CivicMakers is a civic innovation and engagement consulting firm that specializes in applying human-centered design principles to co-create more effective and inclusive programs, services, spaces and policies in the public sector. Since 2015 we have worked with a range of diverse communities, public agencies, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across California and beyond. 

Our primary services include community engagement, strategic planning, organizational development and change management, service design, program evaluation, and training.

We also convene a growing community of civic innovators to learn from one another, share best practices, and forge deeper partnerships to increase our collective impact.  We host regular events, such as Civic Mornings, and send a twice-monthly newsletter to a mailing list of over 3,700 subscribers.

Our team is a small group of bright, curious, cross-disciplinary, super fun humans. We hold firm to the values of inclusion and equity, empathic listening, learning by doing, collaboration, and transparency. We work out of the San Francisco Impact Hub in the Mission District. 

THE OPPORTUNITY
We are seeking a self-directed, detail-oriented, civically-minded individual who is passionate about engaging communities in the decisions that affect their lives and who wants to apply their communications, marketing, and engagement skills to improve public sector service delivery.

The Communications & Engagement Associate will work closely with the core team on the development and execution of communications, marketing, outreach and engagement strategies, both for our clients and for our company. 

The ideal candidate will be passionate about innovation and engagement in the public sector and will have excellent written communication skills as well as experience reaching and engaging targeted audiences through a variety of online and offline methods. This is an excellent opportunity for someone early in their career to significantly expand their communications and engagement skill set at the leading edge of civic innovation.

The Communications & Engagement Associate will have the opportunity to work directly with our public sector clients to innovate government service delivery and to connect with our growing network of civic entrepreneurs, passionate government innovators and social impact enthusiasts of all stripes. 

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

You will apply your skills in two primary areas: 

1. Communications and Marketing for CivicMakers to further our growing community of civic innovators and to promote our work as a consulting firm. 
2. Communications, Outreach & Engagement for our Clients to support complex, inspiring projects in the public sector (around the Bay Area and beyond). 

Below is a sampling of the kinds of tasks you can expect. These are subject to change and evolve, just like the nature of our field. 

COMMUNICATIONS

• Co-create communications and marketing plans
• Copyedit, proofread, and revise marketing, outreach, and thought leadership 
• communications (case studies, white papers, newsletter content, blog posts, etc.)
• Production of marketing and outreach collateral
• Design and implement targeted/automated marketing and social media campaigns
• Manage the production of our twice-monthly newsletter “LINKS,” which is sent to an audience of over 3,700 civic professionals
• Administration of CMS (e.g., Wordpress), including updating web content
• Maintain our CRM (e.g., ZoHo) and help manage relationships with clients, partners and our community
• Set up and analyze marketing metrics
• Support event production, including Eventbrite setup, promotion, and coordination

ENGAGEMENT

• Co-create outreach and engagement plans
• Manage digital engagement tools (EngagementHQ, publicinput.com, etc.), including content development, community management, and reporting
• Assist with the design, coordination, and facilitation of workshops and events (e.g., ideation sessions, pop-up workshops, hackathons, unconferences, etc.)
• Assist with stakeholder interviews and focus groups, including coordination and notetaking
• Synthesize and summarize findings from community engagement efforts
• Write and produce reports

THE BARE MINIMUM

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
• At least 1 year of relevant experience in communications and/or engagement
• Excellent written communication skills, including proofreading written content, editing for web-style and translating complex information into accessible content
• Excellent people skills, such as greeting people at events, facilitating groups, and maintaining a professional rapport with clients
• Experience reaching targeted audiences through a variety of online and offline methods
• Experience using email marketing systems, preferably Mailchimp
• Experience using event promotion tools, preferably Eventbrite
• Familiarity and expertise with social media, both creating and sharing content
• At least some experience using content management systems (CMS), preferably Wordpress with Visual Composer
• At least some experience using constituent relationship management systems (CRM), preferably Zoho CRM 
• Adept at synthesizing large amounts of qualitative information into key themes
• At least some experience coordinating meetings and events 

PREFERRED

• Experience conducting user research & stakeholder interviews
• Experience facilitating small group discussions and interactive workshops
• Basic level of comfort speaking in public in front of small to medium-sized audiences
• Spanish language fluency (verbal & written)
• Experience working with underserved communities
• Familiarity with human-centered design or design thinking
• Experience with Google Analytics and basic web analytics reporting 
• Basic graphic design skills using Adobe Creative Suite or similar
• Experience launching community initiatives (e.g. managing an online forum, launching an ambassador program, creating an event series, writing an email newsletter)

IN ADDITION...

• You are passionate about civic innovation and community engagement!
• You are an active listener who seeks to understand the unique context of those we serve
• You learn quickly and like to wear multiple hats
• You are self-motivated and skilled at prioritization and time management
• You are located in the Bay Area and able to travel to cities within the region

COMPENSATION 
This is a part time position, $28 - $35 per hour based on experience.  The position will begin as a contract position at 30 - 40 hours per week with the strong potential to grow into a permanent, full-time position after a 6-month performance evaluation and needs assessment.  If converted to full-time after the review period, hourly 1099 wages will be converted to a commensurate salary and employee will become eligible for an annual bonus.  

LOCATION
You will work out of our sunny San Francisco office on the top floor of Impact Hub San Francisco, a co-working space for impact-driven entrepreneurs located in the Mission District, one block from 16th Street BART station. You may also travel to client sites (primarily in the Bay Area & Northern California Megaregion) to support various projects, which may occupy up to 20% of your time for this position.

TO APPLY

1. Click on the "I'm interested!" button.
2. Complete the Personal Information and Experience sections. Please upload a completed resume. Applications without an uploaded resume will not be considered.
3. PROTIP: Uploading a resume will auto-fill some of the fields, but be sure to review this information before submitting. Also, if you see any fields highlighted in red (including Education), it means you will need to manually add information.
4. Click next, then upload a cover letter. Applications without an uploaded cover letter will not be considered.
5. Click submit, and you're done! 

We plan to review applications the week of September 2, and schedule initial interviews the week of September 9.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY & COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
CivicMakers is committed to building a culture that reflects our values of inclusion and equity. We actively encourage women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, ethnic minorities and others from diverse backgrounds of all types to apply. Reasonable accommodations will be made for candidates with disabilities.

EEO GUIDELINES
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.