Adult Lit Program Coordinator/ESOL Instructor

Adult Literacy Program Coordinator/ESOL Instructor

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. Make the Road New York operates community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island and White Plains, Westchester County. With a membership of 27,000, MRNY tackles the critical issues facing our communities, including workplace justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant rights and civil rights, TGNCIQ justice (TGNCIQ = transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer), public education, health care access, and immigration reform. MRNY is a newly unionized workplace, currently negotiating its first Collective Bargaining Agreement.

MRNY is a multi-service organization. Our member-led organizing committees -- which work on the issues named above -- implement strategies to combat shared problems, and develop leadership and the capacity for civic participation. We also provide an array of high-quality bilingual services: We offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), computer literacy, citizenship preparation, and in-school and after-school youth programs. We have a robust legal program that offers direct representation across a spectrum of practice areas, including employment law, immigration law, housing and benefits, and TGNCIQ civil rights; we also take on impact litigation as a strategy for achieving broad change. Our health program offers facilitated enrollment into health insurance programs and SNAP benefits, a community health worker home visit program, nutrition education and emergency food pantries, health care navigation, and more.

The Adult Literacy team is composed of instructors, admin staff, data staff, case managers and program managers. We run classes in all 5 of MRNY’s locations and our Queens office is the location where the largest number of ESOL and Civics classes are offered. Our team collaborates often with other MRNY teams to ensure that the students in our classes get the educational services that they need as well as other information and opportunities to engage in community life.

Current Opening:

Make the Road NY (MRNY)'s Adult Literacy Department does work that’s key to MRNY's holistic approach to helping immigrants achieve economic self-sufficiency and opportunity. Our team of instructors, admin, data, case managers and volunteers serve over 1,200 adults annually through English, computer literacy and citizenship preparation classes.

MRNY’s Adult Literacy Department seeks a Program Coordinator/ESOL Instructor to lead our Long Island Adult Literacy work. The position is based in our Brentwood, LI office where staff work a hybrid remote and in-person schedule. The Program Coordinator/ESOL instructor will work closely with our Adult Lit Dept Director and Adult Lit Admin Leaders to recruit and assess students, design and deliver instruction, report on work to funders and cultivate cross team collaborations to meet the team’s and organizations strategic goals. This role will deliver in-person ESOL instruction to immigrants seeking to develop language skills, will coordinate and manage all admin tasks for LI classes including outreach, testing and registration, case management, data review. In addition this role will supervise a LI based PT Adult Literacy Admin Assistant.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate impeccable attention to detail, a proven track record of meeting deadlines, have excellent communication skills, thrive on working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, be comfortable using technology and learning new applications, and demonstrate strong instructional skills and a commitment to social justice.

Classes will run until the end of June 2025 with opportunities for 2025-26 school year as funding allows.

Key Responsibilities but not Limited to:

The LI Program Coordinator/ESOL Instructor will design and deliver ESOL instruction while handling the administrative responsibilities of the program and providing case management support to students enrolled in MRNY Adult Literacy classes. Key Responsibilities include:

Manage and carry out all administrative processes of LI Adult Literacy Program including:

• Planning and performing outreach for the ESOL classes for the Long Island office
• Completing all Intake processes (paperwork and database entry) for ESOL classes for the Long Island office (together with the support of the LI Adult Literacy Admin Assistant.)
• Maintaining enrollee attendance, collecting documents per funder requirement to scan and upload in Salesforce Database
• Attending required meetings including admin leadership team meetings, funder meetings and site visits, data review meetings and professional development workshops according to funder requirements

Teach contextualized English with student center methodology, based on the mission statement of MRNY by:

• Developing and delivering course outlines and unit lesson plans with content material in ways that take into account students’ levels and learning styles, the need to pace and scaffold information, and the need to balance the 4 skills + vocabulary development and grammar skill development
• Employing classroom management strategies and consistent communication from intake to end of cycle to improve student retention
• Conducting BEST Plus tests assessments during the intake process and at the end of the cycles as well as other in-class assessments to monitor and document enrollee progress

Provide case management support to students enrolled in MRNY Adult Literacy classes by:

• Conducting student needs assessment (housing, education, work, etc), doing referrals based on content of surveys, and doing follow-up communication to resolve cases.
• Conducting class presentations on available work job training programs, higher education opportunities and initiating job counseling services by enrolling students in Job Zone website according to funder requirements
• Tracking content of surveys and case status on Salesforce Database and entering student contact data monthly in grant funding database (ASISTS)
• Referring to and updating consistently the resource materials we have that outline available services for our Long Island based office
• Maintaining strong communication with MRNY staff who provide services in order to best understand both the shifting focuses of MRNY’s services work as well as what cases can and cannot be referred internally and what the best options are for case follow up
• Building relationships and intentionally networking with community organizations/service providers not already strongly networked with MRNY to facilitate better connections for referral purposes

Supervise a part-time Adult Literacy administrative assistant for LI by:

• Meeting weekly to plan work with them, communicate expectations and share two-way feedback on work performance, as well as reflect on program performance and areas for improvement
• Ensuring admin asst receives training, adequate supplies and information needed to perform all tasks
• Checking and approving work hours in ADP and conducting yearly evaluation

Other: Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by funder requirements and program needs

Requirements:

• Eligibility to work in the US
• Full vaccination with an FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine prior to first day of employment
• Teaching Certification or Masters in TESOL
• A minimum of 3 years experience of ESOL teaching
• A commitment to thematic instruction and learner-centered, participatory education
• BEST Plus certification
• Database entry experience
• Bilingual in English and Spanish
• Experience working in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic work environment
• Flexibility and ability to travel to MRNY’s other offices, as needed
• Flexibility and ability to be responsive in a fast-paced work environment

PREFERRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

Experience working in a non-profit or community setting

Job Competencies:

• Excellent computer skills (experience using Word, Excel, etc)
• Careful attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Skills working in groups and the ability to work collaboratively
• Creative problem solving skills

Salary and Benefits:

Starting salary is based on a scale set by a democratically-elected personnel committee and will depend on factors such as experience and education. MRNY offers an excellent benefit package including health insurance, 401K, and generous paid vacation, sick, personal days. The salary range for this position is from $27.97 to $37.17

How to Apply:

Please attach your resume and cover letter and submit all documents to the Make the Road New York career center.

Make the Road believes that social change is best achieved through grassroots community-based organizing that flows directly from and engages the community demanding the change. As a membership-based organization, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, criminal history, or Veteran status. We strongly encourage those from historically excluded groups to apply.