Spanish Bilingual Family Ambassador
About Families in Action
Families in Action for Quality Education (FIA) was born in 2019 from a simple truth: Oakland’s students deserve better. We exist to close the gap between promise and reality in Oakland schools—every child, every school, no exceptions.
We train parents, students, educators, and school board members to lead. We build coalitions across community, city, and faith organizations because quality education is the foundation of a healthy Oakland. We champion all students—district or charter—and fight to ensure underserved students get the quality schools they deserve.
About the Role
Are you passionate about building Black and Brown parent and youth power to ensure that historically underserved students in Oakland have access to a high-quality public education? Join FIA as a Family Ambassador to find, train, and develop parent leaders so they can advocate effectively for access to high-quality public schools.
As a Family Ambassador, you will be a key driver of FIA’s flagship Lit for Literacy (L4L) program—a 10–12 week, in-person (or hybrid) family literacy leadership campaign implemented across Oakland schools. You will work at the intersection of community organizing and literacy advocacy, building parent power that produces real, measurable gains for students.
This is a part-time, non-exempt position paid hourly at $25-$30 per hour for 10-20 hours per week. In this role, you will report to the Director of K-5 Organizing and receive coaching and training from FIA staff.
Program Impact: What You’re Working Toward
Lit for Literacy has been implemented with nearly 20 cohorts and produces consistent, measurable outcomes. As a Family Ambassador, your work directly drives these results:
- 80–88% of students whose parents participate accelerate their reading growth (based on district-adopted reading assessments)
- 100% of parents practice reading activities at home every week
- 100% of parents know their child’s reading level and grade-level expectations
- 100% of parents better understand their school’s science-based approach to literacy
- 50% increase in collaboration and communication between educators and parents
- 100% of parents are more confident collaborators with other parents in their class/school
- 100% of parents can leverage their Story of Self to advocate for and motivate other parents
Our Approach: Core Values
FIA’s family literacy work is grounded in four core values that guide the Family Ambassador’s work:
- Parent Agency: We build the agency and leadership of parents to advocate for their children’s educational achievement individually and collectively.
- Science-Based Reading Instruction: We champion a vision for high-quality schools including a science-based approach to reading for ALL students.
- Home-School Partnership: We believe equitable access to quality education takes place when there is strong home-school communication, collaboration, and accountability.
- Parents Must Know: Parents must know the academic standards, the data, and their child’s academic progress to be full partners in their child’s education.
Key Responsibilities
- Support a FIA organizer to recruit, train, and lead a core set of parent/community leaders to develop school-based parent-led power surge teams to empower multilingual parents to act within their schools and the public arena to champion improved reading proficiency.
- Use 1:1 meetings to build relationships and identify and recruit participants for the Lit for Literacy Institute and support their development as parent leaders within their school.
- Develop the knowledge and skills of parent leaders in their student’s and school’s academic performance data, the Oakland public education landscape, and principles and practices of community organizing.
Additional Responsibilities
- Plan and coordinate outreach and recruitment activities for Lit for Literacy Institute and Power Surge Team activities.
- Build strong school-based parent and staff and teacher relationships within participating schools.
- Organize and prepare leaders for their participation in Lit for Literacy institute, power surge team and academic town halls.
- Co-facilitate Lit for Literacy sessions, 1:1 parent leadership coaching, and Family Accountability Walks in partnership with school site teams.
- Receive weekly coaching and professional development from FIA organizing team members.
- Perform other duties as required to support the work of the organization as a whole.
Weekly Outcomes & Deliverables
- Meet 1:1 with 8–10 FIA parent leaders to strategize about next steps in your campaign to develop data and literacy leadership among parents.
- Meet 1:1 with 2–4 potential new leaders to understand their self-interest and share the mission and vision of FIA.
- Recruit and train parents to speak at public meetings.
- Report to FIA on progress and meet with your supervisor to evaluate power surge team meetings.
Your Qualifications
- Familiarity with Families in Action and its mission and ideally the Lit for Literacy program.
- Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders and communities.
- Experience with and sensitivity to multicultural work environments.
- Willingness to work as a member of and contribute to a team in a dynamic, learning environment.
- Passion for creating more high-quality school options for working families.
- Eagerness to learn and engage in community organizing.
- Proof of eligibility to work in the United States.
- Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities.
- Proficiency in Spanish.
Compensation
This role is paid hourly at $25-$30 per hour for 20 hours per week. Contractors will provide FIA with a monthly invoice on the last day of each month.
Work Environment
FIA is a hybrid work organization with 2–3 in-office days and 2–3 remote days per week, in addition to some in-person and virtual evening meetings. We offer flexibility around in-person work days based on health protocols and public health recommendations, to ensure the safety and health of our staff and community members.
FIA is an equal opportunity employer.