Manager of Advocacy & Community Engagement

Location: San Jose, CA

Salary: $73,000-$84,000

Some local travel, Work from home flexibility (hours determined by organizational needs)

About the job

Community Engagement plays a key leadership role in strengthening the voice, connection, and empowerment of parents and caregivers of individuals with disabilities. This position splits its

focus between:

• Advocacy & Systems Change (50%) - Mobilizing, training, and supporting families to become changemakers in disability-related systems and public policy.
• Community Engagement (50%) - Creating spaces and opportunities for parents and caregivers to support one another, building social connections, and accessing meaningful resources.

This role requires experience working in community engagement, grassroots advocacy, and/or policy analysis., Bilingual fluency (Spanish/English) is strongly preferred, but not required. This individual will work closely with PHP's Executive Director on advocacy work and Development, Program and Marketing teams to support robust community engagement. Reports to the Executive Director.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Advocacy & Systems Change (50%)

• Parent Mobilization: Maintain and oversee the current system to recruit, train, and support parents and caregivers - especially those from underserved communities - to advocate for disability rights and system reform.
• Leadership Development: Maintain and oversee the existing training programs for parent leaders including alumni engagement through ongoing learning and action.
• Policy Analysis: Track local, statewide and federal legislation, budgets, and system changes impacting families with disabilities; advise leadership on advocacy priorities.
• Civic engagement: Create tools for parents to take part in timely campaigns (e.g., petitions, calls to legislators, public meetings).
• Coalition Building: Represent PHP in advocacy coalitions, collaborate with peer organizations, and strengthen the collective impact of the disability community.
• Community Representation: Serve as PHP's voice in public forums, community meetings, and with elected officials and government agencies.
• Outreach to Officials: Building relationships with policymakers to promote PHP's agenda and create pathways for family voices to be heard.
• Supervision: Supervise contracted parent leaders teaching the English and Spanish Parents for Change advocacy classes.
• Data & Reporting: Collect, analyze, and report data on advocacy efforts to meet funder and organizational requirements.

Community Engagement (50%)

• Strategy & Planning: Design and implement a comprehensive engagement strategy to build peer support and community resilience among families.
• Events: Lead and coordinate community-building events (in-person and virtual) with community engagement coordinators.
• Online Engagement: Develop online connection tools and forums, including online groups and special interest spaces.
• Partnerships: Cultivate collaborations with community groups to co-host events, increase visibility, and share resources.
• Outreach & Inclusion: Develop/support culturally responsive outreach strategies, particularly for Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking communities with community engagement coordinators.
• Volunteer Collaboration: Work with the Volunteer Coordinator to involve and support volunteers in engagement initiatives.
• Metrics & Evaluation: Track participation, measure success, and apply parent feedback to improve future efforts.
• Supervision: Manage the Vietnamese Outreach Specialist and provide dotted-line support tot he Spanish-language Outreach Specialist.

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years in community engagement/grassroots advocacy/policy analysis
• Strong leadership, training, and facilitation skills
• Experience with underserved and culturally diverse communities
• Familiarity with online engagement tools, Google Suite, CRMs (Salesforce preferred)
• Strong public speaking and writing skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingual fluency in Spanish and English
• Experience with volunteer management
• Experienced in outreach to underserved families in Santa Clara County Communities.

Competencies:

• Knowledge of disability systems, services, or special education policies.
• A passion for families with children with disabilities.
• Ability to create welcoming spaces across multiple cultures and languages.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team effort.
• Ability to build relationships and engage with people from a variety of backgrounds
• Approach challenges with a positive attitude
• Comfortable representing the organization externally
• Compelling and inspirational communication skills: interpersonal, oral and written

Physical Requirements:

• Computer use: Comfortable and efficient use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment.
• Information Processing Ability: Ability to efficiently process, analyze, and interpret written information from digital content, including data, marketing materials, and websites.
• Mobility: Primarily sedentary role with occasional movement within the office for accessing supplies or equipment.
• Verbal Communication: Frequent communication in person, over the phone, or via video conferencing, requiring clear and effective information exchange.

Work Environment:

• Travel: Ability to travel locally (primarily in Santa Clara County) and occasional trips to Sacramento as needed.
• In-Person Interaction: This is not a fully remote position. In-person interaction with the PHP team, community agencies, and attendance at Santa Clara County and Sacramento training and events are required.
• On-Camera Presence: Must be on camera for meetings, which may be recorded.
• Office Presence: Significant in-office presence at PHP's main office in San Jose is expected, with ability to perform duties from multiple PHP office locations. Work-from-home hours will be determined by the supervisor based on organizational needs.
• Flexible hours: Must be available for occasional evening and weekend events.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Hours: 40 hours/week
• Salary: Exempt $73,000-$84,000 based on experience