Community Liaison

Community Liaison

• Start Date: ASAP
• Status: Full-time; exempt
• Compensation: $60,000 – $65,000 commensurate with experience
• Benefits: Generous PTO package; bonus policy, monthly wellness stipend, mileage, lodging, and meal reimbursement/per diem for travel
• Location: Fully remote with extensive travel throughout Oregon, Northern California, and southern Washington required. Candidates must be based in Oregon or southern Washington. Kelley NPC is headquartered in SE Portland, OR. Preference given to candidates who reside in a rural area.

About the Organization

Kelley Nonprofit Consulting (Kelley NPC) works with public and private grantmaking foundations, philanthropic organizations, public agencies, community nonprofits, municipal funding programs, sovereign Tribal entities, statewide and regional nonprofits, and more to help them dream and achieve their big, bold visions.

Since 2006, Kelley NPC has worked alongside clients to tackle tough obstacles, realize new opportunities, and together build stronger organizations. Taking a servant leadership style approach, Kelley NPC’s team of ten, based throughout the state, is happiest working behind the scenes ensuring the spotlight is on the work of Kelley NPC’s 25+ ongoing clients and the communities they serve.

From helping nonprofits grow, diversify and manage earned and unearned revenue, to launching creative nonprofit partnerships to bring federal and state resources to Oregon’s rural communities; and from helping larger philanthropic clients implement new strategic funding opportunities, to providing much-needed capacity as smaller family foundations explore a new approach or field; Kelley NPC serves as an amplifier and translator of sorts – helping resource providers and resource seekers align their efforts for the greatest good.

A COBID-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise, Kelley NPC works with many culturally specific organizations and upholds values of equity and justice as a non-negotiable part of the organization and its work. The missions of Kelley NPC’s clients are also diverse and range from mental health to performing arts, and from workforce development to youth mentoring, and almost everything in between (economic development, environmental, animal welfare, civil liberties, and more).

Position Summary

Our team continues to grow! With many new projects and clients, Kelley NPC seeks a full-time Community Liaison to join its expanding, thriving company. We are a hard-working team with a fun, fast-paced and often heavy - but extremely rewarding - workload.

We would love to expand our team with a member who lives in a rural community and/or has Spanish language skills.

This new position will focus on outreach and community development with rural communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. The position will serve as a liaison between community-based staff, local partners, policy experts, and policy strategists. The successful candidate will be required to travel to lead community listening sessions and facilitate focus groups, among other in-person activities. The candidate should be comfortable working with a diverse group of people and opinions. We are looking for an outgoing individual with passion and talent to oversee large scale planning for public and private partnerships.

Non-travel time will be spent supporting research, community development, strategic planning, and other initiatives. This position will work closely with Kelley NPC’s owner and director-level staff to identify needs, opportunities, and tasks related to community development and other projects.

While this position will report to and work directly under Kelley NPC’s Owner, the Community Liaison will be expected to work independently a majority of the time, while maintaining availability and responsiveness during regular business hours (9am to 5pm PST) when not actively traveling. As with all Kelley NPC positions, this role offers an opportunity for intensive professional growth.

We take care of our clients, we take care of our team, and together we set the standard for consultant work.

Essential Duties

Direct work with communities throughout the Pacific Northwest (50%)

• Build and maintain productive, respectful, and trust-based relationships with community-based staff, community partners and community members, many of whom will reside in rural areas.
• Lead and facilitate community meetings and listening sessions.
• Research and host focus groups and other in person meetings in a wide range of settings, including rural areas.
• Research and utilize appropriate locations in specific communities to advertise community meetings so we can ensure strong response and participation.

Strategic Planning Duties (50%)

• Lead development and implementation of strategic plans that prioritizes meaningful relationships with community partners.
• Develop strategies in response to changing community needs and priorities.
• When asked, help inform policy development and advocacy at local, state, and national levels.
• Develop functional knowledge of state and federal policies and policy proposals related to community development and resilience, with a focus on policies supporting rural areas.
• Support the Kelley NPC team by performing research related to a variety of diverse projects.
• Attend professional development opportunities and trainings as necessary.
• Maintain confidential and sensitive information of clients and partners.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Must reside in Oregon.
• Demonstrated success in working with rural and diverse communities.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to work with a wide variety of individuals and organizations, from local communities to federal agencies, and sovereign Tribal Nations to elected officials.
• Ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong research and analysis skills.
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and presentation skills.
• Advanced computer and technological skills - tech literate in a variety of platforms including MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe; e-mail applications, Google Suite, web conferencing systems Zoom and web-based applications.
• Ability to synthesize complex issues into easily digestible material.
• Flexible schedule and the ability to travel throughout Oregon, Northern California, and SW Washington.
• Ability to maintain composure under pressure.
• Outstanding organizational and planning abilities.
• Excellent people skills – warmth, empathy and a desire to genuinely listen to a diverse range of opinions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Resident of a rural community.
• Spanish language skills.
• Ability to identify and use resources creatively and proactively.
• Strong project management and implementation experience is a plus.
• Track record working successfully in teams representing a rich mix of talent, backgrounds, and perspectives (i.e., gender identity, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic background).

The ideal candidate will have:

• A willingness to learn.
• A genuine kindness.
• Comfort with ambiguity, flexibility and adapting to shifting priorities and plans.
• The ability to remain accountable, honest, and transparent.
• A dedication to maintaining Kelley NPC’s high standards.

Commitment to Diversity

As an equal opportunity employer committed to meeting the needs of a multigenerational and multicultural workforce, Kelley NPC recognizes that a team of diverse staff and contractors is an integral and welcome part of a successful and ethical business. We hire employees and work with contractors regardless of race, color, religion, age, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, and actively foster inclusion in all forms both within our company and across interactions with clients, contractors, peer agencies, resource providers and partners.

So, what are we actually doing about it? For our hiring, we have removed all higher education requirements and, as always, are valuing work experience and skills; asking for candidates to apply using initials only so our first screening is unbiased; and proactively marketing the position through culturally specific partners and via community-based publications.

To apply:

Please complete this form and use your first name initial and last name initial only (do not include full name). Through this form, please also submit:

1. A resume or equivalent that details work, volunteer, and community work history (saved as a PDF).
2. A cover letter (saved as a PDF).

Access the form through this link: https://podio.com/webforms/28136372/2221664

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after this position has been posted. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply immediately. Only candidates who apply using the link will be considered.