The Neighborhood Developers (TND) is hiring a one-year, full-time, hybrid Community Building Program Integration & Volunteerism VISTA to help increase our capacity to link members of our community, many of whom are immigrants with low incomes, to all the incredible activities, programs, and services TND and its partners provide. Do you care deeply about immigrant gateway communities? Do you believe in the power of being in community with your neighbors? Do you agree that TND’s programs can make a real difference? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this position could be for you!

Overview

TND is a non-profit community development organization with a mission to create strong neighborhoods enabling community members to secure a stable home, achieve economic mobility, and determine their own future. We build affordable homes, support households to achieve greater financial mobility, and organize community leaders on issues related to neighborhood conditions as well as social and housing justice. TND’s headquarters is in Chelsea, where it has operated since 1978. The organization was invited into Revere in 2010, and since 2018, we are also offering some of our services in Everett. For more information see www.theneighborhooddevelopers.org.

Our Community Building team creates opportunities that build person-to-person and people-to-place relationships, focuses on developing the skill and will of residents to take on leadership roles at TND and in our communities, and encourages civic engagement and activism to promote approaches and policies that stop displacement and preserve economic, social, ethnic, and racial diversity. You can find a great graphic representation of our approach here.

During the service year as the Community Building Program Integration VISTA, starting in November 2024, you will have the unique opportunity to develop better methods to link community members to services that help increase economic mobility and to events that build social capital. Such efforts could help our neighbors afford to remain in our communities and avoid displacement.

Duties and Responsibilities

Research, pilot, and refine practices for volunteer recruitment
Research, pilot, and refine practices for connecting community members to internal and external economic mobility services, opportunities for board service, and events that build social capital and community connections.
Work with Department Heads, community members, and Data & Learning team to design systems that better enable these linkages and ensure sustainability and increased capacity.
Recruit and train volunteers to support community-building programming like block parties, cultural festivals, and trainings that aim to empower residents to create positive change in their community.

Please note this is a VISTA member position, not a staff position. The Community Building Program Integration VISTA member will be supervised by the Community Building Director and will work closely with the other Community Building staff. The VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program provides full-time volunteers to nonprofit, faith-based and other community organizations to create and expand programs that bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty. The VISTA program offers a living allowance, an education award or cash stipend, health insurance, and week-long training in a U.S. city. In Suffolk County (where TND is located), service members receive a bi-weekly living allowance of $1320.06 and are eligible for an education award at the end of their year of service. The education award was $7,395.00 for full year members in FY24 (subject to change). You can find more information about the AmeriCorps VISTA program here.

Qualifications

Required:

College degree or relevant work history.
At least 18 years of age.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
A commitment to TND’s mission.

Desired:

Experience working in a diverse multi-cultural community.
Relevant experience in community building.
Bilingual English-Spanish (and/or English-Khmer, English-Arabic or English-Portuguese).

To Apply

Please email a resume and cover letter to VISTAVolunteer@tndinc.org and list “Community Building Program Integration VISTA” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

TND is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring and it is important to us to bring members onto our team who are passionate about our mission and reflect the BIPOC, immigrant, and linguistic backgrounds of the communities we serve.

Summary

Overview