Community Canvasser, San Jose

(Part-Time, Regular)

About Innovate Public Schools 

Innovate Public Schools is a nonprofit organization focused on ensuring that ALL students, and particularly low-income students and students of color, receive an excellent education. We’re building a movement of families, educators, and business and elected leaders who together will make this vision a reality. We build the capacity of parents and educators to innovate and act together to create world-class public schools, and we publish easy-to-understand school quality data and research that highlights both problems and solutions.

Innovate Public Schools supports parents across the region to build powerful community organizations in their local communities that can successfully push for better schools and hold the system accountable to the needs of families and children. Innovate currently leads a network of grassroots community organizations led by passionate parent leaders from across the Bay Area in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, and Los Angeles.

 About the Position:

Innovate Public Schools is looking for a self-motivated, outgoing and persistent person who is passionate about closing the achievement gap and expanding high quality school options for students in San Jose. 

The community canvasser will be part of a canvassing team working to engage and empower parents to be agents of change in their local public schools and advocates for new high quality public schools, including charter schools. The community canvasser will play an integral role in building the base of San Jose parents working with Innovate as volunteer parent leaders. 

The community canvasser should be effective at building relationships with parents in low-income communities and inspiring them to take action. The canvassing work will be issue-oriented, but non-partisan and not affiliated with any political campaign.

Hours: Approximately 4 hours of office time weekly, approximately 4 hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday, remaining 8 hours will vary during the weekday or weeknights 

Benefits: Ineligible for benefits due to part-time status

Key Responsibilities

The Community Canvasser will:

• Engage with parents and community members about the quality of their local public schools and new public school options coming to their area within the San Jose community by canvassing via:

• Door-knocking in neighborhoods 

• Canvassing at grocery stores

• Tabling and approaching people to start conversations at public locations

• Engaging community members at events

• Signature gathering 

• Invite parents to attend local informational meetings during door-to-door work and in follow up phone calls

• Identify potential parent leaders who are interested in organizing as volunteers with Innovate to improve their local schools and advocate for more high quality school options

• Potential non-partisan electoral outreach

• Build relationships with small-business owners, community-based organizations and other stakeholders in order to reach more parents

• Identify potential locations for canvassing

• Collect and manage data, review for accuracy and complete daily and weekly reporting on field activities

• Support logistics at parent meetings and events

• Report weekly and coordinate with the assigned manager.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills in person and on phone

• Advanced oral proficiency in Spanish required

• Ability to memorize a short script and adjust as needed to audience

• Open to learning and feedback

• Ability to meet reasonable number of dials per night/ door knocks per shift, to be determined

• Flexibility in work schedule (nights & weekends) and an ability to manage time independently

• Basic computer and smartphone skills

• Ability to work with Salesforce, voter data tracking programs

• Able to walk/stand for long periods of time (4-6 hrs/day)

• Punctuality – shifts have pre-set start times

• Positive attitude, detail-oriented, highly motivated and organized

• Ability to work respectfully with people of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds

• Passionate about the mission and core values of Innovate Public Schools

• Previous canvassing experience (doors, phones or both), either in a paid or unpaid capacity, is preferred but not required

• Have access to and use of a vehicle and have a valid driver's license (mileage will be reimbursed)

• Have access to and use of a smartphone

Bi-Lingual Requirements

• Must be able read, write, and speak Spanish fluently

Training

Training, needed resources and canvassing tracking/data management tools will be provided.

Work Environment / Physical Demands

The work environment characteristics and the physical demands described here are representative of those an employee encounters while successfully performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Employee must also be able to walk and/or stand for long periods of time (up to 4-6 hours per day)

This position may require working varying hours including weekends, nights and holidays.  It requires constant use of independent judgment, self motivation, and capability of doing all the above duties with minimal supervision.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills.

Innovate Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer, and takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.