Are you excited about the work that The Hub is doing, and want to be part of it?
Or perhaps you are interested in trying out community development work to see if it’s a good fit for you as a long-term career?
The Hub is bringing three new people on to our team this spring – and you might be the person we are looking for!
We’re excited to announce 3 VISTA positions opening in the next few months that we hope will play critical roles in taking our work further across the state and deeper into communities.
Taking a year-long VISTA position with The Hub is a great way to get exposure to a wide variety of community development activities, to gain an in-depth knowledge about what is happening on the ground across West Virginia, and to build skills that are translatable to a wide variety of jobs. (And maybe even to find a job with The Hub! Some of our best staff started off as VISTA with us…)
If you’re interested in any of the positions described below, contact me or our VISTA coordinator Louise Henry to learn more.
Energizing Entrepreneurial Communities VISTA
The Hub is launching a multi-year program this Spring to work with four communities to build a culture of entrepreneurship and to support entrepreneurial development from the ground up.
This position is a heavy mix of organizing, facilitating and coaching local teams, and supporting individual business owners and entrepreneurs as they try to start and grow local businesses in Boone, Lincoln, Wyoming and Taylor counties.
The VISTA will be doing a good amount of travel to these counties, and will serve as a direct resource to the dozens of community members we are working with through this program
The VISTA will also be trained in entrepreneurial coaching, a skill that we are eager to bring to The Hub’s other community development programs.
Do you like working directly with people, problem-solving, listening and helping to brainstorm solutions to challenging problems? Are you interested in doing your part to seed community development in small West Virginia communities, to lead from behind and support communities in executing the vision they have for their future, and to help grow local businesses?
The this could be the right fit for you.
The position starts in May 2017 and will be based out of The Hub’s Charleston office. A valid driver’s license and a car are required. No other experience is necessary.
Abandoned Properties Coalition VISTA
The Abandoned Properties Coalition is a dynamic statewide group that seeks systematic solutions to address the persistent challenge of dilapidated and vacant properties in West Virginia communities.
Do you have an interest in downtown redevelopment, historic preservation, or revitalizing small communities?
Do you care about public health and safety, or making treasures out of underutilized or trashed properties?
Are you interested in getting to know a wide variety of communities across the state and getting plugged into a high-capacity group of architects, developers, policymakers, economic development professionals, historic preservation advocates, and local government actors who are all trying to improve West Virginia communities?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is a VISTA position you might want to consider.
The Abandoned Properties Coalition VISTA will help to coordinate The Hub’s dilapidated and vacant property programs, including helping to coordinate the Abandoned Properties Coalition, creating education and advocacy tools to advance systemic solutions, and providing coaching to individual communities that seek technical assistance in starting down the path to addressing their vacant properties. This position will involve limited travel.
We are seeking someone with strong writing and public speaking skills, experience with group facilitation (helping to facilitate a youth, volunteer or church group is great experience), and an interest in deepening their knowledge about revitalization and downtown redevelopment. The position starts in May 2017 and will be based out of The Hub’s Charleston office.
HubCAP Downtown Appalachia VISTA
Interested in working with communities to move forward specific downtown redevelopment projects than working on seeding innovative statewide solutions? Our HubCAP Downtown Appalachia VISTA position might be the right fit for you.
This position will support The Hub’s HubCAP (Communities of Achievement) Downtown Appalachia program. This 18-month program will work directly with five communities across southern West Virginia to help them build redevelopment projects that local teams have identified and are undertaking with assistance from The Hub and WVU’s Northern Brownfields Assistance Center.
The VISTA will assist with running the HubCAP program, providing direct support and coaching to community teams in Summers, Boone, Nicholas, Mercer and Mingo counties, and help to amplify the success and impact that these small communities are having on revitalizing their towns – one step at a time.
The VISTA will be expected to travel regularly to the HubCAP communities, and will work under direct supervision of the HubCAP project coordinator. This position starts in summer 2017 and can be based out of The Hub’s Charleston or Fairmont office, depending on the preference of the candidate. A valid driver’s license and care are required. No other experience is necessary.
We hope you’ll consider one of The Hub’s exciting VISTA opportunities this year – and pass these opportunities along to anyone you think might be interested.
The Hub is an energizing and creative place to work. If you’re interested in community development and improving West Virginia through innovation and supporting local leadership, you’d be a great fit with our team!
This story was originally published on the West Virginia Community Development Hub’s Blog
