Community Specialist

Earthcorps • Seattle, WA

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

The EarthCorps program is an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in community collaboration and habitat restoration. Volunteer Specialists will serve on a team of 3-4 AmeriCorps members. Volunteer Specialists at EarthCorps have an opportunity to directly improve the resiliency of our land by restoring habitat, improving water and air quality, reducing erosion, sequestering carbon all while inspiring and engaging the broader community to become stewards of our shared resource. The Volunteer Specialist assists in all aspects of organizing, managing, and delivering volunteer and community-centric events. This position provides a mix of field experience along with office and projects planning experiences. The amount of time spent outdoors or in the office fluctuates throughout the year. Field work includes onsite leadership of volunteers of all ages, plants removal, native plant installation, facilitating outdoor educational activities, tabling at community events, maintaining tools and equipment, and completing additional non-volunteer field projects with other crew members. Office tasks include planning community and volunteer events, maintaining systems, and designing/implementing outreach and educational activities for a variety of audiences. In addition to impactful service, specialists will grow professionally and personally through training, engaging with environmental agencies, collaborating with staff, providing feedback, and practicing structured reflection. Corps members learn valuable team building skills as they work on bridging a wide range of lived experiences and backgrounds, their cross-cultural communication skills, conflict resolution management, and value-driven leadership capacity. This position is supervised by the Program Director, with support from the CV Team Coordinator and EarthCorps project managers. The Community Specialists will participate in an orientation as well as designated retreats, workshops, and other training throughout the duration of the position. The Community Specialist role is offered through AmeriCorps. As such, all applicants must meet the requirements to become an AmeriCorps member and abide by AmeriCorps policies.

Requirements

• High motivation to engage with people of various ages and backgrounds in an outdoor setting.
• Capacity to delegate, manage time, multitask, stay organized, and be responsive.
• Valid driver’s license and comfort while driving 12 passenger vans and mid-size and large trucks.
• Must meet the requirements to become an AmeriCorps member.
• Must abide by AmeriCorps policies.

Nice To Haves

• Capacity to work with and adapt leadership style for diverse groups of community volunteers.
• Effective cross-cultural communication including sensitivity to and awareness of cultural differences and a commitment to working in an inclusive environment.
• Experience in environmental restoration or a similar work environment.
• Experience leading others in outdoor activities.
• Ability to bring positivity, humor, and optimism to challenging situations.
• Demonstrated ability to make safe decisions with limited information.
• Ability to commit to self-care in a highly social office and program environment.
• Capacity to take initiative and stay motivated in an office setting.
• Familiarity with restoration techniques and natural history of urban green spaces in the Pacific Northwest.

Responsibilities

• Support and lead high quality, safe, and educational community and volunteer events every Saturday and some weekdays.
• Support and lead high quality youth events for elementary through high school students
• Mentor, guide, and inspire EarthCorps volunteers and community members of all ages.
• Support team projects and programs like youth internships for students under 18.
• Assist the CV Team with the coordination of volunteer events, field projects, site restoration planning, and documentation of work completed.
• Assist with volunteer recruitment activities such as hosting information tables and posting fliers.
• Maintain EarthCorps Volunteer Program materials, tools & vehicles.
• Complete non-volunteer restoration projects as needed by the organization.
• Connect with community partners, volunteers and youth especially in South King County communities via promotion of events, educational tabling, and speaking events, social media, and other methods as appropriate
• Create monthly social media posts to share out on community events
• Promote EarthCorps volunteer opportunities in South King County, with focused attention on the communities closest to project sites.
• Develop post event follow up communications to share, encouraging volunteers to continue participation in community events.
• Strive for professional, clear, timely and open communication amongst staff and corps participants utilizing Microsoft 365, MS TEAMS, Salesforce CRM, organizational tools, and other partner agency platforms when needed.
• Prepare oral and written reports, including before and after photos of volunteer events, work logs, work project summaries, equipment use and maintenance logs, and incident reports.
• Meet regularly with EarthCorps staff and supervisors to coordinate projects and goals.
• Communicate clearly and regularly to ensure materials, vehicles, and staffing are adequate and appropriate to meet community and volunteer event needs.
• Attending regular program workshops, site visits, and community events to gain skills and context needed to implement community-centered environmental practices
• Participate in meetings, events, and conversations exploring values of fairness in outcomes, belonging and respect.
• Explore individualized professional development opportunities
• Explore skills in community events management, plants identification, habitat restoration techniques, tools use/maintenance and other related training as needed.
• Foster and encourage leadership development in oneself as well as other corps participants.
• Work with colleagues to create a supportive and collaborative team.
• Collaborate with EarthCorps staff for outreach and social media posts
• Lead by example while serving alongside EarthCorps restoration crews and community volunteers in all weather conditions.

Benefits

• Approx 30 Training and Education Days as part of program participation
• For eligible participants: AmeriCorps education award up to $7,395 dependent on service hours
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training provided if needed
• Medical, Vision and Dental Insurance
• Paid Time Off (8 sick days and 6 personal days) and Holidays designated by EarthCorps
• Subsidized ORCA Pass for bus transportation
• Boots, pants, t-shirts, rain gear and safety equipment provided

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed