apply.  We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.