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Community Researcher

This job is no longer available

Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Full-time

At United Way of Salt Lake, we care passionately about the success of children. When challenges arise in our schools and communities, we rally and bring people together to transform current systems so our children can reach their greatest potential. 

To make this happen, we need your help! We are looking for passionate members of our community to join our Grassroots Leadership team to ensure that families and community voices can lead the way in transforming our communities. To do this, we engage community members to start conversations on what matters the most to them, and elevate their experiences to impact decision making processes.

Join our Grassroots Leadership team, you will serve as a Community Researcher. This is a paid part-time position. We are looking for community members who are curious and are passionate learners. If you enjoy listening to people’s stories and nurturing deep connections with fellow community members, this opportunity is for you!

Areas of Responsibility: 
  • Learn about the lived-experiences of families in our neighborhoods through your own community-based research project
  • Develop research questions pertaining to topics UWLS Network’s are focusing on, including math, reading, attendance, health, early learning, career and college readiness, and basic needs. 
  • Listen to the community’s experience through a variety of avenues, such as interviews, art projects, focus groups, and others 
  • Transcribe and properly store participant data 
  • Draw connections across stories and experiences collected and present findings 
  • Make phone calls, build relationships, and recruit folks to your research project
  • Keep a log and record your interactions with members of the community
  • Attend partner and community meetings, and help by taking notes, preparing agendas, and participating in discussions
  • Perform public presentations
  • Grow as a person, as a professional, and as a leader in your community
Educational Background: 
High School Diploma
Skills/Experience: 
  • You have a knack to investigate beyond the headlines and a curiosity to dig deeper into their causes
  • You value how precious people’s privacy can be and you uphold their confidentiality
  • You love meeting new people, making them feel at home, and building rich relationships
  • You know the value of paying attention to the little details such as remembering people’s names, and following up with people
  • When you witness a problem in your community, you tend to take the lead and do something about it
  • You are organized, accountable for your work, keep your own calendar, show up on time, and ready to help
  • You actively seek feedback, reflect on your work, and want to develop your craft as a community researcher
  • You have a sense of how privilege and identity constantly impact your work with communities
  • Understanding of the culture and realities of a historically marginalized community in South Salt Lake or Kearns
  • You have experience building relationships with your local community 
  • You have some experience discussing and leading conversations around community-identified issues
  • You can write professional emails, and use computers to log information
  • You make this part-time position a priority for the 8-month duration
Compensation/Benefits: 
  • A paid fellowship at $12 per hour, around 15 hours a week, for 8 months (ends in June 2020)
  • Flexibility in terms of when you work, as long as you maintain 15 hours a week, and are available at times and days of the week when members of the community are available to meet
  • Trainings in participatory action research, meeting facilitation, event planning, deep canvassing, and leadership development
  • Thoughtful and consistent coaching and mentoring
  • Salary: Less than $20,000 per year

Organization Info

United Way Worldwide

Overview
Headquarters: 
Alexandria, VA, United States
Annual Budget : 
$100-500M
Founded: 
1934
About Us
Mission: 

United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. We win by living United. By forging unlikely partnerships. By finding new solutions to old problems. By mobilizing the best resources. And by inspiring individuals to join the fight against their community's most daunting social crises.

Listing Stats

Post Date: 
Nov 8 2019
Active Until: 
Dec 9 2019
Hiring Organization: 
United Way Worldwide
industry: 
Nonprofit