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As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

The Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service

The Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service (OCEVS) is committed to increasing long term, sustainable civic engagement throughout the city. To support this goal, we offer a variety of training opportunities for community members, nonprofit partners and City agencies. In addition, we support internal and cross-sector convening and collaboration to reduce silos and increase efficiency and efficacy of engagement and volunteer programs and tactics.  OCEVS is housed within the Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement (OPE).

Operations Transformation Fund

The Equitable Community Engagement Training Fellow position is funded through the City’s Operations Transformation Fund (OTF), which is a $10 million internal City fund where transformative municipal projects are invested in over the next two fiscal years (2022 and 2023). Across different City departments, OTF projects are implementing people-centered and sustainable solutions that focus on efficient and equitable service provision to benefit Philadelphians. OTF project teams receive ongoing support and assistance from the City’s Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), which manages the OTF, and participate in activities as a cohort. (See the press release for more information: https://www.phila.gov/2021-11-30-operations-transformation-fund-fall-2021-grantees/)

About the project you’ll be working on:

Community engagement is the foundational way government opens its doors to connect communities to programs and services, better understand community need, share decision-making, and honor work already occurring in neighborhoods. However, many communities won’t and can’t interact with government because we’ve either broken their trust or haven’t created the conditions for their engagement.

To address these realities, the PHL Service Design Studio (SDS) and the Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service (MOCEVS) have been working on an Equitable Community Engagement (ECE) Toolkit in collaboration with City engagement staff, community groups, and Philadelphia residents. The Toolkit is a Citywide initiative that will transform how the City of Philadelphia thinks about, plans for, and facilitates engagement with the communities we serve. It’ll include a vision and guiding principles, strategies and tools, evaluation resources, training, and a cultivated community of practitioners made up of City engagement staff and community members. All guidance will be accessible online within the phila.gov platform. To learn more about the Equitable Engagement Toolkit, please visit this blog post.

About your position:

The Equitable Community Engagement Training Fellow will develop and facilitate  Equitable Community Engagement trainings based on guidance provided in the ECE Toolkit. The Training Fellow will also  use evidence based practices to provide recommendations for a long term City Engagement training strategy and program.  

Essential Functions

In this role, you will:

Lead the development of Toolkit training curriculum and materials.

• Work closely with the PHL Service Design Studio to write Equitable Community Engagement Toolkit training curriculum and materials.
• Work with Program Evaluation Fellow and Equitable Engagement Director to strengthen and evolve Toolkit training strategy and curriculum based on stakeholder feedback. 
• Serve as an advocate for equitable community engagement. Foster relationships with City engagement practitioners to understand and support needs.
• Evaluate  existing City employee and Civic Engagement Academy training sto identify curriculum gaps and opportunities to collaborate with other city departments to streamline trainings.

Manage, coordinate, and facilitate Toolkit trainings.

• Evaluate  existing City employee and Civic Engagement Academy trainings to identify curriculum gaps and opportunities to collaborate with other city departments to streamline trainings.
• Manage training prep work, coordination, communication, and planning to facilitate accessible Toolkit trainings.
• Develop and assemble training materials, e.g. worksheets, presentations.
• Use creative training techniques and a variety of training delivery modalities to engage adult learners.
• Plan, organize and deliver both virtual and in-person trainings. Steer group discussions and proactively address potential challenges within the group. Implement follow up actions to ensure participants are successful.
• Coordinate and provide accommodations for training participants.

Develop a long-term program strategy for Toolkit Trainings

• Use evaluation plan, feedback from trainings and analysis from already existing trainings to provide recommendations on implementing a long term Equitable Engagement training program.
• Create an evaluation plan to assess the efficacy of Toolkit training and gather ongoing feedback at each training to inform how the training curriculum can be improved

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Facilitation: Adept at designing and leading engaging and inclusive experiences. 
• Coordinate: Experience coordinating a robust, large-scale training program
• Design: Experience in human centered design as it relates to designing trainings and training content geared towards engagement practitioners
• Sustain: Ability to infuse long-term strategy and systems behind the work to ensure that the work continues beyond the contract terms
• Project management skills: Demonstrated ability to manage projects, estimate timelines, rework a project approach based on unforeseen challenges, work well under pressure, and set/meet reasonable deadlines.
• Communication skills: Ability to explain complex topics in clear and simple language. Skilled at providing the logic behind your decisions and present to colleagues across an organization’s hierarchy   
• Strategic Thinker & Solution-Oriented: Able to spot opportunities, and translate vision into actionable realistic steps.
• Equity-centered: A commitment to equitable, accessible, and trauma informed community engagement. Demonstrate an ability to respect, honor, and center the voices of residents and staff who’ve been marginalized by government actions.
• Philly enthusiast: Demonstrate a deep rooted connection to and love for Philadelphia and the diverse individuals who call this city home.

Candidates should have: 

●       Experience developing curriculum and facilitating trainings for large groups of diverse individuals

●       Experience in community engagement/organization

Nice-to-have skills: 

●       Bilingual (Spanish and/or Mandarin Chinese preferred)

●       Experience with launching new programs and initiatives

●       Experience with community-based and participatory design 

●       Experience working in the social impact space or complex service environments

TO APPLY:

All applications are due October 16, 2022 and should include the following:

●       A cover letter explaining your qualifications, interest and alignment to position

●       Your resume/CV

Salary and Term

This is a seven-month fellowship. The salary for this position is $44,000 and will be funded through June 30, 2023. Because this is a full-time position, employees will receive benefits.  Because this is a seven-month fellowship, we are asking that candidates reside in the city of Philadelphia.

Hybrid work schedule

Currently, the team works on a hybrid schedule with some days from home and some in the office. The specifics of this schedule may change depending on the status of COVID-19.

Salary Range: $44,000 (based on seven month fellowship)

Did you know?

• We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
• 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Please note that effective September 1, 2021 the City of Philadelphia is requiring all new employees to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19. 

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected].

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx