Systems Change Network Coordinator

Position Title: Systems Change Network Coordinator, Nature Based Education Consortium

Effective Date: October 7th, 2024

POSITION SUMMARY 

As part of the NBEC network support staff team, the NBEC Network Coordinator is responsible for performing network coordination, network building, Working Group and Steering Committee support, convening planning, and legislative campaign planning and implementation, fundraising and development, budgeting, grant reporting, and staff support on behalf of the network. This position works under the direction of the NBEC Steering Committee.

Work with a team of staff and volunteers from NBEC working groups involved in outdoor equity, environmental education, and environmental justice. The position is based in Maine and is full-time at 40 hours/week, and while mostly working remotely, some in-state travel will be required.

This role is parallel to an Executive Director position at other, more hierarchical organizations. This role touches many aspects of the network and decision-making is done in a more collective, lateral manner. 

Applicants who cannot perform every item listed in the job description are encouraged to still apply. We are most interested in finding a person who will have the relational skills to support staff and members of the network and has a passion for our mission and ways of being. The Hiring Committee will think broadly about your background and skill set for the role considering an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience that can be applied to learning new skills in the role.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to hiring@nbeconsortium.com by August 19, 2024. We will review applications until September 6th, 2024.  Please also contact hiring@nbeconsortium.com if you are seeking an accommodation in the application process.

Position Benefits:

• Annual pay $75,000 (Please note for the sake of transparency, this is the maximum amount we can offer at this time)
• 15 accrued vacation days annually, 9 sick days, 4 personal days
• 12 Paid Holidays
• 403b plan with 4% employer contribution – no match required
• Short Term/Long Term Disability and Life Insurance paid by employer
• Health Insurance (HPI with HSA) Paid by employer for employee only
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Child Care Account available
• Flexible working hours
• Paid professional development
• Income adjustment for cost of living each spring

Organizational Background:

The Nature Based Education Consortium is a Maine-based collaborative network of outdoor learning leaders and community members working together on systems-level efforts to ensure that every Maine youth has access to powerful outdoor learning experiences. Our network’s mission is to enable all Maine youth to learn outdoors, connected to their community and natural environment. We work together to dismantle systemic barriers to outdoor access, cultivate new resources, opportunities, and partnerships, and amplify diverse voices to build and shift our understanding and appreciation of outdoor learning. 

To learn more, visit www.nbeconsortium.com

Please note that we are also in the process of rewriting our mission statement to be more reflective of our current work. While we still focus on youth, our efforts have expanded beyond youth to include all bodies with barriers to accessing the outdoors. We do this through storytelling, redirecting funding, and supporting outdoor learning opportunities in schools. We have interventions at the community level as well as policy. We are committed to increasing access to outdoor learning and experiences that are relevant, accessible, and enriching. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Network Support and Network Building

• Systems change* visioning and strategy development 
• Support the structure, restructuring and implementation of activities and workflows between staff, working groups, Steering Committee and network members to foster emergent strategy and ensure efforts are aligned with NBEC values and mission. 
• Facilitate network member communication, information sharing, interest clarification, and identification and resolution of differences.
• Work with members to identify, clarify and periodically revisit network purpose. Facilitate member development and periodically evaluate and realign network priorities, tasks, and activities in ways that advance network effectiveness and shared network member vision.
• Build the network by supporting members in identification and recruitment of new members and helping orient and integrate new members to the network’s context, agreements, decisions and challenges.
• Facilitate ways to refresh and renew network flow and impact.
• Provide support in meeting planning and facilitation to the Steering Committee.
• Orient and onboard new Staff and Steering Committee members.
• Organize in-person and virtual events to build and sustain the NBEC network and initiatives.
• Connect funders to the outdoor learning community in Maine as well as the Outdoor Equity Fund, and vice versa.

Staff Support

• Assist and guide the Communications Coordinator, the Outdoor Equity Coordinator, and other network staff and contractors with tasks and roles, as needed.
• Co-create a support and check-in structure for the Communications Coordinator and the Outdoor Equity Coordinator, offering guidance regarding workflow, process and needs that arise in the work on an ongoing basis. 

Fundraising and Development

• Coordinate fundraising efforts for NBEC and the Outdoor Equity Fund to generate sustainable financial means to ensure continued operations and initiatives by locating and securing funding sources. 
• Develop grant proposals. 
• Lead grant reporting.
• Build and maintain relationships with regional, state, and national funders and build new sources of financial support.

Operations

• Work with the bookkeeper and fiscal agent to pay network expenses and track financials.
• Lead development of the network’s annual budget in partnership with working group co-chairs and Oversight Committee.
• Attend, and prepare agendas and necessary materials for Steering and Oversight Committee meetings 
• Support working group meetings with attendance or guidance when appropriate. 
• Facilitate internal policy and procedure development and maintenance
• Crisis response management
• Manage Google Workspace accounts and Wix website platform, including user setup, security settings, and ongoing maintenance.

Advocacy and Policy

• Support the Climate Education Advocacy working group and the Local Outdoor Learning Advocacy working group as they continue their work.
• Support co-chairs in meeting planning and facilitation
• Support the groups’ strategic direction
• Provide guidance and implementation support on policy, advocacy, and campaigns, as necessary
• Position the network and partnerships in Maine to advocate for financial support for equity-focused outdoor learning, as well as the network’s legislative and agency policy priorities.
• Coordinate with organizations in other states that share the network’s goals to support shared learning at a national level.
• Keep the network’s Steering Committee apprised of new policy opportunities.

Communications

• Support the Communications Coordinator in developing and implementing a communications strategy and program that serves the network.
• Highlight celebrations and successes and support connections among existing or emerging resources and network funders.

Desired Qualifications 

• 3-5 years’ experience or more in building and nurturing networks, coalitions, communities of practice that encompass a range of perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds 
• Experience with group facilitation and consensus decision-making
• Comfort working in non-hierarchical, grassroots, changing and emergent environments
• Big-picture thinking and driving logistics for initiatives forward that sustain lasting impact and change. 
• Experience building and supporting relationships; skilled in lifting up the work of others
• Strong project-management skills and attention to detail
• Experience with developing and managing budgets
• Experience reporting financial information to facilitate decision-making and meet grant requirements
• Experience working with and leading teams of different gender, abilities, racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds 
• Demonstrated ability to work productively in complex, inter-organizational settings among groups with differing interests
• Conflict identification and repair, negotiation and resolution skills and experience
• Comfort working with a range of people across outdoor industries
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Comfort in a majority-remote work environment with little structure
• Comfort facilitating meetings and groups of various sizes 
• Fluency in Google Suite, Zoom and Quickbooks
• Commitment to and passion for the network’s vision
• Experience advocating for and communicating about policy issues
• Experience with fundraising, grant writing and management
• Understanding of and relationships with those in Maine’s philanthropic community

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to employing and supporting individuals who are passionate about social justice and have relevant work experience, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, religion, familial status or experience with poverty, receipt of public assistance, or homelessness. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. 

*About Systems Change:

“Systems change is about advancing equity by shifting the conditions that hold a problem in place.”

- FSG, “The Water of Systems Change”