Youth Engagement Coordinator

Youth Engagement Coordinator

Rise Above Colorado is a drug misuse prevention organization that measurably impacts teen perceptions and attitudes about the risks of substance misuse to help youth make empowered, healthy choices. Our vision is to empower teens to lead a life free of substance misuse and addiction.

Rise Above Colorado implements prevention strategies targeted for youth aged 12-17 to measurably impact attitudes (e.g. perception of harm, perception of peer use, etc.), knowledge (e.g. appropriate and inappropriate use of Rx drugs, teen brain science, etc.), and skills (e.g. media literacy, health decision-making, refusal skills, etc.). Rise Above Colorado achieves these objectives through direct-to-youth communications, peer-to-peer engagement and resource delivery by youth-serving partner organizations.

Rise Above Colorado (RAC), in collaboration with statewide and community-based partners, advances youth civic engagement and positive community change through trauma-informed, equity-centered substance misuse prevention. The Youth Engagement Coordinator engages youth, adults, organizations, and communities to strengthen prevention capacity, amplify youth voice, and promote health equity across Colorado.

Grounded in Positive Youth Development (PYD), youth–adult partnership, and research-informed prevention practice, this role facilitates leadership development, community engagement, policy-relevant youth civic action, and continuous program evaluation.

Position

Reports to:

Director of Prevention Education

RAC Teen Action Council (TAC) Lead Coordination & Implementation (50%)

Facilitate youth leadership development, civic engagement, and collective action that builds youth capacity to influence community and prevention systems.

Engage and collaborate with diverse youth across identities, lived experiences, and geographic regions through the leadership and implementation of RAC's Teen Action Council (TAC) and partner youth councils, using culturally responsive and trauma-informed engagement practices.

Lead coordination of Executive Teens, providing structured opportunities for youth to practice leadership, decision-making, ethical responsibility, and peer collaboration.

Coordinate recruitment, onboarding, communication, and ongoing support of youth leaders, assessing youth strengths, leadership readiness, and development needs to inform individualized and group-based programs.

Maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, and ethical standards in all youth–adult partnerships, modeling ethical and professional behavior consistent with prevention and youth-serving best practices.

Support cross-organizational collaboration involving youth leaders with other adult facilitators to advance shared prevention goals and community change efforts.

Youth & Community Engagement (40%)

Engages in the training and facilitation of RAC's educational resources with partners and direct to youth

Engages in and amplifies campaign efforts with partners and direct to youth

Engages in and improves our direct to youth outreach online (i.e. website content revisions, social & digital media postings, etc.)

Engages with organizations and community partners to strengthen local prevention efforts, providing technical assistance grounded in Positive Youth Development (PYD), equity, and evidence-based substance misuse prevention strategies

Assess community prevention capacity and needs to tailor training, technical assistance, and youth engagement strategies.

Represent RAC on statewide and community committees, coalitions, and boards, contributing youth-informed perspectives to systems-level prevention, funding, and policy discussions.

Support youth civic engagement efforts that connect youth voice to policy-relevant conversations, prevention systems, and community decision-making.

Research & Analysis (5%)

Reviews literature and participates in relevant forums to stay current on research and best practice in youth substance misuse prevention and Positive Youth Development, particularly for the Colorado landscape

Apply research findings and data to inform program design, adaptation, and continuous quality improvement.

Shares relevant…