Youth Advocate

Title: Youth Advocate

Reports To: Latinx Mentoring and Achievement Manager

Department: Community Programs

Location: Oakland, CA

Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 20 hours per week (5 hours per day) 

Travel: Local travel may be required 

Employee Status: Temporary, Part-Time, Non-Exempt 

Role Duration: September 2026 – August 2027, with potential for the temporary term and/or hours to be extended based on the availability of additional funding.

Union: N/A

Supervises: N/A

Agency Summary 

The Unity Council is a non-profit Social Equity Development Corporation with an over 60-year history in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Our mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn, and thrive.

Our programs aim to provide the community with the tools, knowledge, and resources to transform their lives and ultimately achieve their long-term educational, career, and financial goals. These holistic programs and services reach more than 10,000 individuals and families annually in five languages. Programs include early childhood education, youth mentorship and leadership development, employment services, career readiness training, housing and financial stability, senior citizen services, affordable housing and neighborhood development, and arts and cultural events. Our work expands beyond the Fruitvale district and now reaches across Oakland and into Contra Costa County. The Unity Council employs a diverse workforce of more than 300 people who reflect the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic identity of the communities we serve. 

Department Summary

The Community Programs Department provides integrated educational, career, financial, and housing services that help Oakland residents overcome barriers and advance toward social equity.

Within the department, Youth Achievement Programs, including the Latinx Mentorship and Achievement (LMA) Program, support youth of color in reaching their educational and personal goals. LMA is a school-based, culturally rooted program serving Latine female and non-binary youth ages 14–19 in Oakland. The program focuses on high school transition and graduation, social-emotional well-being, positive relationships, leadership, identity development, and connecting youth and families to supportive services.

LMA offers culturally affirming programming through Chicanx/Latinx Studies, Rooted & Rising Leadership, Escalera College & Career Readiness, and a summer Youth Leadership initiative at Madison Park Academy and Arise High School. Its work is grounded in collective and transformative leadership, critical consciousness, holistic well-being, intersectionality, transformative agency, and cultural affirmation.

Position Summary

The Youth Advocate provides case management to LMA youth and facilitates workshops and classes on college/career readiness and culturally-rooted Chicanx/Latinx Studies curriculum. This position requires a compassionate, proactive individual skilled in facilitation, motivating youth, and fostering resilience, who can work effectively across school sites and program partners, and who reliably logs attendance, case notes, and student data after each session. The Youth Advocate supports these efforts through mentorship, case management, psycho-social assessment, and intervention strategies, and may extend support to select students inside and outside the LMA program based on need. A successful Youth Advocate uses strength-based, culturally-rooted, culturally-responsive, and youth-centered approaches to promote students' well-being.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

Program Facilitation & Community Building (70%)

• Teach the LMA Chicanx Studies course at MPA once a week, including lesson planning and delivery of curriculum.
• Facilitate monthly College & Career workshops at MPA.
• Co-facilitate Latina leadership program at AHS once a week with Internal TUC teams (youth career team and Business/financial team)
• Represent LMA at COST meetings at MPA twice a month.
• Attend Community programs for quarterly meetings and staff retreats as scheduled.
• Debrief after sessions and log attendance.
• Use dedicated prep time to develop curriculum and prepare materials for upcoming sessions.

Case Management & Student Support (30%)

• Facilitate student wellness and academic check-ins.
• Assess student strengths and needs and maintain an individualized support plan for each student.
• Support students through culturally rooted practices that build trust, promote healing, and strengthen resilience as protective factors.
• Collaborate with the LMA manager, school staff, families, and service providers to support student success.
• Document interventions, case notes, attendance, and student data in Salesforce and other program tracking systems.
• Use unscheduled time during the work week to engage in case management/wellness education
• Participate in regular weekly check-ins with the LMA Manager
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Must be bilingual in Spanish and English.
• Must be able to travel to and from designated school sites in Oakland.
• Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, sociology, public health, education, or related field.
• Two (2) years of case management experience
• Strong understanding of mental health, intervention strategies, and wellness practices
• Multicultural competency in working with immigrant, newcomer, low income and diverse youth who face multiple barriers to success.
• Must have basic computer skills with strong MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and social media skills.
• Strong alignment and consistency with The Unity Council’s social equity values, mission and vision and LMA values. 
• Must have a passion for working with youth, mentoring young girls and nonbinary, LGBTQIA+ youth, and community development.
• Must have the ability to communicate effectively with administration, youth providers, youth, and parents and interact with a diverse group of stakeholders and district personnel.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able climb stairs, reach, bend, lift 20-30 pounds, crawl, kneel, stoop, twist, grasp materials with hands and fingers, use arms and legs, able to walk, climb ladders if applicable. 
• Regularly required to sit for long periods of time and occasionally stand and walk.
• Regularly required to use hands to operate computer and other office equipment.
• Close vision required for computer use.

Pre-Employment Requirements

• Background/fingerprints
• Physical exam
• TB Test

This description is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of duties, responsibilities or requirements for the position. This position may change or assume additional duties at any time.

*** Please submit your cover letter and resume. ***

The Unity Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer.