COMMUNITY AND ENERGY OUTREACH CORPSMEMBER POSITION DESCRIPTION

AmeriCorps Position: Community and EnergyOutreach Corpsmember

(ages 18-25)

Living Allowance: Stipend $1690 per month

Service Term: January – December

Service Schedule: 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (typical)

Reports to: Conservation Corps Program Manager and Center for Energy and Environment Supervisor

Criminal History Check: NSOPR & State, the member does not have recurring access to vulnerable populations

Location: This is not a residential program; participants must secure housing near the placement location.

  • Saint Paul, MN

Position Summary: The Conservation Corps Community Outreach Corpsmember position is an AmeriCorps position based with the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE). The primary objective of the Community Outreach Corpsmember position is for helping meet the recruitment goals for the Home Energy Squad Program (HES), delivered by the CEE. The Community Outreach Corpsmember is responsible for increasing awareness of and participation in HES by conducting community-based marketing in partnering cities, businesses and neighborhood organizations. The position will work with HES program coordinators and residential field staff. The Community Outreach Corpsmember works closely with the Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator at CCE.

Members are directly supervised by Conservation Corps Program Manager and Center for Energy and Environment site supervisor. Members serve in a single placement setting with a partnering nonprofit/government organization. Members complete service projects with direction provided by partnering agencies and representatives of those agencies.

Qualifications:

  • Excellent public speaking and written and verbal communication skills
  • Enthusiasm for energy-efficiency issues and strong commitment to service and community work.
  • Experience doing community outreach or similar job; especially working with local governments, neighborhood organizations, non-profits, businesses and/or similar groups
  • Marketing experience desirable
  • Creative writing and copywriting experience desirable
  • Ability to work independently and in groups.
  • Experience with social media pages and outreach (websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
  • Self-directed with a high comfort level for taking initiative and ownership of projects, and demonstrated attention to detail.
  • Basic computer and keyboard competency
  • Knowledge and experience with residential energy issues and programs
  • Training will be provided in these areas as needed; up to 15-20% of the service term is dedicated to technical and personal skills training.

Requirements:

  • Must be a US Citizen, US National, or Lawful Permanent Resident Alien of the US.
  • Must pass the National Sex Offender Public Registry and criminal history check defined as no positive hits on the NSOPR and no history of violent offenses on the criminal history check.
  • Must successfully pass medical review process.
  • Valid driver’s license and safe driving record (no major moving violations or DUI’s in the past five years).

Essential Service Functions: Ability to perform the *Essential Service Functions 40 hours per week

  • Working regular days in both indoor and outdoor settings.
  • Occasional demands for moderately strenuous activities.
  • Appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to mitigate hazard exposure.
  • Service is primarily completed indoors in an office environment.
  • Some service will be completed outdoors in various conditions, including: hot/cold weather, rain/precipitation, and other seasonal conditions.
  • Some travel is possible with the position.
  • Physical, emotional and intellectual demands:
  • The position is NOT physically demanding in terms of the hands-on environmental restoration projects and long days.
  • The position is emotionally demanding in terms of patience in working with a variety of people.
  • The position is intellectually demanding in terms of planning multiple things at one time, focusing on a variety of priorities, and developing new materials.
  • Equipment: Training will be provided for equipment as needed.
  • Computer and phone communication systems will be used extensively with this position.

*Full list of essential functions for service available here:

*Adequately performing essential service functions is a requirement of this position. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.

Position Responsibilities and Tasks:

Member must complete service projects to the best of their ability, serving safely, effectively and efficiently to ensure projects are completed to the satisfaction of project hosts and the community.AmeriCorps members are expected to serve a minimum of 1700 hours and complete the entire service term per the start and end dates listed on the Member Service Agreement. The service calendar outlines 1900 available hours of service, with no service (and thus, no accrual of service hours) on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after Thanksgiving Day. Therefore, absences (sick or vacation) beyond four excused days for full-time 1700 hour AmeriCorps members are deemed excessive, jeopardizing the member’s ability to accrue the minimum service hours required for the education award. If a member has excessive absences, the member may need to volunteer with an external organization outside of regularly scheduled service days to earn additional service hours to complete the education award. These additional service hours must be pre-approved by Regional Staff.

Position responsibilities:

  • Outreach and engagement
  • Help recruit participants for CEE’s HES program in participating cities, businesses and neighborhood organizations throughout the Twin Cities metro area
  • Conduct community-based marketing activities, such as tabling at community events, festivals, and markets, door-knocking, etc.
  • Help with presentations for neighborhood groups, businesses, congregations and other partners
  • Aid in recruitment for residential programs in greater Minnesota
  • Conduct follow-up calls to program participants to get feedback about programs
  • Manage the distribution of CCE educational materials.
  • Assist with creating and implementing strategic social media campaigns/promotions that encourage participation.
  • Assist with the distribution of CCE educational materials.
  • Assist with volunteer coordination.
  • Ensure project completion and continuity.
  • Attend scheduled meetings, orientations and workshops, including required Conservation Corps AmeriCorps training sessions and site visits.
  • Develop and implement an annual work plan that provides timelines and balance to the priorities of the programs listed above. Utilize a work plan tracking document provided by the Corps to track service accomplishments and reprioritize on a regular basis.
  • Plan and implement training days with other Conservation Corps programs.
  • Administration
  • Submit timesheets and SAW reports to Site Supervisor.
  • Submit timesheets & SAW, expense reports, receipts and monthly credit card log promptly to Program Coordinator for coding and signature.
  • Review and submit all vehicle/employee accident reports to appropriate departments in cooperation with the Program Coordinator.
  • Public Relations
  • Represent the Corps at local job fairs, county fairs, CCC events, etc.
  • Assist in developing new display materials by taking pictures, creating PowerPoint slideshows, submitting e-news articles, etc.
  • Maintain program websites, write newsletters and articles and attend trade shows/conferences.

In accordance with 45CFR 2520.65, AmeriCorps members may not perform prohibited service activities directly or indirectly by recruiting, training, or managing others for the primary purpose of engaging in the activities. Prohibited service activities are outlined in the Service Agreement section VII and AmeriCorps member manual.

Role Clarification: This is an AmeriCorps Corpsmember level position, NOT a staff member. While serving in this AmeriCorps volunteer position, corpsmembers need to abide by the below restrictions:

  • Corpsmembers may NOT sign/approve official documents such as AmeriCorps paperwork, member timecards, performance evaluations, disciplinary contracts, project contracts or any similar documents.
  • Corpsmembers may NOT be directly involved in project acquisition or contracting.
  • Corpsmembers may NOT discipline other AmeriCorps members. While they may provide guidance, facilitate crew meetings, motivate, reward and uphold safety policies on the service site, all policy violations and disciplinary action must be directed to and handled by a staff member.

CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENT: AmeriCorps members will be subject to all state and federal laws, and the rules and regulations of OSHA and Conservation Corps. The member is expected to fully understand and adhere to the rules, regulations and code of conduct as described in the AmeriCorps member manual. Policy violations will result in disciplinary action according to program guidelines, including written warnings, fines, suspension without stipend, and/or termination. The AmeriCorps member is accountable for meeting or exceeding the responsibilities of this position as described above, and will be evaluated at mid-term and end-term by Corps Program Staff, with input from project hosts. Successful completion is contingent on both AmeriCorps education award hours and service through the agreed upon term end date.

This program is available to all, without regard to disability, race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or other non-merit factors. The Conservation Corps engages AmeriCorps members, ages 18-25, as defined under the American Conservation and Youth Service Corps Act, a subtitle of the National and Community Service Act of 1990. Reasonable accommodations available upon request.

I have read and fully understand the above position description that reflects the service activities that I will perform during the AmeriCorps term.

AmeriCorps member Signature: ______Date:

Approval Signature:______Date: