Mandarin-Cantonese Bilingual Facilitator

Life Story Club (LSC) organizes small social clubs for older adults to share life
stories and build a sense of belonging and purpose. Today, nearly 1 in 4 older adults experience prolonged loneliness and social isolation (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2020), the health risks of which are as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad 2015)​​.

To address this growing public health crisis, LSC brings together small groups of up to 15 older adults who meet weekly over 8 to 10 weeks — via Zoom or in person — to spark connections and share their life stories. Clubs are hosted by Life Story Club facilitators who use different prompts to help participants strengthen these connections over time, and guide them in co-creating small storytelling projects.

We partner with Public Libraries, Settlement Houses, NORCS (Naturally Occurring Retirement Centers), community centers, and a range of health and social service providers to deliver programming series to older adults in NYC and beyond. We try to meet people where they are, making our clubs available to people who want to participate remotely or in person at partner sites. While we serve all older adults, we prioritize older adults who are often most at risk, including individuals who experience poor health, suffered a recent loss, are low-income, or are from immigrant or LGBTQ communities.

The Role

We are looking to hire an NYC-based Life Story Club Facilitator who speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese fluently to join our growing Program team. As a Facilitator, you are joining a team that is the heartbeat of our program.

In this role, you are the face of Life Story Club and set the tone for the club. You help to make sure people feel comfortable—facilitating story sharing, sparking connections between our older adult participants, and nurturing the club community. You will also be in charge of shepherding a story recording and production process for your clubs—working with the storytellers to craft and record a story, and then helping to present these stories in a variety of creative formats (including both physical and digital mediums) for our older adult storytellers to enjoy.

While this is initially a part-time position, there has been a growing demand for Life Story Club programs, and there is room for growth within the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Run four to five clubs (both virtual and in-person) that each meet for an hour on a weekly basis. This includes planning, implementing, and building on the Life Story Club curriculum.
• Spend a few hours before and after club meetings prepping for the session, conducting welcome/reminder calls, helping to dial-in individuals who have accessibility needs into conference meetings, tracking attendance, and inputting notes.
• Facilitate audio recording sessions with the storytellers, collect photos, bios, and other related assets for inclusion in LSC creative projects
• Support club recruitment efforts through the creation and distribution of flyers, social media posts, and hosting pop-up information sessions at partner sites and other locations
• Attend weekly or bi-weekly team meetings in person and check-ins with your supervisor.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese
• Mission-oriented, interested in improving the health and well-being of older people
• Experience working with older adults and/or facilitating groups, and possess excellent listening skills
• Experience with storytelling, production, interview or documentary work
• Enthusiastic, eager to learn, and a self-starter who will jump in and support other team members
• An engaged listener and respectful, upholding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices that ensure a welcoming environment for all
• Professional, organized, and diligent with excellent verbal and written communication skills
  
• Prepared to work in person and to travel within New York City as needed