Root & Rebound Seeks a Communications AmeriCorps VISTA Member

We are excited to bring on an AmeriCorps VISTA member to expand and diversify our communications efforts!

ABOUT ROOT & REBOUND:

Root & Rebound is a national reentry and advocacy organization that addresses racial, economic, and social inequities within the criminal justice system and the reentry process by restoring and protecting rights, dignity, and opportunities for people directly impacted by the criminal justice system. Our mission is to support people navigating reentry and reduce the harms perpetuated by mass incarceration. We are headquartered in Oakland, California with satellite offices in Fresno, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Greenville, South Carolina. 

Our model is three-pronged:

• Educate: Root & Rebound democratizes the law so that it serves, and ceases to harm, people directly impacted by mass incarceration. We create legal guides, toolkits, online materials, and self help tools not only for people directly impacted but for the infrastructure of agencies that can better support them.
• Advocate: Root & Rebound advocates for the protection and restoration of rights of people with records and past court-involvement, so that they can access basic needs including employment, housing, and family reunification through the only free Reentry Legal Hotline in the nation, statewide clinics, and court representation. 
• Reform: Root & Rebound works to eliminate barriers to reentry, while amplifying the voices of people in reentry, by grounding our policy advocacy work in engaging a feedback loop of information and thought partnership from our clients to policymakers. 

The Communications VISTA will play a major support role with the communications and marketing strategy of the organization. They will also assist in development and fundraising efforts by completing outreach tasks, creating social media content, email marketing campaigns and event planning and coordination. This position is ideal for someone who is creative, detail-oriented, persistent in the face of roadblocks and eager to support systems-impacted individuals gain access to reentry support. Those who wish to pursue careers in the legal field and/or the nonprofit sector would be a great fit for this position.

Commitment: This is a 1-year, full-time commitment starting June 5, 2023; working Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST; 40 hours per week, with occasional evenings/weekends. This start date is not flexible, in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA protocols, and will be onboarded in a cohort model with four other AmeriCorps VISTA members

Location: This position is based out of Oakland, CA headquarters. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our staff are currently working in a hybrid environment. This position will be onboarded remotely, with opportunities to meet in-person with team members once it is safe to do so.

Responsibilities & Duties:

Under the supervision of the Development & Communications Coordinator, responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Identify and execute unique ways to engage community members and donors to increase individual giving, donor retention and giving levels through social media materials and newsletter updates;
• Assist with organization’s marketing and communications strategy;
• Develop an annual social media calendar that schedules, tracks and posts relevant and inspiring social media content to drive fundraising;
• Draft newsletters;
• Support on-line event and webinar programming with outreach flyers and day of tech support; 
• Support website updates and maintenance;
• Support individual giving, which entails special events and campaigns such as the annual end-of-year campaign, video and social media fundraising campaigns, and other fundraising events;
• Develop social media graphic templates;

Qualifications:

• Desire to work with people in reentry and on reentry and criminal justice issues in a dynamic and diverse team environment. 
• Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and criminal justice.
• Proficiency in Google products (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Google Drive).
• Familiarity with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media outlets.
• Curiosity and a genuine interest to learn and utilize new software products such as Asana, Hootsuite, and a our internal CRM (Customer Relationship Management system)
• Comfort and excitement speaking with unknown organizations and clients.
• Strong organizational skills when researching and gathering information for clear, consistent, effective, and efficient relationship building. 
• Excellent time-management and communication skills (written & verbal).
• Ability to balance and prioritize multiple projects in a dynamic – and hybrid – environment. 
• Ability to incorporate clear direction, feedback and supervision. 
•  Excited to create  structures and processes around new tasks or projects that have not been done before. 
• Willingness to travel within the region, once safe and with COVID protocols
• A.A., B.A. or B.S. preferred.

Compensation: This position is paid through AmeriCorps. It is an AmeriCorps VISTA opportunity to spend one year serving full-time to make a difference. For a full list of the benefits of service go to https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/vista/benefits

Benefits: For a full list of the benefits of service go to https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/vista/benefits

Professional Level: Entry level

How to Apply: 

To apply for this role, please complete the AmeriCorps VISTA application on the AmeriCorps website: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=118219. Candidates will be contacted for interviews on a rolling basis. No phone calls please.

Root & Rebound is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals including formerly incarcerated and/or system-involved individuals, people of color, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender variant individuals.