Latinx Engagement Coordinator Resource Assistant

Please respond by July 4, 2021

The Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS) will be advertising for a Latinx Outreach Program Coordinator Resource Assistant (RA). This is a 9.5-month full-time work experience from approximately July 2021 to May 2022. Created in 1984, and modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s, NYC is a non-profit job training and experiential education program for youth and young adults to learn and work in the field of natural resource management. NYC will recruit and hire the selected RA candidate providing personnel and Human Resources HR needs during the placement.

Target start date: July 2021

Duration: 1600 hours (approximately 9.5 months)

Status: Full time. Evenings and weekends regularly required.

Duty Location: U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Regional Office, Portland, Oregon. Work will take place in a 100% telework capacity. 

Staff Area: Office of Communications and Community Engagement.

Overview: The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region seeks a bilingual or multilingual resource assistant to work in the Office of Communications and Community Engagement in Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region manages 24.75 million acres across 16 National Forests, 59 District Offices, a National Scenic Area, and a National Grassland across Oregon and Washington. Within the region, there are more than 2,400 developed recreation sites, over 24,000 miles of trails, 51 Wild and Scenic Rivers, and two national monuments. Through culturally relevant partnerships, engagement, and communication, the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region builds connections with rural and urban communities to help sustain the health, diversity and productivity of these lands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Position Description: The Resource Assistant Program is a rigorous and immersive paid internship for individuals interested in Forest Service careers. Resource Assistants (RAs) work with Forest Service staff to complete 2 mission-critical work that demonstrates leadership, critical thinking, and strategic communication. Through direct training, experience, and exposure, RAs gain the tools to launch their natural and cultural resource careers.

Through a partnership with Northwest Youth Corps, the selected Resource Assistant will support the Pacific Northwest Regional Office of the U.S. Forest Service in conducting culturally and linguistically relevant outreach with Latinx community members across urban and rural settings. Ever the more critical in a COVID environment, these efforts will focus on conveying information in Spanish and in English through contemporary engagement practices that promote public involvement and awareness of Forest Service functions; enhance public safety and health in relation to wildfire; convey opportunities associated with employment, special uses, and special forest products; and increase public knowledge of natural resource and land management topics. This is an immersive professional internship that requires a skillful and confident applicant who can manage a portfolio of work with the support of permanent staff. This position would offer an estimated near GS-5/7 qualifications.

 • Explaining complex, scientific or technical processes and giving public presentations on various technology platforms and media interviews in fluent Spanish and English.

• Developing and strengthening partnerships with Latinx organizations and community groups primarily serve underrepresented populations.

• Attend virtual Latinx community events as a Forest Service and Northwest Youth Corps representative to strengthen agency presence and connection with Latino communities.

• Assist the U.S. Forest Service and Northwest Youth Corps in the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the organizations and within their programs, processes, and approaches. Provide input from observations and community feedback on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.

• Assist in creating an internal, safe and inclusive community for resource assistants and new employees.

• Work with local forest units – such as the Mt. Hood and Gifford Pinchot National Forests and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area – to coordinate potential partnerships, sustain relationships with communities, and to develop programs to reach those communities.

• Assist in the development of materials, digital media and communications products in Spanish for local Latinx communities, including news releases, stories, and handouts.

• Serve as agency spokesperson for radio and print interviews for Spanish media outlets.

• Assist in narration and video production promoting Forest Service programs and opportunities. 

• Work on the construction of crucial agency agreements with partner organizations to accomplish important work in national forests. Such work may also include liaising with current and potential partners to facilitate relationship growth and the development of the agreement instruments.

• Assist in the development of strong record-retention processes and utilize cloud and hard-copy systems to improve file management and sharing.

• Assist in the writing, editing and development of agency contracts in order to learn about the federal contracting process and facilitate the completion of critical regional communications and public service work.

• Contribute to departmental database management and upkeep, ensuring strong internal and external communication streams.

• Verbal and written fluency in the Spanish and English languages. Preference for native speakers.

• The ability to work through and process emotionally challenging dialogues and experiences with community members and strike a balance between high performance and self-care.

• Must be able to work during evenings and weekends in a community-based setting with some regularity and maintain a flexible schedule. This work is often done alone and occasionally is done with other Resource Assistants or permanent staff. Position is not eligible for overtime, but excess hours can be flexed within pay period. Excess hours are not encouraged.

• Successful completion of a background check.

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents over 19 years old.

• A total stipend of $24,600 divided evenly across a 40-week term

• Health care coverage, workers compensation, and FICA/Medicare.

• $1,275 in funding for relocation, travel expenses (including public transit reimbursements), and work-related training and professional development opportunities

• A minimum of 62 hours of paid time off

• RA will have special United States Forest Service Direct Hire Authority upon completion of a minimum of 960 hours of service

The city of Portland is located in northwestern Oregon, bordering Vancouver, Washington. The major highways intersecting the city are I-5, I-84, I-205 and US-26. The population of the City Portland exceeds 500, 000, and more than 2 million people live in the Portland metro area. Additionally, there are many large suburban communities. Portland is a full-service community with various and numerous businesses, banking, restaurants, coffee shops, denominations of churches, health care and educational facilities. The downtown area is complete with an open-air plaza and offers a world-class public transportation system. Commuting is easy, whether it be by public transportation system, car or bike.

Portland is one of the country’s most livable cities. It is known as the "Rose City" and world-renowned for its annual Rose Festival. Portland is recognized for its effervescent arts community and for the dozens of urban parks and green spaces. The city is divided between the east and the west by the Willamette River, and divided from the state of Washington by the Columbia River. Within a few minutes’ drive of metropolitan downtown Portland are farms and orchards, kayak-friendly waterways, wildlife preserves and the foothills of Mount Hood. The breath-taking Oregon Coast is less than two hours away. Portland is the main hub for various outdoor activities including biking, running, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, mountaineering, river rafting, water and snow skiing, wind and kite sailing and much more. Portland’s professional sports teams include the Trail Blazer basketball team, the Thorns women’s soccer team, and the Timbers men’s soccer team.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Application Deadline: July, 2021

Interviews: Will occur as qualified applications are received.

Type of position: Individual Placement

Service Dates:  July 2021 to May 2022

Length of Term: 1600 hours (approximately 9.5 months)

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three professional references and completely fill out the application form found by clicking on the green "Apply Externally" button.

Please select "Regional Office - Latinx Engagement Coordinator Resource Assistant" when applying.

If you have questions about the position, please reach Northwest Youth Corps Internship Program Officer Andrew Tagge at andrewt@nwyouthcorps.org or USFS Region 6 Regional Community Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator Shandra Terry at shandra.terry@usda.gov.

We have developed and facilitated industry leading COVID management protocols that are in place to keep our members and staff healthy, and have maintained an excellent safety record. Read our COVID protocols by visiting www.nwyouthcorps.org/m/covid19

Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the Forest Service, summed up the mission of the Forest Service: "to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run."

We are a multi-faceted agency that manages and protects 154 national forests and 20 grasslands in 43 states and Puerto Rico. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. We have an elite wildland firefighting team and the world’s largest forestry research organization. Our experts provide technical and financial help to state and local government agencies, businesses, private landowners and work government-to-government with tribes to help protect and manage non-federal forest and associated range and watershed lands. We augment our work through partnerships with public and private agencies that help us plant trees, improve trails, educate the public, and improve conditions in wildland/urban interfaces and rural areas, just to name a few. Our team also promotes sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation internationally.