Job Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Youth and Family Voice, the Coordinator of Youth Voice coordinates operational activities designed to elevate and integrate youth voice into program policies, services delivery, practice, staff training/onboarding, and operations across the agency. The Coordinator will work closely with other managerial staff to drive Youth Voice Initiatives throughout the agency’s residential campus and within the five boroughs of New York City.

Essential Job Functions:

• Under guidance of the Director of Youth and Family Voice, plan, convene, and facilitate a range of youth engagement events across the agency.
• In collaboration with program leadership, drive the development and ongoing implementation of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) across the agency’s residential and community-based programming; support key functions of the Councils to ensure the councils are operating effectively and efficiently in support of the youth leaders.
• Create recruitment materials in collaboration with youth leaders, coordinate recruitment logistics, and maintain relationships with referral sources
• Organize and coordinate logistics for YAC meeting and events, including scheduling, development of agendas, note-taking (or delegation of note-taking), and attendance; support the facilitation of meetings by note taking or (delegating note taking to youth), navigating technology, co-leading activities, etc.
• Support communication to youth related to meetings and events - including designing flyers geared around recruiting (in partnership with communications department), creating events centered around youth, creating and normalizing annual induction processes for the YAC.
• Support with coordinating transportation for youth trips or community ventures as needed
• Create and provide calendar of events to youth, community, and leadership staff as needed
• Partner with program leadership to identify and implement methods for leveraging youth voice in development of policies and procedures (e.g. presentations at management or program meetings); coordinate meetings between youth and leadership staff.
• Support research of key systems change issue areas in support of youths’ projects; support communication with key systems and community partners by providing updates, sending invitations, arranging meetings, and attending community events, etc.
• Under guidance of Director of Youth and Family Voice, oversee the development and implementation of youth advocates programming; including development of protocols related to youth advocates programming, supervising youth advocates, collecting and tracking youth advocate hours and timesheets.
• Develop and implement protocols related to youth advocates participation in support of youth service planning (including, but not limited to intake, orientation, family team conferences, family court support, etc.)
• Drive the development and dissemination of youth survey instruments (preferably using a participatory action approach) to elicit information from youth-related to satisfaction, service needs, and related programming.
• Identify and develop practice models to more fully engage youth in their own service and treatment plan development (e.g. youth mentoring; youth facilitated FTCs, etc.)
• Train direct service staff (leveraging parent participants) and provide consultation related to promising practices to better engage and empower youth in service and treatment plan development and delivery.
• Participate and coordinate youth participation in oversight agency (e.g. ACS, OCFS, OMH) youth advisory groups and relevant committees; represent agency at city, state, and national meetings.
• Participate in agency-wide committees (e.g. Race Equity; Advocacy Champions, etc.) as needed to bridge practice related to BIPOC youth.
• Work in partnership with Government Contracts to develop and build youth involvement in advocating for change on the local and national level.
• Develop partnerships with external organizations (e,g, Bravehearts) to execute and develop promising youth voice practices at JCCA.
• Partner with program leadership to create youth orientation material and protocols.
• Assist Director in maintenance of budgetary tracking systems.
• Under guidance of Director of Youth and Family Voice, manage agency response to youth grievances.
• Other responsibilities and tasks as assigned.

Knowledge, Education and Skills Required:

• HS Diploma or GED
• Basic computer and writing skills
• Lived experience and knowledge of foster care
• Passionate about social and racial justice, youth leadership, systems change, and youth voice.
• Solid organizational and planning skills with consistent follow through and execution.
• Excellent telephone and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage and work with a variety of different people; collaborate effectively.
• Flexible and adaptable to an evolving programmatic environment.
• Must be willing to provide three letters of reference attesting to proficiency and suitability for the role.
• Spanish Speaking Preferred

Salary Range: $30.00 to $31.00 per hour