Pillsbury United Communities - Waite House
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Employment and Adult Education Assistant
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Position: AmeriCorps Member
Program: Community Technology Empowerment Project
Partner Agency: Pillsbury United Communities, Waite House Center
Location(s): 2529 13th Av S, Minneapolis, MN
Name of Site Supervisor and Title: John Richard, Adult Education and Employment Coordinator
CTEP Program Description:
The AmeriCorps Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) bridges the “digital divide” for new Immigrants and low-income communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Join AmeriCorps CTEP and help make the information age accessible to all. CTEP is a project of Saint Paul Neighborhood Network.
Site History and Mission
Waite House is a neighborhood center of Pillsbury United Communities (PUC.) PUC is a century old social service provider, established to address the root causes of poverty in Minneapolis. PUC’s mission is creating change, choice and connection. Waite House is in the Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Phillips is one of the lowest income communities in the state of Minnesota, and one of the most of culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse communities in the country.
Waite House has developed a Community Technology Center (CTC), used by the community for job search purposes, homework, and access to the Internet. Activity in these CTCs is often linked with other PUC programs, such as Employment and Housing Assistance. The CTC is dedicated to teaching participants 21st Century technical skills, with an emphasis on skills leading to economic self-sufficiency, employment and career advancement. Waite House’s CTCs are equipped with assistive technology software and peripherals, making them assessable to users with a wide variety of abilities.
Staff, volunteers and AmeriCorps members from Waite House have taken a leadership role in addressing Digital Divide issues locally. Waite House was one of the original founders of the Technology Literacy Collaborative. Past CTEP workers have assisted in projects to promote computer access and education to people from groups with lower rates of Digital Inclusion, such as our LapTops for Learning project and computer classes for the Latina Women’s Leadership Group.
Preferred Site Schedule for Member
Mondays through Thursdays, Fridays, 9 - 4; occasional evenings or weekend hours may be required. Hours are semi-flexible with arrangement of site supervisor.
In addition, members attend professional development days with their fellow CTEP members to enhance service-readiness skills, personal attributes at the service site, and citizenship skills. These Corps days take place twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Fridays from 9 AM to 4 PM, and these trainings are mandatory. Members also attend statewide AmeriCorps events, such as the Martin Luther King Day celebration, and/or serve on the statewide InterCorps Council.
Essential Functions:
- Assist users in Community Technology Center
- Assist adult job search participants learning skills such as resume development, Internet job search etc. Typical participants are low income with minimal computer skills; approximately half use Spanish as their primary language.
- Assist with tracking follow-ups for successful job participants.
- Assist with Work Readiness Certificate Program.
- Teach small groups and workshops.
- Assist leaders of Mujeres en Liderazgo (Women’s Leadership Group) in identifying technology needs related to community organizing strategies and providing education and access to meet these needs.
- Promote use of assistive technology equipment
- Assist in program outreach, including specific outreach to people living with disabilities
- Participate in Technology Literacy Collaborative efforts
Minimal Functions:
- Attend staff meetings
- Assist with registration for Toys for Tots drive
- Monitor technical performance of CTC, and communicate with Network Provider
Required Qualifications:
- At least 17 years old
- U.S. citizenship, naturalization, or permanent residency
- Ability to travel within the Twin Cities
- High school diploma or GED (or progress toward while serving for special circumstances)
- Basic personal computer skills (word processing, internet, email, etc.)
- Experience working with low-income and/or recent immigrant populations, especially in education or mentoring
- Good English literacy skills
- Capacity to spend long periods of time at a computer
- Ability to move up to 25 pounds
- Ability to work with participants with diverse cultural, educational and economic backgrounds
- Interest in learning about career advancement and the changing labor market conditions
Preferred Qualifications:
(One or more of the following are desired but not required):
- Post-Secondary Education
- Bilingual in Spanish and English
- Experience in volunteer management, or volunteer experience
- Experience in staff training, especially technology
Site Environment:
Waite House is a one story community center in a residential neighborhood of South Minneapolis. It is a heavily used facility; program participants reflect the rich diversity of the Phillips Neighborhood. Member will be required to use standard office equipment. Candidate should enjoy working in a high paced, participant focused environment.
Service Term:
Full-time: 1700 hours. Start Sept 7, 2010; complete by Aug 31, 2011.
Members Receive:
Full-time: A living allowance (approximately $450 bi-weekly), an educational award of $5,350.00 (upon successful completion), health and dental insurance plan including reimbursement of deductible charge, child care (d.o.q) and ongoing training.
How to Apply:
Apply online at https://recruit.cns.gov/ (be sure to enter 06ACHMN0010008-0 as the “Program Listing ID,” or search for the Community Technology Empowerment Project). Contact: Joel Krogstad, joel@technologypower.org, 651.556.1384
We are committed to recruiting and engaging individuals without regard to disability, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Reasonable accommodations will be made upon request. Alternative formats of this document are also available.