Job Description

PLEASE NOTE : Applicants will need to apply here: Application form requires a resume, cover letter, professional references.

Position Title: Community Volunteer Ambassador – Valley Forge National Historical Park - AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: King of Prussia, PA

Application Timeline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. First review will occur in early November. Final deadline is Sunday, December 8, 2024 .

Terms of Service:

• Start Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

• End Date: Friday, December 19, 2025

• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1700 Hour

Purpose:

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 be uniquely positioned within the park as a member of both the Visitor and Community

Engagement (VCE) and the Natural Resource Management (NRM) teams.

The primary supervisor is the park’s Digital Experience Specialist (on the VCE team), and the secondary

supervisor is the Manager of Natural Resources. The scope of the CVA’s work will support new and ongoing projects on both teams, and the supervisor will collaborate with the CVA to identify passion projects that align with this dual role. Depending on the interests and goals of the CVA, work may include website and social media content creation, audio/video production, graphic design, helping the public plan their park visit at the visitor center, interpretive and educational programming, conducting wildlife and vegetation surveys, writing reports and briefs, and supporting existing volunteer programs.

Site Description

Valley Forge National Historical Park encompasses much of the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army led by General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. The fascinating history preserved and interpreted at Valley Forge brings visitors from around the world, but the park also provides valuable opportunities for local recreators to walk, run, bike, hike, and paddle, play, and picnic.


In 1893, Valley Forge was established as Pennsylvania’s very first state park, and in 1975, on the eve of the 200-year anniversary of the founding of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorized the transfer of the park to the federal government. President Gerald Ford established Valley Forge National Historical Park on July 4, 1976.


The park is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and today is situated in a rapidly growing urban area. The park comprises 3,452 acres and protects many significant cultural resources, including cultural landscapes, historic buildings and structures, monuments, archeological sites, and archives and collections. As urban and suburban sprawl expands around Valley Forge, the park’s value as a refuge for plants, animals, and their habitats also increases. Valley Forge supports more than 1,000 species of flora and fauna and habitats ranging from mixed oak and tulip poplar forests to tall grass meadows, wetlands, and waterways.


The volunteer program at the park features a dynamic mix of permanent volunteer opportunities across several park divisions and well-established seasonal drop-in opportunities for individuals and groups. Permanent volunteer groups include the Litterati trash pickup team, the Trail Maintenance team, and Visitor Services volunteers who work at the front desk in the visitor center. Drop-in opportunities include programs like Crayfish Corps and Weed Warriors, which are coordinated through the division of Natural Resource Management.


The park has been operating with a general preference for building long-lasting volunteer programs staffed by regular volunteers — however, in Fiscal Year 2025 the CVA will have the opportunity to assess the existing list of drop-in volunteer programs and possibly work to expand those offerings.

Description of Duties:

• In the realm of Visitor and Community Engagement:

• Climate Change Art in the Park Public Programming: support, supplement, and expand the existing Art in the Park program to encourage more participation from the local Latinx community in public art making and offer hands-on climate change-related art-making programming. Work with park staff and partners to establish smartphone stand infrastructure and signage at strategic locations throughout the park to encourage the public to take and submit photographs to an online database.

• Promote birding programs as gateways to engagement for underserved communities: Support partnerships with park partners like the Valley Forge Park Alliance, the In Color Birding Club, and the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo, y Educación (CCATE). Develop tools and programs highlighting the connections between birding and climate change.

• Support, maintain, and grow a strategic relationship with Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo, y Educación (CCATE): Tweak and adjust existing park programs to be more relevant and welcoming to the local Latinx community. Help plan and implement new park programs that are co-created between the park and the local Latinx community. Help the park staff and volunteers become more aware of the local Latinx community’s knowledge, talents, interests, and needs.

• Expand volunteer opportunities for the following annual programs: National service days (National Trails Day, National Public Lands Day, MLK Day of Service), Existing park events (Junior Ranger Day [Apr], March-Out of the Continental Army [June 19], Homeschool Day [Oct], and March-In of the Continental Army [Dec. 19th].

• In the realm of Natural Resource Management:

• Assist in collecting early-season (springtime) field data for ongoing Natural Resource Management projects, including coyote scat and box turtle monitoring. Help articulate the climate change connection with these projects.

• Assist with the training and mentoring of summer interns.

• Parks After Dark Programming: plan and develop event programming, collaborate with Maintenance staff on all program setup and logistics, confer with Law Enforcement staff about event volunteer safety and training, work with the parkwide volunteer coordinator to recruit, plan, and train volunteers, and record and submit volunteer hours. The CVA will also work alongside park partners (e.g. Valley Forge Park Alliance, County Visitor Convention Bureau, Valley Creek Partnership, Hopewell Big Woods Partnership) to develop and disseminate outreach materials.

• Support service learning trips for CCATE, summer program youth and other local groups as part of the popular Weed Warriors and Crayfish Corps volunteer programs.

Qualifications:

• Flexibility and ability to quickly pivot from one work objective to another.

• Action-oriented and results-driven.

• Familiarity with spoken and written Spanish.

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills: be able to treat visitors, park staff, park partners, and park volunteers with professional courtesy, ask for help when needed, and give input and receive feedback with candor and grace.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office (or equivalent) software tools, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams (chat and video conferencing), and Outlook (email and calendar).

• Ability to follow applicable federal, state, and local laws/policies, as well as directions from staff.

• Ability to stand/walk/work for extended periods of time both indoors and outdoors in a variety of surfaces (e.g., natural, paved, uneven), weather (e.g., heat, cold, humidity, rain, wind, etc.), and conditions (e.g., ticks, snakes, animals, pollen, etc.)

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien

• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant, and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award

• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check.

• Participate in the CVA National Early Service Training in March 2025 (date TBD)

• Be 18-30 years old at time of service (veterans up to 35 years old)

• Must be over 21 years old or have had license for at least 3 years to be insured in this position

• Be able to provide proof of a driver’s license and complete a MVR check

Preferred Qualifications:

• Fluency in spoken and written Spanish.

• Knowledge of Norristown Latinx community and culture.

• Experience with coordinating, planning, and leading public education programs with diverse audiences.

• Experience supervising youth and/or adults in a professional capacity (e.g., volunteers, at work).

• Experience using Adobe Creative Cloud (or equivalent) software, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Premiere.

Physical Requirements:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Time Requirements:

• This position is expected to serve a 40-hours each week, but exact service schedules may vary and will be set by host site.

• Lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours.

• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.

• Week-long, in-person training on NPS volunteer program management and leadership skills.

• Year-long continuum of learning supporting professional development

• $1,200 in Professional Development Funds

Additional Information:

Opportunity to work at multiple sites: Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (HOFU) and Valley Forge National Historical Park are managed by the same superintendent, and the Natural Resource Management
staff oversee both park units. The CVA's work will also benefit HOFU, and there will be some opportunities to
work there, however the main focus will be at VAFO.


Collaborative and dynamic work environment: The staff at Valley Forge National Historical Park are friendly, smart, and passionate. Common aspects of our working culture include a strong focus on safety, health and wellness, and a highly collaborative and communicative process for goal setting, planning, and after-action reviews. The staff have a lot of experience working with CVAs. The CVA will be closely supported by three staff: Digital Experience Specialist (primary supervisor), Natural Resource Manager (secondary supervisor), parkwide Volunteer and Youth Program Coordinator (administrative and project support).


Housing available: CVA may be housed in one of our furnished seasonal dorm style housing units. Most of these are single family home structures originally built from the mid-1850s to the early 1900s and furnished today as seasonal housing units. The CVA may have a housemate but will have their own room. Housing is mixed gender. Rooms are single occupancy with twin beds. Bedrooms have locking doors that are secured with separate keys assigned to the individuals in the room. Housing has a communal kitchen (microwave, stove, refrigerator, oven, pots, pans etc.), living room, dining room and bathroom. Kitchen appliances, furniture, washer, dryer, and cleaning supplies are provided, but food, towels, bedding, and personal toiletries are not provided. WiFi, TV/video, and heat and cooling units are provided. A majority of the housing options are within a 3-minute walk to the primary office location, or a 20-minute bicycle ride/10-minute drive to the secondary office location. The nearest hospital is less than four miles away, the nearest police station is less than three miles away, and the nearest fire department is less than one mile away.

Benefits:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $7,395

• Living Allowance of $600 per week.

• Additional Benefit of $150 per week, if housing is not provided.

• Healthcare Coverage

• Childcare Coverage

• Loan forbearance

• Interest Payments

• $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.

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

How to Apply

Please visit Community Volunteer Ambassador (cvainternships.org) to review “Member Positions” by region and find instructions on how to apply.

The CVA position will start on Tuesday, January 21, and run for 48 weeks until Friday, December 19, 2025.

PLEASE NOTE : Applicants will need to apply here: Application form requires a resume, cover letter, professional references.

Please ensure your cover letter addresses how your experience aligns with the CVA program, your experience working with diverse populations, and position details for this park/position. You may submit one application for multiple positions by selecting all sites you are interested in.

Applications Deadline

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. First review will occur in early November. Final deadline is Sunday, December 8, 2024 .

For Application Questions:

Please contact James Gasaway, Program Director at [email protected]

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with AmeriCorps requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Summer work, Summer internship, Local area, Outdoor, Night shift, Sunday,

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