ROI is hiring an Art & Storytelling for Social Change facilitator
ruralopp...@gmail.com
Seeking someone with experience using and teaching art and storytelling for social change to provide training and support to a cohort of public agencies in rural Eastern NC
About Rural Opportunity Institute
Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) is a nonprofit social innovation lab that designs solutions built around the needs of individuals and families in rural Eastern North Carolina. Our mission is to end generational cycles of trauma and poverty by preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. We believe that the community holds the answers for unlocking its greatest potential. Our role is to hold the space where conversations can shift from singular blame, to shared opportunity.
Our team uses human-centered design and systems thinking methodologies to generate hypotheses, gather user feedback, design prototypes and experiments, and support organizations in shifting from punishment/isolation to healing/connection.
About the Resilient Leaders Initiative
ROI is designing & launching a new program in March 2021, called the Resilient Leaders Initiative, which is a 9-month program that collaborates with public agencies/institutions (health depts, schools, law enforcement, etc.) to create resilient futures for residents of rural Eastern NC. In this program, participants will:
Receive support to understand their own organization’s role in perpetuating trauma and creating healing.
Design and pilot new policies and practices that lead to healing and reimagine policies that may have caused trauma and harm.
Learn more about the Resilient Leaders Initiative here: Informational flyer
Job Description
We are seeking a passionate expert in using art & storytelling for social change to help ROI support participating organizations in the Resilient Leaders Initiative to build skills around utilizing narrative and artistic media to strengthen the impact of their efforts to create long-lasting trauma-informed change within their organizations. This includes designing frameworks & curriculum materials, leading professional development sessions, and providing mentorship/coaching to local leaders of agencies in rural Eastern NC. You will be part of a team that is helping to shift the narrative of the urban and rural divide, by providing world-class expertise and support to rural community leaders that are often left out or overlooked.
This is a part-time, remote position as an independent contractor that begins ASAP and concludes in Fall 2021, and has the potential to lead to additional projects of similar scope in the future.
Examples of activities/projects you will work on:
Jan - Feb 2021: Review the curriculum for the Resilient Leaders Initiative and advise on where & how art and storytelling should be weaved into the program and facilitated for participants.
Jan - Feb 2021: Create frameworks, methodologies, templates that participants can use and refer to throughout the program to guide their development in utilizing art and narrative to communicate their visions/aspirations.
March - Sept 2021: Design & lead professional development session(s) for participants throughout the program to reinforce / practice using art and storytelling. This includes designing the learning experiences for participants.
March - Sept 2021: Provide coaching & mentorship to ROI’s staff & Resilient Leaders Initiative participants.
March - Sept 2021: Connect ROI’s staff and Resilient Leaders Initiative participants to others in your network who may be able to provide mentorship or expertise.
Qualities needed to be successful:
Proven track record of utilizing art and storytelling to support social movements, and personal passion for doing so.
Experience delivering coaching, mentorship, and/or professional development for frontline providers, government employees, or similar audience.
Ability to design and deliver high-quality and engaging adult learning experiences virtually
Ability to create simple and effective learning materials to assist those new to or hesitant to embrace art and creativity.
Highly organized, excellent project management skills, always meets deadlines.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, startup environment and adapt quickly to changing needs
Proactive communicator, asks for help when needed, asks clarifying questions, defines what success looks like through conversations with team members
Always looking to learn, open to receiving feedback and improving upon it
Team player, able to manage group dynamics and work with many different personality styles
Preference given to those who embed equity-oriented or anti-racist frameworks or approaches
How to apply
To apply please complete this form: Interest Form
You will be asked to submit:
Contact information & a short description of your interest
A sample of materials from a previous professional development session you have led on a similar topic or for a similar audience (these will not be shared or used externally)
The deadline to apply for this project is December 13th, 2020 at 11:59pm EST. Applications will be reviewed as they come in, with intent to secure this contract as soon as possible. If you have questions about this position, please email Vichi Jagannathan at vi...@ruralopportunity.org
What will working for ROI offer you?
A flexible, scrappy, and fun work environment
A supportive team environment - we strive to know each other as people, spend social time together, and adjust our work structures to maximize wellness & impact. Our favorite sport is basketball, but we also love doing other activities together that our team members like.
A values-driven, reflective, and iterative work culture
The opportunity to contribute directly to community-facing programs, and see the impact of your work quickly, experience seeing the inner workings of an early-stage organization
The opportunity to network within the nonprofit community, and learn new skills to grow in your career
Autonomy to drive the direction and outcome of your time with us - there is a ton of opportunity to learn, grow, connect, have impact. If you are clear on your goals and can make them clear to us, we will support you to make it happen.
What past employees have said about ROI?
You will LOVE working with ROI if you...
Want to create something totally new, like to solve problems, be in a fast-changing, start-up environment
Are self-directed, comfortable with ambiguity and are committed to community work and human centered design
Like to problem solve/brainstorm as a team and then complete your work independently
Want to be able to bring your full self to your job and you enjoy building genuine relationships
You will dislike or find it frustrating to work with ROI if...
You need lots of structure and constant, clear directions
You don't like to try new things as a person or an organization
Past Employees Survey Data
Based on your experience, how likely would you be to recommend working for ROI to future potential employees/interns?
I had the autonomy I wanted over my work and time....
I learned new things and grew from this experience....
About Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI)
Address: 1631 S Wesleyan Blvd, Rocky Mount, NC 27803
Website: www.ruralopportunity.org
Our Mission
Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) is a startup nonprofit that creates healing and trauma-informed spaces for youth, adults, and agencies in rural Eastern NC. We provide connection, support healing from trauma, and place power in the hands of the community.
Our Approach
We believe that the community holds the answers for unlocking its greatest potential. Our role is to hold the space where conversations can shift from singular blame, to shared opportunity.
No one community can remove all trauma, but we can change how we respond when it occurs. Unaddressed trauma and toxic stress negatively impact the health of individuals, communities, and systems. By building knowledge about the myriad impacts of trauma, and skills to engage appropriately, we can build healing and resilience in ourselves and our communities. We work to build the skills for resilience in individuals and communities through positive relationships, opportunities to build skills through repetition, and learning from failure to build people’s ability to self-determine. To achieve the transformational change our communities deserve, we must look at the whole system and build a shared understanding of the patterns underneath the problems. Through this approach we can effectively target disruptions and enhancements that will move the system towards greater health.
Our team uses human-centered design and systems thinking methodologies to generate hypotheses, gather user feedback, design prototypes and experiments, and support organizations in shifting from punishment/isolation to healing/connection.
Our Team
Vichi Jagannathan is a 2017 graduate of the MBA program at the Yale School of Management, and co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute. She began her career as a high school science teacher in Northampton County, NC through Teach For America. She then spent two years on the West Coast leading the expansion of Microsoft’s TEALS computer science education program into California. In 2016, Vichi participated in the Innovation Next accelerator, where she received coaching from IDEO in human-centered design to develop a mobile sex education app called Real Talk, which has been downloaded over 10000 times in over 70 countries. She collected feedback from over 400 teens and parents to inform the design of the app. She also interned with Self-Help Credit Union in Durham, NC where she created the strategy for Self-Help's branch expansion into Eastern North Carolina, namely Rocky Mount. Vichi earned electrical engineering degrees from Princeton and Stanford Universities.
Seth Saeugling is a former high school teacher turned early childhood advocate, and co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute. Prior to founding ROI, Seth worked with Tipping Point’s T Lab to build a community doula program which supported building positive parenting and attachment techniques for first-time mothers in Oakland who had experienced trauma. Seth was trained in the human-centered design process by Frog Design and used these skills to listen to and understand the needs of mothers to inform the doula program. Previously, Seth worked as a high school special ed teacher in both Warren County, North Carolina and Hayward, California. In the summer of 2016, Seth used the human-centered design process to conduct participatory research and create investment strategy for a $20 million endowment for rural community development. Most recently, Seth completed a project in Boston for Roca's Two-Generation high-risk young mothers program to improve their programming and metrics & evaluation to move outcomes for the children in the program.
Press
Article: Meet the Unexpected Experts Transforming a North Carolina Town
Publication: One Day, a national magazine about Teach For America
Publication: Evening news by CBS 17 Raleigh
Case Study: The Social Innovator’s Guide to Using Systems Practice to Tackle Difficult Problems in Complex Environments
Publication: +Acumen, a community of over 300k students from 190 countries working to be a global community of learners to improve social impact practices.