Connect the Dots is a women-owned stakeholder/community engagement firm that brings together community, private and public sector partners to develop innovative and actionable solutions for cities. Our mission is to build better cities and neighborhoods through inclusive, insight-driven stakeholder engagement. We help community, private and public sector partners to develop creative solutions that move projects and cities forward. Our vision is to bring individuals & organizations together to co-design an equitable and resilient future for our cities.
We are working on a range of exciting projects focused on public realm, transit, multi-modal transportation, comprehensive planning, equitable development/investment, pedestrianization, urban economic development, and more. We work with clients and partners that are on the leading edge of forward-thinking citymaking, from economic development, to infrastructure and the public realm, to sustainability and climate change mitigation. We are a small but fast-growing team committed to ensuring communities’ voices are a meaningful part of planning processes.
Connect the Dots (CtD) is looking for a driven and motivated Project Manager of Community Engagement to join our team full-time. You will be joining a fast-growing, close-knit, passionate team with an array of partners. We are committed to co-creation, collaboration, and social, racial and economic justice, and are looking for candidates that already have experience in running community engagement / public participation processes – and are excited about supporting the growth of Connect the Dots.
Project Work (70% of role)
Plan out informed and creative engagement / public participation processes, tailored to each project: Plan engagement processes and key methods – in a collaborative, thoughtful manner. This varies per community and within communities so requires listening, deep research, and conversations to develop the best-fit strategies. Adapt CtD’s tactics toolkit to specific project needs and develop new tactics to ensure we are truly meeting people where they are. Devise thoughtful and creative ways to reach and build trust within communities – working to ensure accessibility, transparency, and the sharing of power. This will include both in-person and remote outreach.
Manage multiple projects in a highly organized, efficient, and collaborative manner: Manage small, medium, and large projects with varying timelines. Develop project plans, collaborate with a wide variety of clients and partners, use and maintain project schedules, keep track of various moving pieces of a project, organize multiple aspects of multiple projects concurrently. Clearly communicate challenges, updates, and progress throughout. Be able to adapt and shift plans as needed.
Business Development Work (30% of role)
Cultivate new leads and new projects: As part of a small team, you will have the opportunity to help shape the growth of the firm; you will: work with the team to contribute to our strategies for new revenue streams and building current streams. This includes but is not limited to: research on potential funding sources, clients, upcoming projects, strategic partners; strategic and methodical outreach to these new potential leads; build strong relationships with current clients; helping to develop thought-leadership materials and opportunities including speaking engagements, articles, press and more with an eye to being viewed as an expert and sharing our learnings across projects.
Support in RFP and proposal development: Help find, develop, and write proposals – as well as bring together the right teams for various RFPs and grants. This requires skill in comprehension, research of context for projects, strategic / persuasive writing, organization of materials, tailoring of materials to match needs. Support the team as well in finding opportunities for Connect the Dots that align with our mission of co-creating better cities.
Required:
- Strong project management experience; ability to balance multiple projects at once, remain organized, and work in a collaborative fashion
- Robust experience with strategic development and delivery of large-scale community engagement and outreach processes; Confidence developing, designing, and delivering workshops, outreach strategies, mixed-methodology insight-gathering processes
- Strong writing, communication, and reporting skills; ability to develop clear, accessible, and thought-out communications, reports, proposals, articles using qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Interest in supporting business strategy and growth – in cultivating and maintaining relationships and winning new projects; entrepreneurial spirit
- Extremely organized and diligent, productive, creative
Preferred:
- Sense of graphic design; ideally experienced at this to support communications and worksheets, visuals in projects
- Background in urban-related field ie community development, planning, urban studies
- Business development acumen
- Spanish speaker
The role is a full time, non-exempt position. Salary will be discussed openly to ensure commensurate with experience but it is expected to start at approximately 60-65k. We are looking for people in or willing to relocate to the Philly area. You will have access to an exciting co-working space in Center City at least once a week and can otherwise work remotely. Email the following to hello@connectthedotsinsights.com with the subject line “Dec2021CtDPM [Your Name]”. Applications due by mid/late January – and will be accepted / moved to the next round on a rolling basis.
- Resume
- Letter of interest
- 2-3 references
- 3-5 work samples including:
– a writing sample
– Insight-gathering (engagement) plan/materials (i.e. workshop, survey, etc)
Only complete application packages will be considered.