Filled- Common Ground is Seeking a Part-time, Seasonal Event Coordinator

Part-Time, Seasonal Job Opening: Coordinator, Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride

Common Ground — a high school, urban farm, and environmental education center — is hiring a part-time, seasonal event coordinator to play a key role in organizing the 11th Annual Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride. Rock to Rock — New Haven’s largest Earth Day celebration and environmental fundraiser — brings together more than 1,000 cyclists of all ages and background to explore our city and region, and to raise more than $200,000 for 30+ local organizations, all working to create a healthy, green, just, welcoming community. Common Ground partnered with hcp virtual event planning company to launch Rock to Rock 11 years ago, and acts as the fiscal agent for this event. For more information about Rock to Rock, visit www.rocktorock.org.

Rock to Rock is led by Common Ground and three other organizing partners: the Urban Resources Initiative, the New Haven Leon Sister City Project and the New Haven Department of Parks, Recreation, and Trees. Each of these partner organizations takes on responsibility for particular aspects of the event (outreach including launch events, day of experience, route and safety, fundraising, etc.).

The Rock to Rock Event Coordinator will work with other Common Ground staff to manage the aspects of Rock to Rock for which we are primarily responsible — managing the event start at Common Ground, and coordinating the fundraising and sponsorship aspects of the event — while working closely with other event organizers to ensure the event reaches its overall goals. This is a new position, taking on responsibilities previously held by Common Ground’s Director of Impact & Engagement, who will supervise and train this new team member.

Job Responsibilities:

Represent Common Ground as an organizing partner for Rock to Rock

• Participate in organizing partner meetings and email communications – 1 (occasionally 2 as needed) per month, during work day, October to June.
  • Participate in setting event goals, roles, strategies, timeline, budget, etc.
  • Help to facilitate strong communications among partners.
  • Help to solve problems and realize opportunities as they arise, and step into specific responsibilities as needed.
• Join in participating partner meetings – 1 per month, Monday or Tuesday evenings 5:30-8pm, December to May (2 hours/meeting, plus 2 hours of prep & follow-up, or 24 hours total).

Coordinate sponsor communications & experience

• Ensure sponsors feel valued and receive the benefits they have earned.
  • Manage sponsor sign-up form and follow-up communications.
  • Ensure sponsors are invited to events, receive free registrations, etc.
  • Encourage and support sponsors to create teams and engage employees volunteers.
  • Coordinate speaking roles, banners, parking spaces, etc., on event day
  • Ensure sponsor logos get on t-shirts, street banners
  • Order, coordinate, and send post-event thank you cards, including results report (official donation acknowledgements handled separately).

Co-coordinate fundraising committee

• Develop and coordinate rider prize list.
  • Delegate and share responsibility for soliciting and securing prizes and sponsorships.
  • Develop & implement communications plan that supports riders in their fundraising efforts.
  • Coordinate development of messaging calendar
  • Set up triggered notifications
  • Coordinate and send email newsletter.
  • Work with outreach team to ensure fundraising content is part of social media for event.

Hosting event start at Common Ground

• Solicit, train and coordinate community, staff, and staff volunteers for the event start at Common Ground.
• Bottom line site setup at Common Ground — working with volunteers to set up key event areas: parking, start line, breakfast, registration, etc. (20 hours)
• Acting as point person on site day of event — checking in with all area leads (registration, breakfast, starting line, etc.), ensuring the event runs smoothly and riders have a positive experience.
• Working with staff and volunteers to ensure cleanup, wrap-up post event runs smoothly (12 hours).
• Supporting the Common Ground riding/fundraising team as needed.

Taking on other aspects of the event as needed — e.g., securing donated bikes for Common Ground student team members, supporting the Rock to Rock launch party and Day of Service, organizing canvassing along Rock to Rock route to support greater community engagement, etc.

Key qualifications Include:

• Strong experience and skills managing community engagement and fundraising events.
• Rock solid planning skills, detail management, logistics coordination, and follow-through.
• Excellent relationship-building and communications skills, in person and in writing, with people from a range of backgrounds (e.g., non-profit staff, corporate sponsors, volunteers, and racially and culturally diverse community members).
• Ability to work flexible, part-time hours, including evenings and weekends.
• A commitment to inclusiveness, equity, and justice — and to making Rock to Rock a more inclusive, welcoming community engagement opportunity.
• A passion for environmental issues.

Common Ground is particularly excited for candidates who:

• Have participated in and/or volunteered with Rock to Rock in the past, and are familiar with Common Ground’s site and work.
• Would like to play a sustained (and potentially growing) role in organizing Rock to Rock in future years.
• Can help to evaluate and systematize Rock to Rock, making it a more inclusive and effective event.

This is a part-time, seasonal position, starting in January and continuing through mid-May. We anticipate a total of approximately 200 hours of work, paid at $17/hour — approximately 20 hours each in January and February, 40 hours in March, 100 hours in April, and 20 hours in May. Exact hours are flexible, dependent on the ideal candidate’s schedule and the event needs.

To apply for this position:

This position reports to Joel Tolman, who is the Director of Impact & Engagement at Common Ground and has helped to lead Rock to Rock since its inception 11 years ago. Please send Joel an email at jtolman@commongroundct.org with your Cover Letter and Resume attached. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY STATEMENT

Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who help us fulfill our commitment to building a racially and culturally diverse faculty and staff. Common Ground has a commitment to examining the intersection of social, environmental, and food justice issues; how systems of oppression, including white privilege, impact the organization’s work; and how resistance to those systems can offer windows into a more sustainable society.
It is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against under any program, including employment, because of race, color, religious creed, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, sexual orientation, intellectual disability, and past/present history of mental disorder, learning disability and physical disability.
It is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to age, color, marital status, civil union status, national origin, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender in all personnel actions, including recruitment, evaluation, selection, daily interactions, promotion, compensation, training and termination.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, it is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School not to discriminate against protected qualified applicants and employees with disabilities in all aspect of employment.