RECRUITING NOW: Climate Corps service members for 11-month starting October 2024 through September 2025.

• Serve the communities of Silicon Valley for 11 months
• Full-time commitment: 40 hours per week (7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Tues. - Fri. and Sat. 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM)
• Receive a $30,000 living stipend and $10,000 educational award upon completion of the term.

ABOUT OUR CITY FOREST: Our City Forest has been the leading urban forestry non-profit in the San José area since 1994. Our mission is to cultivate a green and healthy Silicon Valley by engaging community members in the appreciation, protection, growth, and maintenance of our urban ecosystem, especially our urban forest.

BENEFITS INCLUDE: a $30,000 living stipend distributed biweekly and $10,000 in education awards (a combination of both the Segal AmeriCorps and California For All education awards) upon completion of the term. Health care, if applicable and child care, if applicable. Student loan forbearance, if a member qualifies. AmeriCorps members are eligible for Cal-Fresh. 

POSITION SUMMARY for 11-month term

Our City Forest (OCF) Service Team Members are sponsored in part by the National Service organization, AmeriCorps, and are expected to commit to 1700 hours of service. Team Members will have two weeks of all team training beginning on September 18th. Each Team Member will be assigned to a primary team by the 3rd week but will support other groups when needed throughout the year. The teams are Planting, Tree Care, Lawn Busters, or Community Nursery.

All members will:

• be trained on the best practices of maintaining a green and healthy urban forest in the Silicon Valley
• strive to build capacity in the community and maximize volunteer participation in their individual programs, acting as coaches and coordinators
• conduct outreach to residents and businesses to educate on best urban forestry practices and the importance of environmental stewardship
• provide friendly, professional customer service
• actively seek opportunities for greening projects
• organize and implement projects

JOB DESCRIPTIONS PER TEAM

The proportion of field-to-office work varies with program and team assignment. Each team will have anywhere between 2-10 members, and different roles will be assigned depending on interests, skills, and the team’s needs as decided by the team manager.

Nursery Team responsibilities and tasks (75-95% field, 5-25% office; approx. 7-9 members)

• Propagate, cultivate, and transplant shrubs, grasses, and trees
• Maintain tree and shrub inventory system
• Learn and execute best watering techniques for the nursery plants
• Learn and implement best pruning and care techniques for young trees and shrubs in containers
• Remove invasive species and implement best nursery care practices assigned by Nursery Manager
• Plan weekly workday projects and lead volunteer groups three days a week
• Organize free community workshops throughout the year
• Provide friendly customer service to community visitors during open hours
• Recruit, train, and correspond with volunteers of all ages and abilities
• Database volunteer hours and events
• Assist team with special community events
• Organize free community workshops throughout the year

Planting Team responsibilities and tasks (50-85% field, 15-50% office; approx. 7-9 members)

• Work outside with team and volunteers at least once a week, planting trees in neighborhoods, schools, and parks
• Participate in fieldwork necessary for project preparation, and project day execution
• Assist residents with tree planting and maintenance needs; provide excellent and professional customer service to accommodate their requests
• Educate residents on best water-wise landscaping and planting practices
• organize planting projects, call and email qualified residents, go on-site visits, work with city permit office
• Correspond and schedule appointments with community members about their planting; plan logistics and enter data for each tree planting project
• Conduct classroom and/or community presentations and/or represent Our City Forest at various events 
• Conduct grassroots community outreach and organizing such as neighborhood door-knocking and calling schools and churches to advertise services
• Recruit, train, and correspond with volunteers of all ages and abilities
• Database volunteer hours and events

Tree Care Team responsibilities and tasks (50-85% field, 15-50% office; approx. 3-4 members)

• Work outside caring for newly planted trees
• Participate in fieldwork necessary for project preparation, and project day execution
• Assist residents with tree planting and maintenance needs; provide excellent and professional customer service to accommodate their requests
• Educate residents on best water-wise landscaping and planting practices
• Correspond with community members and residents and provide tree care resources 
•  Schedule tree assessments for newly planted trees
• Conduct classroom and/or community presentations and/or represent Our City Forest at various events 
• Conduct grassroots community outreach and organizing such as neighborhood door-knocking and calling schools and churches to advertise services
• Recruit, train, and correspond with volunteers of all ages and abilities
• Database volunteer hours and events

Lawn Busters Team and responsibilities (50-85% field, 15-50% office; approx. 3-4 members)

• Work outside with team on lawn conversion projects, which include trenching, sheet mulching, irrigation, and plant installation
• Create landscape designs for lawn conversion projects
• Participate in fieldwork necessary for project preparation, and project day execution
• Educate residents on best water-wise landscaping and planting practices
• Organize planting projects, call and email qualified residents, go on-site visits, work with city permit office
• Conduct classroom and/or community presentations and/or represent Our City Forest at various events 
• Conduct grassroots community outreach and organizing such as neighborhood door-knocking and calling schools and churches to advertise services
• Recruit, train, and correspond with volunteers of all ages and abilities
• Database volunteer hours and events

Communications & Outreach Team responsibilities and tasks (15-25% field, 75-85% office; approx. 1 member)

• Oversee volunteer program and support each team’s volunteer coordinator
• Create and maintain relationships with dedicated volunteers called Tree Amigos
• Recruit new Tree Amigos and work with Volunteer Program Manager to prepare educational training courses throughout the year.
• Sign up, manage tracker, and attend community outreach events; represent Our City Forest at various community outreach events and educate the public on OCF’s mission
• Oversee outreach materials stocks and needs
• Design flyers and brochures depending on program needs
• Assist with the management of the Our City Forest website
• Strategize and execute outreach techniques for promoting events, recruiting volunteers, and increasing community interest in our programs/services (i.e. through flyering, social media, newsletters, and/or community meetings)
• Complete office tasks such as phone and email correspondence with volunteers and community partners, scheduling appointments or events and planning logistics
• Conduct classroom and community presentations, educating on urban forestry and services Our City Forest provides
• Plan, implement and assist teams in various projects depending on each program’s needs 

Recruitment Capacity Specialist responsibilities and tasks (15-25% field, 75-85% office; approx. 1 member)

• Support OCF identifying and fostering partnerships to increase outreach to potential AmeriCorps Members.
• Coordinate with partnering organizations to identify recruitment needs or gaps.
• Support planning of recruitment events, collaborating with partnering organizations.
• Utilize OCF’s website for recruitment, ensuring the website is up to date.
• Participate in California Volunteers’ recruitment initiatives
• Attend and actively participate in California Volunteers’ recruitment meetings
• Coordinate with other AmeriCorps programs to share best practices and resources
• Design flyers and brochures depending on program needs
• Utilize social media for recruitment, develop social media plan to highlight recruitment, member experience, program’s transformational impacts to beneficiaries and the community, national days of service, partnering organizations, and calls to action, actively post on social media accounts, coordinating with partnering organizations for content, and tagging partnering organizations and California Volunteers as applicable

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• U.S. Citizen or legal resident, with a high school diploma or equivalent, minimum age: 18 
• Interest in affecting change through community organizing
• Ability to work well with diverse groups of people
• Must be available to work full time, 7:30 am - 4 pm, Tuesday - Friday, Saturday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm
• Must complete background checks prior to AmeriCorps website enrollment and accumulating service 
• Must be able to commit through the end of the service term

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Valid driver’s license.  
• A college degree is highly desirable
• Strong written & oral communication skills
• Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin speakers interested in reaching out to the communities of San José 
• Local, Bay Area residents are preferred, but all are welcome to apply (Note: we do not provide housing) 
• Proficient in driving and towing pickup trucks 
• Current Commercial driver’s license (to drive Tree Mobile for community events) 
• Familiar with ornamental and native tree and shrub species identification
• Knowledge or experience working with irrigation
• Experience with landscape design and/or landscaping
• Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe CS, Sketch Up software knowledge 
• Graphic design, app development, programming, or website maintenance experience