West Virginia Ready Member with Visit Southern West Virginia

Position Title:  WV Rural Engagement Ambassador for Development and Youth (WV Ready) – AmeriCorps Member with Visit Southern West Virginia

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: Visit Southern West Virginia
1408 Harper Rd.
Beckley, WV 25801

 Terms of Service:

• Start Date: 03/31/2025
• End Date: 11/07/2025
• Application Deadline: 02/21/2025
• Number of Positions Available: 1
• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1200 Hours

Purpose:

Stewards Individual Placements provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural and cultural resources. The West Virginia Rural Engagement Ambassadors for Development and Youth (WV READY) is a new collaborative AmeriCorps program sponsored by Stewards Individual Placements. Stewards, in partnership with Volunteer WV, and local community organizations such as Visit Southern West Virginia, is working to support WV’s transition to grow eco-tourism and outdoor recreation opportunities.

The mission of Visit Southern West Virginia is to promote southern West Virginia as a visitor friendly travel destination.  Visit Southern West Virginia is a not-for-profit ‘destination marketing’ organization. Visit Southern West Virginia is directly responsible for travel and tourism ‘product awareness’ to visitors for the 9 county region that we promote. These 9 counties are: Raleigh, Mercer, Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, McDowell, Nicholas, Wyoming and Summers.

The WV Rural Engagement Ambassador for Development and Youth (WV Ready) AmeriCorps Member at Visit Southern West Virginia will complete asset mapping and identification by conducting member and visitor surveys out in the field, collecting data about attractive assets and to help inform branding strategies. The member will also support local outdoor opportunities by tabling at festivals and recreation events within the represented 9 counties; these outreach events will aim to educate visitors and locals about the organization’s role in boosting the local economy.  Additionally, the member will provide communications on projects supporting local outdoor opportunities by interpreting visitor trends to our outdoor assets. Last but not least, Visit Southern West Virginia is also pursuing a Leave No Trace Youth Education program to be launched in 2025; this will involve educating 5th graders in Raleigh and Fayette counties about Leave No Trace principles.

 
Description of Duties:

To achieve the goals of this WV Ready position, the member will:

• Survey members and visitors at Tamarack
  • Engage visitors in a short survey, collect data about experiences in the region and share data with team
• Interpret visitation and demographic data from the datafy program
  • Understand how data differs from each recreational point of interest and discuss those differences
• Tabling at public events
  • Distribute visitors guides to attendees and answer questions about recreation opportunities in the area
• Analyze text on website to determine AI compatibility
• Teach Leave No Trace principles to a local fifth grade classroom by providing a 1 hour engaging and entertaining lesson about how they can help keep the outdoors clean
• Create educational video content for YouTube, which will include researching topics, filming, and editing

 
Qualifications:

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• At least 18 years of age
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check.
• Able to commit to 32 weeks of service
• Willing to serve in West Virginia, West Virginia resident preferred
• Valid West Virginia Driver’s License

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Self motivated, team player with a positive attitude and the desire to learn and the ability to think outside the box and share recommendations and ideas
• Must be good with working with the public
• Professional communication skills: written, presentation, and public speaking
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Outlook, Excel, and Forms
• Event Planning
• Facilitating group conversations
• Managing/supporting volunteers
• Experience/familiarity with trail maintenance and/or trial construction
• Passion for outdoor recreation
• Leadership
• Open-minded and collaborative spirit
• Ability and willingness to work actively outdoors for several hours
• Bachelor’s Degree Preferred

Physical Requirements:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

 Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday- Friday 8:30-4:30, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.
• The Member will be included in the WV Ready Member cohort; this cohort will meet on a bi-weekly basis for 1.5 hours and Members are expected to attend

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
• Member will receive training on Community Asset Mapping (CAM)
• Online courses in Customer Service provided by Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
• One-on- one training with Datafy service representative
• Leave No Trace 101 course

Benefits:

Although each WV READY Member’s project will look different depending on host site needs, they will still be able to lean on a cohort-style model for support, shared experiences, and professional development. Ideal candidates for this initiative are young adults looking to build a career and be a part of this larger movement in the Mountain State!  Additional benefits include:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $5176.50, pre-tax
• Living Allowance of $600 per week
• Receive tuition and fee waivers at West Virginia institutions of higher education
  • Learn how to maximize your education award in West Virginia!
• Paid Training & Professional Development
• Access to all member and alumni benefits of Conservation Legacy
• Opportunity to make a HUGE impact on your community
• Service opportunities can help propel your career forward with intentional experience and professional connections

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Application, Resume and Cover Letter:
When uploading and attaching your resume to this application, please also upload and attach a cover letter.  In your cover letter, please note your interest and qualifications in this position.

Recruiter & Program Coordinator Contact Information:
Susie Schroer
Stewards Individual Placements Program Coordinator
sschroer@conservationlegacy.org
970-317-9131 

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with AmeriCorps requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Salary : $600