YLC Administrative Specialist

LOCATION NOTE: Must be located within the larger San Francisco Bay Area.

ABOUT YLC’S ADVOCACY

The Youth Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization that seeks to transform child welfare and juvenile justice systems across the county so that every youth and child can thrive. Using a combination of creative advocacy strategies—including legislative and policy advocacy, impact litigation, collaborative systems-reform campaigns, public education, media advocacy, technical assistance, and training—our team works not just to end harmful systemic practices but to ensure that system-involved young people can access the supportive environments, resources, relationships, and information they need to realize their full potential. YLC’s specific, actionable, and sustainable strategies are shaped by the voices of youth and families most impacted by these systems and are informed by research in child development, psychology, behavioral economics, marketing and branding, and adult learning. The YLC team reflects the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills needed to make our creative approach to advocacy successful. Find out more about us at ylc.org and qpi4kids.org.

ABOUT THE POSITION

This is a new support role we’ve developed as our team and our administrative capacity needs have grown. The Administrative Specialist is responsible for delivering cross-team support both to our small but mighty Administrative team and to our Legal Advocacy team. The Specialist will play a critical role in expanding these teams’ capacity to focus on their core areas of work by taking on the logistical and administrative aspects of a variety of processes, supporting document production, legal and operational records management, meeting & event coordination, contact management, employee onboarding & offboarding, internal & external communications, staff technical support, various legal advocacy projects, and more. This position will have a broad reach in the organization and will gain deep familiarity with our internal systems and processes as well as our legal team’s substantive advocacy work. As such, the Specialist will have an important part to play in identifying and recommending potential team workflow and operational improvements.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position reporting to the Director of Operations and must be performed from a location within the larger San Francisco Bay Area. We prefer to hire someone who can commute to our San Francisco office once or twice a week, but we will consider excellent candidates who can travel on a less-frequent basis.

ABOUT YOU

We’re looking for someone who has several years of dedicated administrative experience already under their belt, a penchant for detail work, and a systems-oriented outlook. You’re the one who catches the little things others miss, tracks how all the many pieces of processes interrelate, and deeply understands how even little changes and oversights can have a serious domino effect. Because of this, to-do lists and project trackers are your best friends, and you gain satisfaction from ticking all the boxes, making sure everything is accounted for in even the most routine day-to-day processes. Of course, you know that things can’t be clear-cut and running smoothly all the time. You’re tech-savvy enough to know where to start with troubleshooting; you also anticipate potential problems and take proactive steps to prevent them but can face surprise issues with calm and focus. While you’re confident in doing your own research, you aren’t afraid to raise questions to get the information you need and to ask whether things could be done differently. More than anything, you find satisfaction in being relied on, both for the thoroughness, accuracy, and consistency of your work and for your perspective on how your team can become even more effective. (If you have previous legal assistant or paralegal experience, all the better, though that isn’t required for the position.)

If this sounds like you and you’re excited about a general administrative support role that also involves working on legal advocacy projects, you may be the person we’re looking for! People of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, and individuals who have lived experience in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or youth homelessness systems are strongly encouraged to apply.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Administrative Specialist will work primarily to support our Operations team with day-to-day and special projects work but will also be assigned to both ongoing and new Legal Advocacy projects. The list of responsibilities below is intended to illustrate the core responsibilities of this position in each area. However, this list is not exhaustive; new needs and opportunities will continue to arise for this position as our organization grows and changes. 

General Administrative & Operations Support (anticipated 65%)

• Support new staff and intern recruitment and onboarding by posting job descriptions, scheduling interviews, supporting new personnel account setup, and assisting with various onboarding and orientation tasks.
• Obtain, compile, and route needed bookkeeping and operational documentation, such as vendor invoices, credit card receipts, and expense reports.
• Assist with document filing and organization—including personnel documents, staff reference documents, and other operations and advocacy team documents—using YLC’s physical and digital storage systems.
• Coordinate team meetings by creating agendas, setting up Zoom links, managing meeting recording, taking notes, and sending out notes and action items to participants.
• Boost internal communications by supporting production of our Executive Director’s staff newsletter and by drafting and sending various reminders and notices to our team.
• Provide technical support for advocacy team web events, including event set-up, calendaring, and live behind-the-scenes tech in Zoom Webinars.
• Help research, test, implement, and maintain new systems and processes as needed.
• Serve as a frontline point of contact for legal advocacy staff in troubleshooting the use of YLC systems and software, referring issues to the Director of Operations or IT vendor as needed.
• Check the main YLC email and voicemail inboxes, responding to messages or forwarding messages to YLC staff as appropriate.
• Support office management by maintaining supply inventory, making and receiving shipments, and helping to ensure facilities issues are addressed if they arise.
• Travel to occasional YLC in-person events, such as advocates’ convenings and staff meetings, to provide on-site support with logistics, registration, and other event needs
• Support various short-term Operations projects and ad hoc tasks as needed.
• Collaborate with the Director of Operations, Controller, and other team members to make recommendations and improvements to operating procedures and policies.

Legal Advocacy Team & Project Support (anticipated 35%)

• Manage the logistical aspects of web event coordination for our two transition-age youth (TAY) advocacy coalitions, including calendaring events, coordinating with presenters to obtain information, and sending pre-event and follow-up correspondence to our coalition listservs.
• Support coalition membership management by adding and removing listserv members and conducting outreach to potential members.
• Support the creation, distribution, and filing of web event materials, such as agendas, slide decks, hand-out materials, certificates of completion, and attendance records.
• Attend legal team and coalition web events to take and distribute notes and action items.
• Support various legal team projects as needed—proofread and format documents, check legal citations for accuracy, upload documents into our e-discovery system, conduct research on administrative and court processes, and assist with court e-filings and proof of service.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

The list below represents what we believe to be the most important skills and experience needed for someone to be successful in this position. However, we recognize that women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, and other historically economically marginalized people tend to self-select out of applying for positions if they don’t meet 100% of the listed qualifications. We encourage you to apply if you’re enthusiastic about this role, even if you don’t meet every single criterion on the list.

• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in one or more dedicated administrative roles, preferably in a nonprofit environment (bonus points for admin roles in legal aid or civil rights)
• Demonstrated ability to function effectively in a remote work environment, both when working on your own and when collaborating with others
• Prior experience supporting multiple supervisors or managers
• Exemplary attention to detail, analytical ability, and organizational skills
• Familiarity with using our core work applications—Windows, Google Workspace, Zoom, Adobe Acrobat, and Microsoft Office Suite—to the point of being able to help others troubleshoot common technical questions related to these systems
• Strong ability to learn new tools, systems, methods, and information quickly and to relay findings to others effectively
• Excellent written communication skills; ability to adapt style to different audiences and formats
• Some experience with handling confidential information —whether legal, financial, personnel, or other—and a strong sense of discretion in protecting confidentiality
• Ability to respond to unexpected situations calmly and pivot to finding alternative solutions
• Familiarity with developing file structures and organizing shared files in a logical, intuitive way
• Thoroughness, follow-through, and ability to manage your own time effectively
• Good independent research skills
• A customer service orientation when responding to external inquiries
• Ability to listen actively, take feedback, and work effectively with a wide variety of people
• Commitment to supporting the mission and advocacy work of YLC
• Willingness to travel to occasional in-person events in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere in California, with openness to possible national travel; willingness to commute to the SF office once or twice a week as needed

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

YLC values a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, body size, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Read our DEI statement here.