Community Volunteer Ambassador - Cape Cod National Seashore
Program Details:
Stewards Individual Placements provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. The Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) Program combines the strength of a national leader in conservation service with the National Park Service to train a diverse group of emerging leaders to assist park units in building lasting connections to local communities.
Community Volunteer Ambassadors (CVAs) support Volunteer-in-Parks programs at National Park Service sites nationwide. This ranges from National Park, National Monuments, National Battlefields, National Historic Sites, National Recreation Areas, and more. The Community Volunteer Ambassador Program was developed to support NPS sites in connecting with their local communities through service and to provide young adults with a professional development opportunity within the National Park Service. CVAs provide capacity for NPS sites to establish community partnerships, develop new volunteer opportunities, and build volunteer program resources.
Site Information
Cape Cod National Seashore was created in concert with 6 Outer Cape historic towns. These unique communities offer adequate restaurants, stores, grocery stores, theaters, trails, dunes, historic sites and beach access to visitors.
The park's volunteer program currently 11 different programs where volunteers help with the various different divisions of the park. Some examples of these VIP programs are monitoring shorebird nesting, monitoring seal haul-outs, staffing the information desk at the visitor center, and restoring habitat.
Position Summary
Cape Cod National Seashore seeks an intern to fill the position of Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA). The CVA intern will assist the national seashore with developing infrastructure and building volunteer opportunities for youth and volunteer engagement.
The CVA will, with guidance from the direct supervisor, work to accomplish three goals throughout the internship. These goals are: to increase and promote youth volunteerism and engagement in the volunteer program; develop and cohost special community events to promote the park as a resource to underrepresented communities on Cape Cod; and, to assist with administrative functions of the Cape Cod National Seashore Volunteer Program.
Throughout the tenure of the internship, the CVA will work with the supervisor to investigate and establish a service camp for the park. After establishing a service camp, the intern will engage local and distant youth group organizations to advertise and promote service-learning programs that the intern will develop in partnership with the park’s education team.
The intern will also work with the park to develop and host park events for local underrepresented communities. Cape Cod has thriving populations of Jamaican, Portuguese, Native American – Wampanoag, Latinx and many others. The intern will promote park events to these by reaching out to community members and through the parks multiple media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and the park website. The intern should have skills and experience bringing together diverse groups of people, organizations, and stakeholders, including federally recognized tribes and traditionally affiliated indigenous groups, descendant groups, previously marginalized/underserved communities, and formal and informal partnership communities.
Throughout the internship, the intern will receive experience with the administrative aspects of running a volunteer program. These duties could include writing articles for an electronic newsletter, assisting with the record keeping of all the volunteer activities within the park using Microsoft Access, assisting with the coordination of activities for volunteers throughout the winter months, assisting with the coordination of special and recognition events, and participating with division meetings regularly to provide insight, feedback, and progress updates.
Position Responsibilities:
- Increase and promote youth volunteerism and engagement in the park’s volunteer program
- Develop and cohost special community events to promote the park as a resource to underrepresented communities on Cape Cod
- Assist with administrative functions of the Cape Cod National Seashore Volunteer Program for the newly developed volunteer opportunities
CVA Minimum Requirements:
- Ability to effectively communicate through talking and writing
- Organized
- Outgoing, friendly
- Ability to create new points of contact with potential collaborators
- Experience managing large and small groups of people to accomplish goals
- Possesses the ability to identify project milestones and the actions required to accomplish them
- Ability to collaborate and work as a team with National Park Service staff
- Ability to track progress and upkeep records
- Curious and interested in learning new skills
- Participate in the CVA National Early Service Training in early April 2023
- Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
- Be 18-30 years old at time of service (veterans up to 35 years old)
- High School Diploma/GED
- Pass fingerprint-based FBI, state criminal, and a national sex offender checks.
- Be able to provide proof of a driver’s license and complete a MVR check
- Must be over 21 years old or have had license for at least 3 years to be insured in this position
Preferred Qualifications
- Demonstrated excellent public speaking
- Detail oriented
- Experience using Microsoft software (or ability to efficiently learn new software)
- Skills and/or experience bringing together diverse groups of people, organizations, and stakeholders, including federally recognized tribes and traditionally affiliated indigenous groups, descendant groups, previously marginalized/underserved communities, and formal and informal partnership communities.
- Experience developing formal presentations
Benefits:
- CVA will receive a weekly stipend of $500 (additional $65/week, if housing is not provided)
- Limited health care/childcare benefits
- The position is eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award $6,495.00 (pre-tax) upon successful completion of the program
- Professional development funds
- Networking opportunities within the National Park Service and partnering organizations
- Public Land Corps Hiring Authority
- Week-long in-person training at NPS site with travel/meal expenses covered.
Additional Information
The housing unit that would be reserved for the CVA would be a shared housing unit that has heat, is fully furnished with a full-size bed, offers two individual bedrooms, a shared living room, kitchen, and dining room and a shared bathroom. None of the seashore housing units offer utensils, pots, pans, plates, air conditioning, or internet. In the summer there are always (it seems) two to three hot weeks where a fan or window A/C would make the units more comfortable, but the CVA would have to provide that.
Cellphone reception for AT&T and Verizon is reliable at these units; however, the park does not provide any internet for staff. If the CVA would like to have internet installed, they would have to work with Comcast/Xfinity for those arrangements.
The unit the park would lease to the CVA is a short bike ride to the Cape Cod Rail Trail where they can ride the old train line bed with their bike for 27 miles to the south and 3 miles to the north, weaving through historic downtowns of the Outer Cape. They would have easy access, by car or bike, to the Marconi Beach, a wonderful place for swimming and beach lounging. These housing units are a 10–15-minute commute to the Salt Pond Visitor Center where the CVA would have their duty/workstation.
The schedule of the CVA position would have weekends off.
A driver's license and car are preferred for getting to and from work. During work hours the CVA would have access to driving government vehicles.
How to Apply
Please visit Community Volunteer Ambassador (cvainternships.org) to review “Member Positions” by region and find instructions on how to apply.
The CVA position will start on Monday, February 6th, 2023, and run for 50 weeks until Friday, January 19th 2024. Applicants will need to apply here: https://form.jotform.com/StewardsIPP/cva-member-application. Application form requires a resume, cover letter, professional references.
Please ensure your cover letter addresses how your experience aligns with the CVA program, your experience working with diverse populations, and position details for this park/position. You may submit one application for multiple positions by selecting all sites you are interested in.
Applications Deadline
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. First review will occur in early November. Final deadline is Friday, December 9th.
For Application Questions:
Please contact Geoff Elliot, Program Director at gelliot@conservationlegacy.org
Stewards Individual Placements Program does not and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.