AmeriCorps VISTA Community Resilience-Building Program Organizer

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The Community Resilience-Building Program Organizer- Fargo, North Dakota will be located at Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota as of 8 VISTA members at Lutheran social service organizations across the United States implementing strategies and tools to improve community resilience in low-income and vulnerable communities.

The VISTA will be part of a new proactive, holistic, and measurable approach that builds upon the existing social services offered by local social service organizations that affect key resilience levers. The goal is to help low-income communities better withstand and recover from a continuum of disruptions from small to large such as home fires, economic crisis, extreme weather events, or human-caused disasters. VISTA members serving in this position should possess a strong desire to build the resiliency and capacity of underserved low-income and vulnerable communities through the use of community outreach, assessment, volunteer organizing, program development, and partnership building. Successful candidates will need to have the ability to work well with others on a professional level within nonprofit organizations and when interacting with community leaders. Objectives and activities will require candidates to be strategic, innovative, compassionate, a team-player, hard-working, and goal-oriented. Prior experience living and/or working in low-income communities and/or providing essential services to vulnerable communities is preferred. Knowledge of community assessment best practices, disaster services, fundraising, and volunteer development would help candidates be successful.

Member Duties:

The VISTA will develop more resilient communities through community involvement in local impact volunteering programs that are designed to improve environmental and social resilience in addressing vulnerable populations such as New Americans. The VISTA will serve as a local ambassador and expert on impact volunteering and addressing vulnerable populations. The VISTA will conduct an assessment of the potential partners in community gardening efforts to determine feasibility, capacity, gaps and opportunities to strengthen community resilience. He or she will also conduct an assessment of disaster preparedness needs of the New American population in conjunction with existing staff to determine needs, costs, and resources in order to communicate with partners to meet the determined needs. The VISTA will also establish a broader pool of volunteers to assist New Americans with education and training for disaster preparedness and disaster response.

Program Benefits:

• Living Allowance
• Choice of education award of end of service stipend
• Relocation Allowance
• Health Coverage (as provided by CNCS)
• Childcare assistance if eligible
• Training

Terms:

• 12 month position
• Car is recommended

Skills:

• Team Work
• Disaster Services
• General Skills
• Writing/Editing
• Environment,
• Fundraising/Grant Writing
• Non-profit Management
• Social Services
• Public Speaking

Application Deadline: June 20, 2016