Youth Participatory Defense Hub Coordinator

Youth Participatory Defense Hub Coordinator

The Youth Hub Coordinator supports all of the work of YASP’s Youth Participatory Defense Hub, which launched in 2019 as the country’s first youth-led and youth-focused participatory defense hub. The Youth Participatory Defense Hub (aka the Youth Hub) is a weekly space where young people and families can access community support while navigating the carceral system. The Youth Hub builds community power to fight for the best outcome in individual young people’s cases while growing our movement for systemic change and an end to youth incarceration. Participatory defense is a community organizing-based model for court support and advocacy that was created by Silicon Valley DeBug in San Jose, CA. This work is guided by the belief that the carceral system harms young people and young people do best when they have the support they need to learn, grow and thrive at home and in our communities.

The Youth Hub Coordinator will support a team of youth leaders and community volunteers to facilitate the Youth Hub, connect with families and young people in need of support across the city, and build community power to abolish systems that criminalize and cage young people.

This may be a full-time position (32 hours/week) or part-time position (20-25 hours/week). We will make that decision based on the applicant pool and interest level. When you apply for this position, please indicate if you are seeking full-time employment, part-time employment or if you are open to either possibility.

This position reports to YASP’s director.

Weekly Hub Facilitation & Support:

• Coordinate and facilitate hub team meetings each week to prepare the Hub Team to run the Youth Hub every Tuesday evening
• Supervise a team 2-4 youth and young adults to facilitate the Youth Hub on Tuesdays 4:30PM - 6:30PM
• Make sure all hub facilitation and support roles are delegated and support each team member in growing in these roles
• Coordinate hub staff and volunteers to carry out hub support tasks such as attending court, writing support letters, helping young people and families prepare questions for their attorneys, creating social bio packets and videos
• Work closely with Hub Team members to follow up on tasks and commitments with hub participants in between weekly meeting
• Facilitate regular space for Hub Team feedback and reflection

Hub Outreach & Networking:

• Maintain regular communication with leaders of other local participatory defense hubs and the national participatory defense network
• Attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia hubs and regularly attend national participatory defense network virtual gatherings
• Coordinate Youth Hub Team to conduct outreach at court, schools, community events and through partner organizations
• Work closely with YASP’s Creative Arts Co-Coordinators to connect the families of YASP workshop participants to the Youth Hub for support

Hub Team Supervision:

• Directly supervise a Youth Hub Team made up of 2-4 youth leaders and graduates of YASP’s Youth Hub Fellowship
• Provide weekly or biweekly supervision to each members of the Youth Hub team that includes active work plan review and space for feedback and learning
• Seek external training opportunities for Youth Hub staff and connect staff to those opportunities as appropriate

Advocacy & Organizing:

• Work with Hub Team to identify campaign priorities as they emerge from the issues facing young people and families in the hub
• Connect Hub participants and families with YASP’s campaigns to end direct file and abolish youth incarceration and support them in sharing their stories with policymakers
• Support Hub Team members in attending and participating in local and statewide coalitions aimed at ending youth incarceration
• Partner with YASP court-watching staff to connect young people charged as adults with Youth Hub and broader campaign efforts

All-staff responsibilities:

• Attend weekly/biweekly all-staff check-ins and meetings and share rotating facilitation responsibility with other staff members
• Attend organization-wide retreats and team-building activities
• Maintain a weekly work plan and participate in weekly or biweekly check-ins with supervisor
• Track expenses and upload receipts on a timely basis
• Additional responsibilities as assigned by the organization’s director

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Previous experience supporting people in navigating the court process and carceral systems
• Previous experience working closely with young people and engaging in youth leadership development work
• Previous experience with the participatory defense model is a strong plus
• Experience working in a community-based setting
• Flexibility with schedule and willingness to occasionally work evenings and weekends
• An understanding of the harms caused by mass incarceration and a commitment to ending mass incarceration and creating restorative, transformative responses to harm and violence
• Commitment to the principles of youth leadership and respect for young people’s voices and agency
• Strong work ethic, writing and communication skills and ability to follow through on responsibilities
• Proficiency with Google Drive and Google Workspace and/or willingness to learn
• Must have or be willing to immediately acquire all necessary clearances for entering detention facilities (Child Abuse clearance, PA state criminal background check and FBI clearance)
• Individuals with personal experience in the juvenile or adult carceral system - or who have supported family members in those systems - are strongly encouraged to apply

Compensation & Benefits:

This may be a full time position or a part-time position. The starting full-time salary range is $52,000-$55,000. YASP works a 32-hour, 4-day work week. Part-time would be 20-25 hours/week, dependent upon candidate availability. The starting part-time salary range is $32 to $34 per hour. Some evenings and weekends may be required.

YASP offers a workplace and benefits that are rooted in our values, with generous PTO, week-long summer and winter breaks, opportunities for training and professional development, collaborative decision making, and more. We offer full medical coverage with 10% employee contributions for staff who work 25 hours-plus per week, as well as matching 401(k) contributions up to 2% for all staff.

Accommodations

YASP offers, upon request, accommodations for candidates with disabilities during the application, interview, and hiring process. If you require accommodations during the application or interview process, please contact us.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, immigrants, women and femmes, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, neurodiverse people, and formerly convicted, incarcerated, or systems-impacted people are highly encouraged to apply.

YASP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, political affiliation, exercising one’s right to family care and medical leave, medical condition, including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions, or any other category protected by local, state, or federal laws. We are not offering US visa sponsorship at this time.

YASP offers a workplace and benefits that are rooted in our values, with generous PTO, week-long summer and winter breaks, opportunities for training and professional development, collaborative decision making, and more. We offer full medical coverage with 10% employee contributions for staff who work 25 hours-plus per week, as well as matching 401(k) contributions up to 2% for all staff.