Assistant Planner

Canal Alliance • San Rafael, CA

11h • Hybrid

About The Position

Canal Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the generational cycle of poverty for Latino immigrants and their families by removing barriers to success. They provide education, empowerment, support, and partnership to motivated immigrants, addressing diverse needs from basic necessities to citizenship and higher education. Canal Alliance fosters a trauma-informed, collaborative, and inclusive culture, investing in high-quality services, professional development, and work-life balance.

The Assistant Planner plays a crucial role in Canal Alliance’s neighborhood planning initiative, Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro. This initiative aims to create a Neighborhood Vision Plan that reflects community priorities for a climate-resilient, safe, healthy, and vibrant community. The Assistant Planner will support the coordination of community engagement efforts and co-facilitate the Consejo de Residentes (Resident Advisory Council), the governing body of the initiative. This council, composed of 20 residents, guides the strategy for community engagement in the Neighborhood Vision Plan. The Assistant Planner serves as a primary contact for residents involved in the initiative and supports engagement with nonprofit and government partners, contributing to Canal Alliance's mission to tackle inequity through this place-based initiative.

Requirements

• Bilingual in English and Spanish; comfortable presenting, writing, and communicating planning language in Spanish required.
• 3 years of experience in community organizing, grassroots advocacy; including strong facilitation experience, and oral presentation skills.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred in planning, political science, social justice, environmental studies, any closely related field, or equivalent combination of educational, professional and lived experience.

Nice To Haves

• Prior planning experience a plus.
• Prior Asana experience a plus.
• Familiarity with environmental/climate justice, planning, and community resilience a strong plus.
• Familiarity with the Canal neighborhood or Marin County is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead community outreach for the Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro initiative, including developing content, organizing and staffing tabling, pop-ups, focus groups, workshops, community fairs, and more.
• Manage and facilitate the Consejo de Residentes del Canal, including work planning; ensuring content is clear, accessible, and actionable; designing engaging relationship building and leadership development activities; coordinating logistics; and more.
• Support the Senior Planner and Planner in the development of the Neighborhood Vision Plan, including analyzing community input, insights, and writing the strategies.
• Coordinate the Cultural Preservation priority theme, including co-developing engagement materials, analyzing data, coordinating partner meetings, and proposed strategy development.
• Co-design and administer surveys and other forms of community engagement.
• Ensure the effective tracking and recording of key data points and metrics in the organization’s databases, as required.
• Recruit and train volunteer ambassadors for Canal Alliance’s advocacy and community leadership development work.
• Mobilize and prepare residents and allies to make public comment at government agency public hearings and in other forums.
• Write grant reports and support Planner in drafting articles for marketing and communications.
• Co-develop and present materials to showcase the NCNF initiative at appropriate forums including conferences, summits, and convenings.
• Provide event support, including the day-of event, to other team members on the PACE team for community events, trainings, and celebrations.

Benefits

• 3 weeks paid vacation per year
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Paid Birthday each year
• 13 paid holidays per year
• 100% paid employee medical & dental insurance, life insurance, LTD, and EAP
• 403(b)-retirement plan with employer match of up to 4% after 3 months of employment
• Voluntary benefits include FSA, vision, life, and pet insurance, as well as coverage for dependents
• Telehealth for physical and mental health

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees