Outreach and Volunteer Specialist

Organizational Overview

Black Yield Institute (BYI) is a Pan-African power institution addressing food apartheid. We work collaboratively with black people and entities, along with other institutions, in pursuit of Black Land and Food Sovereignty. We are organizing to build independent power by establishing an action network and serving as an incubator for ideas and projects. We are on a mission to create a self-determined and selfreliant community of Black institutions and people of African Descent in Baltimore’s poor and Black food environments. Black Yield Institute is a fiscally sponsored institution.

For more information, please visit BYI’s website at www.blackyieldinstitute.org.

Position Description

The Outreach and Volunteer Specialist is a contractual, part-time position at Black Yield Institute that is responsible for adding capacity to the outreach efforts. The Outreach and Volunteer Specialist will engage and collaborate with community members, strategic partners, and others to share the organization’s work and expand its presence. The Outreach and Volunteer Specialist reports to and works closely with the Marketplace Organizer, Engagement.

Responsibilities

• Support Marketplace Organizer, Engagement with canvassing neighborhoods and door knocking to share event and other information for general engagement of diverse community stakeholders
• Engage in the consistent research of community events
• Develop calendars of events that assist with maintaining organizational representation within various spaces
• Represent the organization at community events and meetings
• Coordinate outreach efforts that engage familiar and new members of the communities we organize and serve
• Recruit and secure volunteers and members in order to increase capacity for outreach
• Support the planning and execution of outreach events
• Research and edit political education content creation for the organization’s bi-monthly publication
• Maintain regular correspondences with current and prospective volunteers
• Manage volunteer engagement and task management
• Facilitate training for volunteers and members
• Conduct regular check-ins with neighborhood sovereignty committees
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships
• Develop and implement political education programs
• Serve a lead role in events hosted and sponsored by the organization
• Assist with collecting and entering data provided from community events
• Engage in relevant political education and technical training

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum of two years doing community-based work where engaging with people was the primary context of the experience
• Great skills at engaging people with a personable demeanor
• Strong knowledge of community engagement and capacity building
• Knowledgeable of community resources and how to access resources
• Proficient in Google Workspace project management and data analysis tools
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work within a team
• Ability to work independently and a tendency to be self-motivated
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Strong work ethic and integrity, with a willingness to learn
• Ability to pick up items weighing 10-25 pounds
• Ability to arrive to commitments on time (reliable means of transportation)

Preferred

• Commitment to Black Liberation, social justice, and racial equity
• Understanding of and a deep commitment to building power and moving toward land and food sovereignty
• Strong knowledge of community engagement and capacity building
• Knowledge of community resources and how to access resources

Term & Compensation

The Outreach and Volunteer Specialist will be required to work up to 20 hours per week; work requires evening and weekend commitments. The position is one year with the possibility of renewal after 12 months; this position is funded through grant funds and renewal is contingent upon successful fundraising. This is a contractual position that does not come with fringe benefits. Compensation is $25/hour.