Community Outreach Intern

Job Description

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD

The Campaign Finance Board is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to have a greater impact on their elections. Our mission is to make local democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by removing barriers to participation.

We make it easier for New Yorkers to vote, meaningfully support candidates for city office, and run for office themselves. NYC Votes, our voter engagement initiative, meets people where they are to share trustworthy election information and help New Yorkers make a plan to vote. We publish the citywide Voter Guide, which delivers information about candidates directly to voters’ doors. Our public matching funds program ensures small contributions can make a big difference, allowing regular people to run for office by relying on the support of other regular people, not just wealthy donors and special interests. And we lift the veil on how candidates raise and spend money, increasing transparency and accountability in local government.

We believe that when every New Yorker is empowered to participate meaningfully in elections, candidates will better reflect the communities they serve, elected leaders will be more accountable to the public, and New Yorkers will have a democracy they can truly trust.

ABOUT THE UNIT

Public Affairs Division

The Public Affairs division engages New Yorkers, informs them about elections, and boosts their participation in the democratic process. We make election information accessible and relevant, increase engagement with underrepresented communities, and cultivate a team that reflects our core values of purpose, curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.

The division includes Marketing and Digital Communications, Community Engagement, Language Access, and Public Relations. Our division’s work includes publishing the citywide Voter Guide, running the official citywide Debates Program, and managing the voter engagement initiative, NYC Votes.

Community Engagement Unit

The Community Engagement unit works to build partnerships across the city to disseminate voting information, deliver accessible voter education, and conduct direct to voter outreach. Through relationships with community-based organizations as well as on-the-ground voter outreach, this team creates pathways for all New Yorkers to gain trustworthy and accessible information and education around voting and democracy.

JOB DESCRIPTION

NYC Votes aims to increase civic participation among New Yorkers through Community Education and Outreach efforts, with a particular focus on reaching priority audiences, including voters under 30, voters with disabilities, voters impacted by the criminal legal system, and voters who speak languages other than English.

Although we're seeking three interns to join the Partnerships & Outreach team, this posting is focused on our one Community Outreach Intern. One Community Outreach Intern will report to the Senior Outreach Manager and support outreach efforts in low-turnout neighborhoods across New York City, with a focus on engaging communities that speak languages other than English (LOTE). This intern will support the research, preparation, implementation, and evaluation of outreach events; contribute creative outreach tactics, and lead strategy development for maximizing our impact and reach in priority communities. The interns will also support the Partnerships and Outreach team in building and maintaining strong internal systems to organize and track partnership development. This includes maintaining team databases, documenting outreach efforts, and supporting data entry.

The responsibilities and tasks to be completed in this role include, but are not limited to:

- Supporting the team’s efforts to build relationships with key stakeholders, such as City-agencies, CBOs, schools, and college campuses, to increase voter turnout. The Community Outreach intern will be expected to travel independently to deliver NYC Votes civic engagement curriculum to priority audiences.

- Understanding, tracking, and meeting community needs through the provision of resources and materials, education delivery, event execution, among other engagement and education approaches.

- Identify organizations that work in our priority neighborhoods and/or serve one or more of our priority communities, including voters under 30, voters with disabilities, and systems-impacted voters.

- Research legislation and public policy relevant to our priority communities; compile this research and present at the end of summer.

- Support the development and delivery of outreach programming for priority audiences, including voters under 30, voters with disabilities, voters who speak languages other than English, and voters impacted by the criminal legal system.

- Work with staff to design and implement a capstone project, a signature outreach event tailored to a high-need priority neighborhood, incorporating community input and creative civic engagement tactics.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES & OTHER BEHAVIORS (KSAOs)

We're seeking individuals eager to make an impact, even if they don't tick every box on our job description. We believe in the power of diverse perspectives and the unique blend of lived experiences, non-traditional education pathways, practical know-how, and a variety of skills and abilities that each candidate brings to the table. If you're ready to learn and grow with us, we encourage you to apply and be part of our dynamic team.

Knowledge

- Major in relevant field such as: Political Science, Community Organizing, English, Journalism, Ethnic or Cultural Studies, Social Work, Public Administration, etc.

- Understanding or experience with New York City institutions such as libraries, public schools, criminal legal system, etc.

- Interest in New York City politics and/or social justice.

Skills

- Strong organization skills and attention to detail.

- Proficiency with Microsoft Suite.

- Strong written and oral communication skills.

- Strong active listening skills and ability to respond in real time to the concerns and needs of the public.

Abilities

- Willingness to ask questions and learn on the job.

- Experience with public speaking and community education.

- Strong facilitation skills, as this intern will be responsible for independently leading workshops and trainings for New Yorkers.

Other Characteristics

- Adaptable and effective collaborator.

- Ability to learn through receiving and implementing feedback.

- Willingness to engage in conversation that challenge assumptions and pre-conceived notions of different groups in a way that leads toward culturally competent approach.

- Ability to work evenings and/or weekends, as needed.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

While completing the application, candidates are invited to provide a cover letter via “attachment” or the “Message to the Hiring Team” field on SmartRecruiters.

Please indicate in your cover letter if you’re interested in the community outreach position or the community education position.

COLLEGE AIDE (ALL CITY DEPTS) - 10209

Qualifications

For Assignment Level I:
Matriculation at an accredited college or graduate school. Employment is conditioned upon continuance as a student in a college or graduate school.
For Assignment Level II (Information Technology):
Matriculation at an accredited college or graduate school. Employment is conditioned upon continuance as a student in a college or graduate school with a specific course of study in information technology, computer science, management information systems, data processing, or closely related field, including or supplemented by 9 semester credits in an acceptable course of study.
For Assignment Level III (Information Technology Fellow):
Matriculation at an accredited college or graduate school. Employment is conditioned upon continuance as a student in a college or graduate school with a specific course of study in information technology, computer science, management information systems, data processing, or other area relevant to the information technology project(s) assigned, including or supplemented by 9 semester credits in an acceptable course of study. Appointments to this Assignment Level will be made by the Technology Steering Committee through the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

SPECIAL NOTE
Maximum tenure for all Assignment Levels in the title of College Aide is 6 years. No student shall be employed more than half-time in any week in which classes in which the student is enrolled are in session. Students may be employed full-time during their vacation periods.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.