PHENND Fellow AmeriCorps VISTA, Women’s Opportunities Resource Center

Posted by PHENND on August 7, 2017

There is a position open with PHENND under the new PHENND Fellows program. This position will place someone as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Women’s Opportunity Resource Center (WORC) for 1 year. Please contact Chris Capron (chrisc@phillyfellows.org) for more information or to apply.

Position Description

Organization: Women’s Opportunities Resource Center

Address  2010 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4411

Website: www.worc-pa.com        

Agency Mission
Founded in 1993, Women’s Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) enables low-income individuals – primarily women and their families – to increase their social and economic self-sufficiency through self-employment training, support services, savings programs and access to business and financial resources. Our programs provide clients – whether individuals or entrepreneurs – with essential financial education and income & wealth-building strategies. WORC has been nationally recognized for its efforts, receiving, among other awards, the 2012 Action Partner from Women’s Way for improving self-sufficiency among women in Greater Philadelphia, and the U.S. Treasury Dept. 2001 Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development: Poverty Alleviation. We are a certified U.S. Treasury Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and SBA Microloan Intermediary.

Title: Partnership Developer

Project Goal: Project goals are split into two buckets: development of a new community partnership and associated launch of services therein, as well as subsequent program expansion. Sub-goals around partnership include successful completion of the following steps: socioeconomic and demographic research into at least three New American candidate populations, on-the-ground research into candidate populations and associated partner orgs, selection of population and partner, development of Memorandum of Understanding, and launch of services and associated outreach. For program performance, WORC’s goal is to generate awareness of and interest in its services and programs to individuals previously isolated from mainstream economic resources. WORC anticipates serving 50 new individuals and families as a direct result of this work in the target community; further details on recruitment and target participation by program are provided below.

 

The fellow’s duties and responsibilities:         

• Familiarizing his/herself with the agency, its history, mission, current programs, organizational structure and strategic growth plans
• Building on WORC’s 2016 Market Needs Assessment, conduct internet-based and on-the ground research into key New American communities of opportunity
• Identifying and interfacing with potential collaborating organizations in said communities
• With assistance from the team, developing a model for ranking the prospect communities and selecting a final partner
• Developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the partner organization, including clear delineation of responsibilities
• Co-developing and launching outreach materials and events
• Documenting all activities to ensure that ease of replication in additional communities is maximized.

Skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in the position:    

• A four year degree from an accredited university in a relevant discipline
• Ability to interact with individuals of diverse demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Effectiveness in conducting web-based and place-based market research
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout the area to engage in marketing and outreach activities
• Organized self-starter with strong analytical skills and ability to multi-task
• Interest in community development, economics, and/or microfinance helpful
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends, in particular for attending relevant community meetings and events
• Bi/multilingual candidates preferred but not required

Specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address:

The Partnership Developer will spearhead a distinct, place-based project in which WORC deepens its presence in an immigrant/refugee/asylee (New Americans) community by collaborating with an on-the-ground organization embedded in that population. WORC will introduce its range of training, lending, and savings programs that tackle poverty at its root. New Americans in particular face significant economic distress caused by lack of financial education, lack of access to mainstream financial resources, and additional cultural and educational barriers. WORC programs will provide these individuals the core education and skills needed to establish financial self-determination. The particular target community will be selected via this project, with the potential for the partnership model to be rolled out in additional Philadelphia neighborhoods in the future. While the target community is not yet known, the need for increased economic opportunity among recent New American populations in clear. As per the US Census 2015 American Community Survey, median household income was $31,007 among foreign-born non-U.S. citizens in Philadelphia, almost 20% lower than the overall median of $38,253, and 32.1% were in poverty as compared to 26.5% overall. WORC brings a strong track record with 30-40% of our clients historically being immigrant/refugee/asylee. We now seek an embedded partner in a community in which WORC will establish a new foothold or deepen its existing presence.

Compensation:
AmeriCorps VISTAs commit to a full-time year of service for a minimal living stipend of approximately $13,293 per year. VISTA members are provided health coverage and loan forbearance for any current federal student loans. Upon completion of the full year, they also receive an AmeriCorps Education Award of $5815 that can be used to pay for future educational expenses and/or pay off federal student loans. PHENND Fellows are also provided a $500/mo housing stipend made payable directly to a landlord.

Apply here: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=74482&fromSearch=true

and also email Hillary Kane at hillarya@phennd.org to tell her you’ve applied.