Education Outreach Co-ordinator

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This is a possible new collective level position.

Job Description

This is a newly created position. The successful candidate will be expected to integrate two existing roles coordinating our Education and Hardware Grant programs and ensure their continued success. It is expected this will be the initial focus of the job as both these programs form an important part of our work. There will also be the opportunity, and expectation, to further develop and expand the services and programs we offer to our volunteers and to other non-profit groups in the longer term.

Specific duties: Education Coordination

• Work with staff members to improve educational aspect of volunteer programs.
• Recruit, train, and coordinate volunteer instructors for classes.
• Improve volunteer teacher retention.
• Create and document new classes
• Serve as a mentor for volunteer instructors
• Maintain website and wiki documentation for class descriptions and schedules
• Attend meetings as necessary.
• Promote classes to the community to help increase awareness and participation in this program.
• Develop and expand the range educational opportunities for volunteers.
• Track class attendance of volunteers, grant recipients, donors, and the general public.

Specific Duties: Hardware Grants Coordination

• Recruit, train, and coordinate Hardware Grants volunteers and volunteer interns
• Maintain website documentation related to hardware grants
• Create and maintain Hardware Grants documentation, including support and education for grant recipients
• Maintain feedback loop with grant recipients

• This may include,but is not limited to, occasionally working with the PR Committee to gather testimonials or other information, creating surveys, following up with grant recipients

• Research new avenues for hardware grants
• Evaluate incoming grants and disburse grants
• Educate hardware grant recipients about the monthly classes offered and encourage their attendance.

Other Duties:

• Perform a needs assessment from hardware grant recipients and volunteers regarding the monthly class schedule and making additions/changes to curriculum to increase participation as needed.
• Makes links with non-profits and other organizations in order to increase the outreach work done by Free Geek and develop opportunities for volunteers.
• Fluency in Spanish preferred

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Teaching experience required
• Curriculum writing experience desired
• Basic computer knowledge: use of web browser, email, word processor, and spreadsheet.
• Ability to work in a consensus decision making process related to staff and policy issues.
• Patient and courteous with the public.
• Ability to work with and coordinate volunteers with a wide range of skills and experience.
• Able to work in an informal, friendly environment with a diverse staff
• Work well under stress in an unusual setting, maintaining a positive attitude even in the face of adversity
• Not afraid to ask questions, but able to work on projects almost entirely without supervision
• Able to remain flexible as Free Geek grows and changes

Desired knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Knowledge and experience of Free and Open Source Software including the GNU/Linux operating system.
• An enthusiasm for IT in general and for its use in enabling the work of non-profits and tackling social exclusion in particular.
• Experience of working with non-profits.
• Experience and /or knowledge of the issues surrounding the 'Digital Divide' and how to tackle it.

Notes on integrating this as a collective level position

In order to smoothly integrate the successful candidate into the collective it is proposed to change the way this has been done up to now. Namely that the first [six weeks] of employment be given over to training and preparation period and only once this is completed will they start attending collective meetings. This will give the person time to work alongside existing staff doing this work to receive thorough training and to gain familiarity with the work they will be doing and our organizational culture, before starting collective duties, and to be better able to both the focus they need.