Program Assistant/Activity Specialist - HS - Richmond Hill

Program Assistant/Activity Specialist (PT) at Richmond Hill High School

South Asian Youth Action (SAYA)

South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) is committed to providing its employees opportunities for growth in a

supportive community environment. With a flexible schedule and generous benefits package, SAYA

provides its employees a healthy work-life balance in a youth development nonprofit.

SAYA: Belong. Grow. Thrive.

Organization Description

South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) is an inclusive, South Asian-focused 501(c)3 youth development

organization. Through our innovative, holistic approach, we work toward educational equity by

providing opportunities and resources to less privileged New York City youth, ensuring they are

empowered academically, emotionally, and socially to become engaged community members.

Established in 1996, SAYA provides valuable life skills and holistic, impactful programming to

underserved New York City youth. As one of the first South Asian organizations created in the United

States, SAYA is the only organization of its kind in the NYC metropolitan area providing inclusive and

secular comprehensive youth development services while centering our community’s experiences.

Today, SAYA provides programming at eight elementary, middle, and high schools in Queens and

Brooklyn, along with our Elmhurst-based community center - serving a growing number of youth across

all sites each year.

A key tenet of our work is cultivating vital social and emotional learning (SEL) skills such as belonging,

confidence, and self-efficacy through intentionally designed, research-based curricula. Across our

organization, services tailored for different age groups include leadership and identity development,

academic support that bridges learning gaps, comprehensive college preparation, and activities that

nurture creativity and build positive peer connections.

NYC Community Schools Initiative

The NYC Community Schools Initiative is aimed at bridging students, families, and communities with

comprehensive social, emotional, and academic support to achieve successful student outcomes. At

Richmond Hill High School (RHHS), these desired outcomes include: increased attendance and

student engagement; greater connectedness to adults and peers; development of social and

emotional skills; greater access to mental health resources; improved academic performance;

improved school culture and climate; increased family engagement; and greater collaboration

among community partners and school administration.

Position Summary

This position supports the work of both Richmond Hill High School and Epic High School South in

developing quality programming and

At Richmond Hill High School (RHHS), the Alum Activity Specialist will be responsible for supporting

expanded learning time activities that develop leadership skills, build community engagement, and

integrate a socially conscious and a Social Emotional Learning (SEL)-based framework. They will

support a wide variety of administrative needs. Alum will collaborate with SAYA and school staff to

advance the goals of NYC’s Community School Initiative at RHHS.

Reports To: Community School Director

Compensation: $20/hour, commensurate with experience and qualifications. This is an in-person position for the school year from October through June with potential rehire for summer and the following year. Must be available Monday: 12:30pm - 3:30pm and Wednesday - Friday: 1:30pm - 4:30pm.

Key Responsibilities

Clubs and Workshops:

● Support club advisor lesson plans, curricula centered on building leadership, identity,

community, and culturally relevant workshops, activities and trips during in-school and

after-school programming.

● Facilitate group enrichment activities during lunch periods and after-school

● Actively recruit, retain, and engage in consistent outreach with program participants, including

support with social media

● Support review of student academic materials

Mentorship & Relationship-Building

● Engage in mentorship with students experiencing chronic absenteeism, academic challenges,

or other barriers to positive school outcomes

● Supporting the growth and training of student leaders

Events & Outreach Initiatives

● Support planning, facilitation, and outreach of school-wide events & Community School

Initiatives, including but limited to: club special events; monthly themed cultural & special

events; vision & health screenings, community forums, attendance-based initiatives,

immigration legal support clinics, and other initiatives as assigned.

● Supper guidance and referral with students of community resources, including direct

assistance, immigration, housing, and other resources as needed.

Administrative Duties

● Collect and enter attendance of and other programmatic information into databases.

● Support food, supply, and equipment purchases, pick-ups, and deliveries during in-school and

after-school hours, including submission of expense documentation, inventory, & transfer of

items at alternative locations.

● Work with Program Assistants to complete and submit event and trip documentation.

● Participate in trainings and meetings held by SAYA, Office of Community Schools, DOE, and

other agencies.

The above is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by this

position. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change

the duties at any time.

Qualifications:

● Bilingual (Spanish, Punjabi, Arabic) is highly preferred;

● At least 2+ years experience in relevant fields (Education, Social Work, Counseling) preferred.

● At least 2 years experience with workshop facilitation, youth mentorship, classroom

management, and curriculum development required;

● Experience developing curriculum incorporating social-emotional learning (SEL), social justice

and positive youth development;

● Previous experience in and knowledge of NYC public schools required;

● Outstanding outreach, verbal, written communication and public speaking skills

● Highly flexible, detail-oriented, and openness to feedback, with ability to organize and manage

multiple tasks in a fast-paced setting

● Excels with contingency planning for events, workshops, and flexibility in addressing changing

program needs;

● Excellent proficiency in Canva and Google Suite, including Google Spreadsheet, Google Docs,

Google Slides, Google Drive, Google Forms, MS-Excel

● Commitment to frameworks of social justice, social-emotional learning (SEL), positive youth

development, and culturally-responsive education (CRE)

● Understanding of issues facing immigrant youth, youth of color, working class, and

undocumented youth in the US

● Willingness to support larger SAYA and SAYA RHHS team with various tasks as is needed, must

be open to and contribute to supportive team culture across programs

Additional Information

● This position is in-person

● While we value work/life balance, due to the nature of this position, this role will sometimes

require work on evenings and weekends. Must be able to work occasional early mornings,

evenings, and weekends about 30 days in the school year, or equivalent to about 3x per month

from Sept.- June 30th

●  Schedule is subject to change depending on program needs during summer

● Must be available and comfortable traveling with students and/or families from school location

to other schools/organizations as needed

● Must be comfortable with periodic commute and occasional transfer of items between school

and SAYA central office, and other designated locations as assigned or as is needed

SAYA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Employer.