I'm on the board of this new social change organization/foundation,
along with an amazing group of community activists, and Ed Whitfield is
the Executive Director...Please help spread the word to folks who might
be interested in this position.
-Isabell
www.f4dc.orgFund for Democratic Communities
OPEN POSITION: Coordinator
Who We Are: The Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC), a Greensboro,
North Carolina based private operating foundation, supports
community-based initiatives and institutions that foster authentic
democracy to make communities better places to live. F4DC makes grants,
provides direct technical assistance, conducts research, and produces
materials to facilitate this agenda.
In its first year of operation, F4DC is governed by a diverse board of
community activists, artists, labor leaders, researchers and educators.
We are on the verge of moving into new offices at The HIVE (a collective
community space on Grove Street), and we are ready to expand our staff.
We have an Executive Director, and we are now seeking to fill the
position of Coordinator, who will work closely with the Executive
Director and the board to move F4DC into the next phase of its
development. This includes helping to launch our first grant cycle and
coordinating the hiring of one to three additional positions.
If you are an experienced community-based organizer with strong
administrative skills and a democratic focus, we want to hear from you!
General Definition: The Coordinator will perform duties and
responsibilities for the F4DC alongside and under the direction of the
Executive Director. The Coordinator will manage the office and assure
the effective completion of administrative duties (including the
maintenance of all files and materials). In addition, the Coordinator
will work with the Executive Director to communicate with the public;
hire and supervise staff, interns and volunteers; organize Board and
grant meetings; organize grant procedures, workshops, and other events;
and do community-based organizing or research focused on building
authentic grassroots democracy.
Term: This is currently a half-time position (20 hours per week).
Compensation: The salary and benefits will be established by the F4DC
board based on the qualifications of the successful candidate, F4DC
guiding principles, and F4DC?s guidelines for hiring, compensation, and
support. Salary for this halftime position will range between $22,500
and $30,000 per year, plus health benefits.
Specific Duties and responsibilities:
1. Provides or ensures that staff support is provided to F4DC, including
greeting and assisting visitors, handling phone calls and inquiries,
scheduling and maintaining calendars and travel arrangements, screening,
analyzing, and preparing responses to incoming correspondence, handling
day-to-day public relations and problem solving, and provision of
transcription and word processing support as needed.
2. Coordinates and ensures the smooth operation of F4DCs grant cycles
including requests for proposals, information sessions, workshops,
proposal evaluations, notification of awards, evaluation, etc.
3. Prepares reports on financial activities and status of budget.
4. Performs research and analysis in F4DC?s focus areas, and
independently prepares non-routine correspondence, reports, etc.
5. Evaluates institutional functioning routinely for democratic
practice, makes recommendations for democratic practice, and enhances
democratic practice in concrete and abstract ways.
6. Engages in deliberate and experimental measures to include diverse
people in activities, decision making and leadership, especially youth
and people who are usually kept to the margins
7. Actively seeks to engage the full Board in F4DC?s processes,
activities, and decisions
8. Serves as a primary point of contact and liaison with F4DCs committees
9. Serves as a primary point of direct administrative contact and
liaison with individuals and institutions on a range of specified issues
10. Coordinates/supervises apprentices, interns and volunteers as well
as any other temporary support personnel
11. Assists in the coordination, supervision, and completion of special
community-based projects, as appropriate.
12. Maintains administrative and archival files for F4DC
Knowledge, skills and abilities:
1. Possess an ethic of caring for community and enhancement of community
2. Strong and dynamic belief set in democratic principles and practice
3. Strong critical thinking and decision making skills
4. Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work
effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community
5. Organizing and coordinating skills
6. Ability to make administrative and procedural decisions and judgments
on issues related to democratic functioning and procedures
7. Skill in budget preparation and fiscal management
8. Ability to plan, develop, and coordinate multiple projects
9. Skill in examining operations and procedures, formulating policy, and
developing and implementing new strategies and procedures
10. Conflict resolution and/or mediation skills, and the ability to
direct discord toward better understanding, dialogue, shared
understanding, and collective action and harmony.
11. Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports.
12. Knowledge of office management principles and procedures.
13. Skills in the use of database management, word processing,
spreadsheet, and presentation software.
14. Knowledge of general accounting principles.
15. Ability to analyze and solve problems.
16. Ability to tap into diverse resources of communities, and to draw on
the strengths of all people living in the community
Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must have a combination of
education, training, and/or experience that has given them a broad set
of skills in office management, project management, and community-based
organizing. The applicant must have managed or been an integral part of
at least one project that employed participatory action research or
grassroots democratic methods as a key component of the project. There
must be a demonstrated commitment to the values and purpose of the Fund
for Democratic Communities. Applicants must also demonstrate successful
work experience of at least two years? duration (as an employee or
volunteer) in one or more of F4DC?s focus areas (education, recreation,
arts, housing, community health and safety, justice, relationships
between communities, humans? relationship with the natural environment,
or sustainable economic development).
How to Apply: Submit a current resume or vita, along with a cover letter
to
jobs@f4dc.org. Your cover letter or resume must list names and
contact information for at least three references. At least one of your
references must be a recent or current employer.
Deadline for submissions is midnight, Eastern Time, on December 30th, 2007.
For more information about the Fund for Democratic Communities, visit
www.f4dc.org, or contact Ed Whitfield at 336 207-9884
