About the San Francisco Youth Commission:
Approved by the San Francisco voters as Proposition F on November 7, 1995 the Youth Commission is established as SEC. 4.122 under the City Charter and operates under the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors. “The purpose of the Commission is to collect all information relevant to advising the Board of Supervisors and Mayor on the effects of legislative policies, needs, assessments, priorities, programs, and budgets concerning the children and youth of San Francisco”. In essence, the Youth Commission is responsible for advising the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor on policies and laws related to young people. The Commission is charged with providing comment and recommendation on all proposed laws that would primarily affect youth before the Board takes final action. The Youth Commission consists of 17 members ranging in age from 12 to 23 and representing the diverse neighborhoods and backgrounds of San Francisco’s youth.

For more information visit: https://sfgov.org/youthcommission 

Appointment Type:
Permanent Exempt (PEX), Full-Time position, not to exceed three (3) years. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process, is considered "at will", and shall serve at the discretion of the appointing officer, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.

Position Description:
The Youth Commission staff team comes from different professional backgrounds and prioritizes youth development principles and practices to give Commissioners the tools and training necessary for them to fulfill their chartered duties of advising the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor on the unmet needs of youth in San Francisco.

Under general supervision of the Director, the Community Partnership Specialist (hereafter, “Specialist”) performs duties requiring a high degree of independent judgement on tasks pertaining to the development and implementation of an annual outreach plan, the coordination and implementation of organizational structure and growth strategies and other duties as assigned.

The Specialist works in collaboration with the staff team to train and support Youth Commissioners in achieving their legislative and community-bridging goals by developing partnerships with youth-related government, non-profit, private, neighborhood and religious agencies. The Specialist is responsible for developing and tracking appropriate policy and budget metrics for the Youth Commission’s impact on San Francisco’s children and youth.

Additionally, in this role, the Specialist performs complex and responsible legislative, administrative clerical/secretarial work in connection with the activities of one or more committees of the Youth Commission.

The essential duties of this position include:

Youth Development

• Create and implement an age appropriate and culturally competent training and Board approved advocacy curriculum to prepare Youth Commissioners for their work as official policy advisors (essential areas include the structure of City government, the municipal legislative and budget processes, public speaking, effective public comment, resolution writing, and parliamentary Rules of Order).
• Interact with Supervisors and Legislative Aides on a regular basis to present on legislation referred; communicating with the aides regarding questions they or the Supervisors may have; set up meetings with Youth Commissioners with Supervisors and the Mayor’s office to advise them on youth issues.
• Provide support and technical assistance to youth on Board approved Councils, Committees, or legislation such as the Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax Advisory Committee and DCYF Proposition C Our Children Our Families Coalition.
• Support Youth Commissioners to develop their ability to articulate policy recommendations through helping them interpret legislation, write resolutions, and work collaboratively with members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor’s office, and officials at various City departments, service providers and community organizations.
• Assist the Youth Commission Director with the annual recruitment for Youth Commissioners.

Civic Engagement and Community Partnership

• Conduct outreach for annual recruitment of Youth Commissioners to attract a diverse Youth Commission body that represents the City and County of San Francisco.
• Support the Youth Commission’s annual programing (annual Youth Commissioner recruitment, orientation, and mid-year retreat) and special events (DCYF’s Youth Advocacy Day).
• Assist with community outreach events that Youth Commissioners are expected to attend for their issue-based committee.
• Cultivate Youth Commission alumni relationships through the Alumni Network by maintaining contact lists, promoting recognition, and sharing resources.
• Develop and publish the Commission’s official community engagement and outreach materials, including but not limited to monthly newsletters.
• Connect with various youth related organizations to disseminate and collect information for the Youth Commission.

Legislative Duties

• Create, record and post (in accordance with state and local government meeting and transparency laws) issue-based committee meeting agendas, minutes, & supplemental documents.
• Coordinate the logistics of and clerk issue-based committee meetings (schedule presenters that range from Supervisors, Legislative Aides, and community speakers, by recording and uploading minutes of all Youth Commission meetings, providing computer, electronic and other technical support).
• Reviews budget reports and legislation for youth-related content.
• Organizes and updates official legislative files.
• Assist Youth Commissioners to prepare legislation and other memos related to committee actions.

Administrative and Organizational Development

• Track and monitor youth-related news and media.
• Regularly perform clerical duties including updating the Youth Commission website, maintaining the constituent database, and responding to requests from the public and other departments received in person, by phone, electronic mail or fax.
• Assist Youth Commission Director with administrative tasks related to recruitment activities.
• Staff the Youth Commission office in the absence of the Director and the Youth Development Specialist.
• Assist in coordinating special events and activities when needed.
• Take on other duties as assigned when needed.

Bachelors degree and at least two (2) years of experience working hands-on youth and working in a diverse, multicultural environment. OR

At least 4 years of experience working hands-on with youth and working in a diverse multicultural environment. AND

• Experience with or demonstrated interest in City government, including the legislative process, the budget process, the workings of City departments and commissions and state and local open government laws (including the Brown Act and the Sunshine Ordinance).
• Strong desire to work with, develop, mentor, supervise, and give independence to youth.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent basic computer skills, including word processing, using search engines, scanners and simple online software applications.
• Commitment to the ability, effectiveness and power of young people.
• Commitment to the ability, effectiveness and power of local government to respond to young people’s concerns and positively improve their lives.

Please Note: Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qualifications:

The following desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring:

• Explicit knowledge of San Francisco service providers and community organizations, particularly those serving young people.
• Understanding of San Francisco youth specific issues and needs, in particular, of housing and homelessness.
• Experience in youth development principles and practices; and, well-versed in diversity, equity, and inclusion pedagogy.
• Experience with developing, creating, facilitating, and implementing workshop curriculum that incorporates a system of evaluation metrics.
• Experience in planning and implementing youth retreats.
• Experience with or knowledge of local open government laws.
• Experience with or knowledge of parliamentary procedures.
• Recent and verifiable experience in how public policy and budget issues are formulated, generated into legislation, advocated for and ultimately passed as well as experience in following and tracking legislation.
• Willingness to attend community events at night to accommodate youth schedules.

Verification of Education and Experience:
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found here.

Application Opening: November 4, 2021
Application Deadline: Upon until the position is filled. The earliest it may close is Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Compensation: The normal annual salary range is $58,526-$71,162.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process 
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Conviction History
• Disaster Service Worker 
• Right to Work
• ADA Accommodation
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

For questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Jessica Wong at [email protected]

Please note: All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines      

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.