Position Title: AmeriCorps Volunteer Literacy Coordinator
Basic Functions:
With support and supervision from the Adult Education Manager, the AmeriCorps Volunteer Literacy Coordinator organizes community members to meet regularly with refugee and immigrant English learners for practice reading, writing, and speaking in conversation. Key responsibilities include conducting community outreach for volunteer recruitment, facilitating volunteer tutor onboarding and training, matching tutors with existing ECAC clients, coaching and troubleshooting with tutors to meet student needs, and tracking student progress toward individual goals and standardized performance metrics. As the point of contact for ECAC’s Refugee Literacy Volunteer Project, the Volunteer Literacy Coordinator will also support professional relationships with state and local partner agencies and community stakeholders. ESL class instructors will collaborate with the coordinator to serve a diverse community of adult learners, and ECAC is looking for creative and strategic candidates who can execute programming in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Conduct outreach for volunteer recruitment with community partners including libraries, places of worship, public schools, and universities (both academic departments and on-campus community engagement offices)
2. Facilitate volunteer onboarding at ECAC and tutor preparation and training, featuring the prerequisite Tutor Essentials online course from partner agency Literacy Works
3. Organize required documentation and program files for volunteer tutors and student learners including volunteer applications, tutor surveys, learner intakes, reading tests
4. Brainstorm with tutors to address individual student needs and objectives within the context of refugee experiences in US, offering constructive feedback, troubleshooting, guidance, and redirection as necessary
5. Support the Adult Education Manager in tracking performance metrics agreed upon with Illinois Secretary of State, e.g. recruiting a minimum of 60 learners and 30 tutors, improved reading scores, achieved student goals, and connected to library services
6. Communicate consistently and professionally with statewide and local community partners, including the Illinois Secretary of State, Literacy Works, North Side Literacy Coalition, scaleLIT, and peer adult literacy programs in Chicago and Illinois
7. Recruit and follow up (in-person or virtually) with learners and volunteers at the office, outreach locations, and tutoring sites on Chicago’s northside and nearby suburbs
8. Complete professional development and additional tasks directly relevant to the position
Training Opportunities:
- Develop strong cross-cultural communication skills and community outreach experience
- Experience speaking with stakeholders in a variety of different professional settings including libraries, places of worship, public schools, and local universities
- Firsthand interaction with cultural, religious, socioeconomic, racial, and gender dynamics and support successfully navigating diverse community settings
- Directly serve refugees, immigrants, and their families
- Training in trauma-informed care, particularly with sensitivity to refugee and other forced migration experiences
- One-on-one and small group teaching experience with adult ESL learners
- Exposure to adult literacy curricula, lessons, materials, and strategies for instruction
- Exercise computer skills in Microsoft Excel and Word, including the ability to enter, organize, and analyze data, as well as prepare and submit program reports
Optional Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), Applied Linguistics, Education, or another related field
- Experience with Adult Volunteer Literacy (AVL) services funded by IL Secretary of State
- Experience with BurlingtonEnglish online and app-based learning platform
- Experience with CASAS reading assessments for ESL learners
- Bilingual in a second language, especially Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, French, Kiswahili, Pashto, Rohingya, Russian, Spanish, Tigrinya, or Ukrainian
- Driver’s License valid for Illinois
Job Type:
- Full-Time AmeriCorps (40 hours per week)
- Please note this is an AmeriCorps national service position, not a traditional salaried position.
- AmeriCorps members receive a $21,000 living allowance paid biweekly over the service term (September 1st, 2026 - August 31st, 2027).
- AmeriCorps members who complete their service are eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, currently valued at approximately $7,395.
- Health insurance coverage is included.
Schedule:
- Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Occasional weekend hours available/as needed
Work Location:
In-person at Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC):
- Main office – 5800 N Lincoln Ave, Unit A/B, Chicago, IL 60659
- Branch office – 5865 N Lincoln Ave, Suite 116, Chicago, IL 60659
Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Employer
*ECAC is an Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. ECAC prohibits discrimination in its hiring practices and in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability and political beliefs.
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
