CAA Advocacy Coordinator

About Chinese for Affirmative Action (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 voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice.

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.

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 committed to social justice. Including CAA, there are currently 11 partnering member groups with unique strengths. Fiscal sponsorship, administrative, and operational support is provided centrally for all of these groups so they can focus on their core programs.

In 2020, CAA was one of the founding organizations of Stop AAPI Hate (SAH), a U.S.-based coalition dedicated to ending racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAs & PIs). SAH strives to advance the multiracial movement for equity and justice by building power for our communities, working in solidarity with other communities of color, and advocating for comprehensive solutions that tackle the root causes of race-based hate.

Position Description

The Advocacy Coordinator is a key contributor to driving impactful advocacy campaigns by collaborating with Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and Stop AAPI Hate (the Coalition) staff and partners to advance organizational goals including expanding non-citizen voting, improving language access, civic engagement, and fostering a multi-racial democracy.

The Advocacy Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and implementing advocacy strategies including organizing coalitions, building partnerships with community leaders and organizations, and building campaign support for CAA and the Coalition.

In addition, the Advocacy Coordinator supports civic and voter engagement, including on ballot measure efforts by helping implement voter outreach and volunteer mobilization programs, including assisting with volunteer recruitment, training, and direct voter contact activities.

This position collaborates closely with the Policy and Communications teams and the grassroots programs.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Advocacy

• Support the development and execution of high-impact advocacy campaigns in collaboration with CAA and the Coalition staff and partners to advance program goals and secure policy wins
• Assist with the coordination and facilitation of diverse and effective coalitions, including managing coalition communications and logistics
• Assist with the cultivation and maintenance of authentic and meaningful partnerships with other community-based organizations, leaders, community members, and other stakeholders
• Provide operational and logistical support for trainings, convenings, press conferences, and other virtual and in-person events to support advocacy and movement-building efforts
• Perform in-depth research on partner organizations, groups, and legislators to guide relationship-building and advocacy strategies
• Develop project plans for events, campaigns, and other advocacy-related efforts, coordinate budgets and resources, and monitor progress to ensure objectives are met for time-limited projects as assigned
• Draft and edit content for memos and reports on advocacy campaign issues for external and internal use
• Organize cross team collaboration/meetings, manage internal drives/documents, and provide internal updates and reminders to advance and inform campaign progress
• Manage the EveryAction advocacy tool, including developing action pages, creating events, organizing and uploading participants' lists
• Represent CAA and the Coalition at public facing events and engagements
• Research and identify opportunities to support campaign and advocacy efforts
• Provide administrative support for advocacy team members such as scheduling meetings, tracking deadlines, venue booking, and maintaining project management documents

Civic and Voter Engagement

• Support planning and implementation of voter contact and civic engagement programs through C4 and related efforts, including voter registration, education, and GOTV outreach
• Recruit, onboard, and support volunteers for phonebanks, textbanks, and other voter contact tactics
• Help run voter contact shifts directly, including making calls, sending texts, and supporting volunteers during outreach
• Assist with volunteer training sessions, materials preparation, and shift logistics
• Provide operational and logistical support for field and voter engagement programs
• Coordinate closely with teams and contractors to execute targeted outreach using CRM, texting, and dialer platforms
• Track and report basic program metrics such as volunteer participation, contacts made, and event outcomes
• Support multilingual and identity-based outreach strategies that engage AAPI voters and community members

Media

• Work closely with the Communications team to develop and implement earned media, social media, and digital engagement strategies driving advocacy campaigns forward
• Regularly engage in digital advocacy and engagement by supporting the creation of social media toolkits and calls to action and amplifying SAH priorities through social media posts
• Draft and edit advocacy materials including campaign plans, email action alerts, social media copy and copy for graphics
• Maintain regular upkeep and training on EveryAction tools and resources
• Support digital mobilization efforts that complement volunteer and voter outreach programs

Other Duties

• Contribute to fundraising and development activities such as attending funder events and corporate engagements
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the overall mission of the organization
• Contribute to positive work environment in alignment with organizational values
• Support management of vendors and contractors ensuring they meet project requirements and contractual compliance

Other Details:

Reports to: CAA Advocacy Manager

Hours: Full-time at 40 hours per week

Schedule: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm (at least once a week in office)

Location: San Francisco office. Eligible for hybrid work. Must be based in San Francisco Bay Area

FLSA status: Non-exempt, eligible for overtime

Union Classification: Union position

Required Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to the mission and values of CAA and Stop AAPI Hate, including a commitment to social justice, equity, and civic engagement
• Experience and cultural competence working in the AA/PI community in a social justice context
• At least 1-2 years of professional experience in field organizing, political or electoral campaigns, and/or progressive issue based advocacy campaigns
• Experience supporting volunteer or grassroots outreach efforts
• Comfort participating directly in voter contact activities such as phonebanks or textbanks
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to engage diverse stakeholders and community leaders, adapting messaging effectively across audiences and settings
• Strong writing and editing skills, including experience writing direct response advocacy emails, social media, and related communications
• Ability to work in person at the CAA office in San Francisco and participate in advocacy activities in the Bay Area.

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiar with Voter Action Network (VAN) platform, preferably EveryAction
• Experience with texting platforms, dialers, or volunteer management tools
• Experience with event planning

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application.

To Apply

Apply at https://bit.ly/CAAAdvocacyCoordinator by submitting an application and uploading a resume and cover letter

CAA shares fiscal sponsorship with Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE). Staff hired by CAA will be employees of AACRE.

AACRE is dedicated to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment where everyone is valued and discrimination has no place. We are committed to serving the rich diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and strongly encourage women, trans and gender expansive individuals, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with conviction or arrest records, and those living with disabilities to apply.

AACRE is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). We consider all qualified candidates for employment regardless of age, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

Please visit https://caasf.org for more information.

We are committed to supporting our employees to thrive in service of our mission by providing generous benefits, which include 100% health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employee coverage and 65% for dependent coverage; employer-funded health reimbursement account; paid time off; and professional development stipend.