Current Job OpportunitiesCommunity Volunteer Ambassador Location: Tucson, AZ
Application Deadline: Sunday, July 7, 2024 Start Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 End Date: Friday, August 8, 2025 Community Volunteer Ambassador Open Positions: Pacific West Region (PWR) | Become a Community Volunteer Ambassador (cvainternships.org) Apply Here: CVA Member Application 2024 (Fall Cohort) (jotform.com) Stewards Individual Placements, a program of Conservation Legacy, 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 communities.
The CVA will play an important role in connecting existing volunteer groups and recruiting new volunteers along the Santa Cruz River and Gila River corridors in southern Arizona. These include several volunteer groups supported by the Anza Trail and volunteers associated with partner sites and organizations that manage recreational trail segments and interpret this historically and ecologically rich corridor. This position will play an important role in bolstering volunteerism ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Anza Expedition. Additionally, the CVA will build off the work of previous staff to assist the volunteer program manager in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Anza Trail volunteer program, which includes a Trails & Rails program that partners with Amtrak to place volunteer guides on the train between Santa Barbara and San Jose, CA. National Heritage Areas along the trail – Santa Cruz River Valley National Heritage Area and Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area – represent a collaborative opportunity to network with other NPS sites and community partners to create a more dynamic and inclusive volunteer corpus. This work would call in established and experienced volunteers and reach out to new volunteers from marginalized and underrepresented groups to create robust trail stewardship focused on tenets of the Anza Trail leadership: creating space for dialogue around colonial heritage through the Anza expedition history, focus on Native communities, and highlighting emergent culture along trail corridor. This work is challenging and requires the CVA to focus on relationship and partnership building, which means being in-person at these places and building on the work of current and previous Anza Trail staff - which includes previous CVA contributions. This as an excellent opportunity to serve as a catalyst for greater volunteer engagement, inter-organizational communication, and community development along the trail in Arizona, and to some extent in southern California. Whether entwined with a city or isolated from civilization, the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail offers adventure, diverse cultural perspectives, multiple narratives, and an opportunity to experience history and landscape by linking the past with the present. The Anza Trail commemorates and interprets the route, complex story, and compelling landscapes of the 1775–1776 Anza Colonizing Expedition from Sonora, Mexico, to current-day San Francisco, California. Working with volunteer trail groups, trail managers strive to develop, maintain, and steward the trail for present and future generations to use and enjoy.
• Support and coordinate an existing volunteer program network in Arizona involving multiple groupsfocusing on diverse and dynamic projects.
• Assist partner groups in recruiting new volunteers with an emphasis on youth and diversity. • In collaboration with Anza Trail partners and friends, identify methods to connect existing volunteer groups through volunteer events, collaborative trainings, or community-based projects. • Assist and support the development of identified capacity-building projects to link existing groups and recruit new volunteers (i.e. support logistics for an Anza Trail specific training, support a youth program that would volunteer at multiple partner sites). • In collaboration with Anza Trail staff, build off the work of previous CVA to engage existing volunteer community in a program-wide evaluation to identify gaps in compliance with NPS Volunteer-in-Parks program requirements and work with volunteer leaders on compliance goals. • Seek out and foster relationships with youth organizations to establish sustainable youth-based volunteer project(s) in the community that bridge youth and the existing volunteers. • Research and coordinate participation in community events in Arizona to promote the Anza Trail, the National Park Service, and volunteer opportunities. • College degree in related field (humanities, liberal arts, history, planning, communications, conservation, environmental justice, etc.)
• People skills: ability to cold-contact people and organizations, identify and communicate shared goals, and build relationships through respectful persistence. This position is devoted to partnerships with many organizations and individuals. The candidate must demonstrate an interest and capacity to network and communicate with a variety of partners and organizations with respect and humility. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills • Superior organizational skills for tracking multiple projects, partner contacts, and planning logistics • Self-directed and independent work ethic • Participate in the CVA National Early Service Training in late November 2024 (date TBD) • 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 • Local applicants (Tucson, AZ and surrounding area)
• Experience working with the general public through service projects, community development, education, or arts/cultural activities • Experience working with people of diverse backgrounds and ages • Knowledge of interpretation and education techniques and methods • Spanish language skills are encouraged • Driver’s license and access to a vehicle is required due to geographical distance of the various sites along the trail in southern Arizona – additional travel stipend may be included
• Work may include weekends and evenings depending on events and activities • This position will require a combination of remote work (teleworking), working directly with Anza Trail staff in an office/in the field, and working with volunteers and partners in the field. • $600/week living stipend.
• $150/week in housing allowance, if housing is not provided. • Limited health care/childcare benefits • The position is eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award $6,895.00 (pre-tax) upon successful completion of the program • $1,200 in professional development funds for training, networking, conferences, and/or travel. • 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. VolunteerCheck out the many volunteer opportunities along the trail.
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Last updated: May 29, 2024