Community Outreach Coordinator, National Student Partnerships

Posted by on June 15, 2009

[emailed 6/10/09]

Community Outreach Coordinator/AmeriCorps*National Direct Member- Full Time
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Who We Are:
National Student Partnerships (NSP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating poverty in our nation’s communities by engaging college students in this effort. NSP envisions a day when all people in our country will have the opportunity to achieve economic security and pursue their aspirations.
NSP operates a national network of drop-in resource centers, staffed by student volunteers from area colleges. NSP trains these student volunteers to work one-on-one with low-income community members to effectively address the tough social issues that so many Americans face—unemployment, homelessness, lack of educational opportunities, disparate access to quality healthcare, and poverty. With a focus on comprehensive solutions, you can help drive long-term success for NSP’s student volunteers, clients, and the Philadelphia community in NSP’s Community Outreach Coordinator AmeriCorps position.

Position Overview:
National Student Partnerships (NSP) seeks individuals from diverse backgrounds, who are independent, intelligent, and driven leaders, to serve as part of our elite team of NSP Local Office Coordinators. The NSP Community Outreach Coordinator must have solid experience in building partnerships through presentations, meetings, and written follow up, and must demonstrate flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to take on challenging situations.  He or she must possess excellent interpersonal skills to drive collaboration with current and prospective project partners, low-income residents, student volunteers, community leaders, and NSP National Office staff.  The Community Outreach Coordinator must also feel comfortable interacting in a wide variety of settings and scenarios and should be able to work one-on-one with low income community members.

We are looking for an individual who is a self-starter, passionate about fostering economic independence among low-income community members, and believes that partnership-building is one of the keys to fighting poverty.

Responsibilities:
•    Develop a comprehensive community partner outreach plan for NSP’s two Philadelphia offices
•    Build and strengthen partnerships with community, business, and university organizations through regular presentations, partner meetings, and consistent follow up
•    Work one-on-one with low-income community members
•    Represent and disseminate information about NSP at community events and meetings
•    Strengthen NSP’s network of referral partners to augment client flow and broaden resource and referral options available to clients
•    Aid in the development of standard protocol for partner engagement
•    Create streamlined community partner management system to ensure consistent and quality communications and record-keeping
•    Assist in the creation and updating of partner-related newsletter and web content
•    Plan and run special events aimed at fostering exchange and dialogue among NSP’s community partners
•    Conduct relevant outreach training sessions for local office student leaders
•    Enhance NSP’s ability to serve our community members by attending meetings and workshops that address local and regional poverty-related issues

Key Details:
•    Requirements: All majors and career interests are encouraged to apply. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated a commitment to community service
•    Hours: 40 hours per week, with a flexible schedule that will require some weekend and evening work
•    Location: Philadelphia, PA
•    Dates: The year of service will begin July 6, 2009 and end in July of 2010. We will strongly consider candidates interested in making a 2-year commitment of service.
•    Training: NSP National Office will provide all NSP Coordinators with paid pre-service and on-going trainings in Washington, DC, throughout their service term.
•    Living Allowance: NSP is currently a member of AmeriCorps, the national service network. Through this relationship, Coordinators will be given a living stipend of approximately $12,000/year from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
•    Education Award/Stipend: Upon completion of the year of service, Site Coordinators will be eligible to receive a $4,725 Segal AmeriCorps education award at the end of each year of service ($9,450 over the two years), which may be used to pay back qualified student loans or for future education.
•    Housing: Site Coordinators will receive a $200 monthly housing stipend from NSP.
•    Health Care: The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield network coverage includes:
o    $10 co-pays, including vision and dental coverage for exams + Reduced rates for other vision and dental treatments
o    No deductible
o    Access to nation-wide network of doctors, including specialists, searchable through an online database
o    Maximum prescription costs of $35 with generics costing $10
o    No caps on hospital costs
o    Preventative care included
•    Other Benefits: As long as the individual has not previously served as AmeriCorps Members, he/she is eligible to receive loan forbearance on qualified student loans during his/her term of service.

To Apply:
Please send a resume and cover letter via email at [email protected] and submit the AmeriCorps*National Direct Member application found on the AmeriCorps recruiting site at https://my.americorps.gov (Note: Please enter your references’ e-mail addresses where appropriate in the AmeriCorps application; they will then be e-mailed a link to the AmeriCorps application reference form, which they will submit on-line. Similarly, once you submit your AmeriCorps application on-line, we will receive electronic notification of its submission).

National Student Partnerships is an Equal Opportunity Employer