11 Aug We Are Hiring! – August 2022 Associate Role

Position Description:

Connect the Dots (CtD) is looking for a driven and motivated Associate to join our team full time. The Associate will focus on supporting projects through outreach, awareness-raising and engagement-related tasks. This is an entry-level position.

Connect the Dots specializes in the design and delivery of inclusive public and key stakeholder engagement processes in planning, transportation, economic development, and the public realm. You will be joining a fast-growing, close-knit, passionate team with an array of partners and collaborators. We are committed to co-creation, collaboration, and social, racial and economic justice, and are looking for candidates that already have relevant experience in supporting engagement processes – and are excited about supporting the growth of Connect the Dots.

This role will be based in the Philadelphia area. While our hybrid office supports remote work, applicants must be local (or willing to relocate) and attend some in-person meetings and 1-3 in-person workdays per week.

Role Responsibilities

• Support the execution of engagement and outreach activities, including:
  – Researching locations and contacts to better understand and partner with communities
  – Building relationships with community groups and leaders to better the communities they serve with opportunities to have a say in key planning projects that will affect their neighborhoods
  – Creating communications (writing copy) such as social media posts and graphic templates for outreach
  – Co-designing and implementing qualitative research tools, such as surveys and focus groups to gather input from the public
  – Supporting these virtual and in-person public meetings, community events, focus groups, interviews, and more via logistics/event planning, note taking, summarizing and reporting
  – Helping build reports through analysis of qualitative and quantitative data we gather from the community for each project
  – Writing project narratives, blog posts, and reports
• Brainstorm and co-create innovative and tailored engagement strategies reaching diverse populations in a variety of urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Experience and Skills:

Experience:

• 1-3 years relevant experience
• Sample experience could include managing volunteer programs, leading student associations, supporting community events, writing communications (publicizing events, publishing articles, etc), and participatory research.

Required Skills:

• Organization: Must be highly organized – with ability to manage multiple tasks, projects, and deadlines at once.
• Detail Oriented: Must be highly skilled at coordinating tasks with many relevant details.
• Internal Communication: Must be a strong communicator, both internally with the team and externally. Must be able to share information, updates on tasks, in a timely, efficient, and clear manner.
• External Communication: Must be a strong writer and able to communicate with partners and the general public about projects in a clear and accessible manner, with the ability to distill complex information in a way that is engaging and understandable.
• Community Builder: Must be welcoming, open, and humble – able to build trust and relationships with community leaders and groups
• Research and Analysis: Able to efficiently and effectively understand data and develop research tools such as surveys and focus groups and analyze those for themes and key conclusions.
• Collaboration and Independent Work: Able to prioritize and complete tasks in both a remote / in-person environment. Able to adapt to suit the needs of varying teams and work styles.
• Creative Thinker and Problem-Solver: Able to co-create engagement strategies and tools with the team to best connect with communities and gather input. Able to pivot, iterate, and adjust plans as needed.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Direct engagement experience.
• Graphic design skills: Experienced at creating visuals to support communications and outreach from social media images to worksheets for workshops
• Multilingual: Speak/write in languages other than English. Preference for Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Spanish.
• Background in relevant fields such as community development, psychology, planning, urban studies, communications, journalism, sociology and more.
• GIS skills and abilities

Compensation and How to Apply

The role is a full time, non-exempt position. Salary will be discussed openly to ensure commensurate with experience.

• Salary range: $45-53k, dependent on experience.
• Tech and Wellness Plan: $1200 stipend to support wellness and technical capacity needs.
• Monthly Health Insurance contribution.
• 15 total PTO days (10 flexible, plus the last week of the calendar year), and 9 National Holidays.
• Flexibility for remote working for 2-4 weeks, as long as planned and approved

Email the following to [email protected] with the subject line “August2022Assoc [Your Name]”. Applications due by September 5. Please include

• Resume
• Letter of interest
• 1-2 work samples such as a writing sample, report, or Insight-gathering tool such as a workshop plan, survey, report, etc.

Only complete application packages will be considered.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Connect the Dots, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!