Welcome to CUPPA Careers!

The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at UIC is the University of Illinois System's home for the study of public policy and contemporary urban challenges. We are CUPPA.

In the heart of Chicago, we offer degrees in fields of study that can change your life and change the world. CUPPA students and alumni are uniquely skilled to build and transform sustainable urban neighborhoods and communities and to address the challenges presented in the 21st century. Find our more about our Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees at cuppa.uic.edu.

Follow our job postings below and our national job tweets at @CUPPACareers. For student internships and student opportunities, head to the CUPPA Student Opportunities Blog

Have a job or internship to post? Send an email with the title, location, job description, and contact information to cuppa@uic.edu

Equity and Empowerment Coordinator, Evanston, IL

Equity and Empowerment Coordinator

All times are in Central Standard Time.
Location 
US-IL-Evanston
Job Type 
Regular Full-Time
Department 
City Manager's Office
Salary 
$74,698-$108,313/ annually
Posted Date 
12/6/2016
Job Closing Date 
12/26/2016

More information about this job:

Nature of Work/Essential Functions:

This position will provide coordination and leadership regarding issues of access, equity, and empowerment to services, programs, and offerings to the residents of the City of Evanston. This person works with City departments and community stakeholders to develop policies and promote best practices to implement the City of Evanston Equity and Empowerment Plan. This Plan includes goals to address equity and empowerment in City initiatives, services, and City-wide programs and support of the City’s participation in the STAR Community rating system.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (Specific assignment will include some or all of the following):
  • Develops and implements City of Evanston Equity and Empowerment Plan. 
  • Assesses the need for new equity-related policies and ordinances and/or changes to official City processes and procedures and implements identified changes.
  • Coordinates with community partners to assist in the development of new local/regional programs and support opportunities to increase equity and empowerment in underserved areas of the City.
  • Assesses community needs based on input from community stakeholders, professional associations, and industry professionals to develop or revise programs.
  • Serves as liaison between underrepresented groups and City departments/key partners to work toward equitable delivery of City services and critical community services and to identify barriers and support system changes necessary to achieve better quality of life.
  • Evaluates the effectiveness and delivery of City programs and services to the community of Evanston and recommends to the City Manager appropriate changes.
  • Assists the City Manager in developing, communicating, and executing enterprise and community plans related to eliminating racial and placed-based disparities.
  • Develops, monitors, and measures equity and inclusion performance measures including benchmarking and best practice studies, using STAR and other relevant frameworks. 
  • Establishes and builds relationships with a broad set of stakeholders, within the City and including non-profit, private, and public sector organizations working toward elimination of racial and place-based disparities.
  • Uses proven and innovative methodologies to engage the community in development of plans and actions to address racial and place-based disparities.
  • Develops programs that advance understanding of how diversity, equity, and inclusion impact experiences of community members in underrepresented groups.
  • Develops and coordinates cultural ambassadors from members of underrepresented groups to facilitate engagement of residents in identifying needs, issues, and barriers impacting their communities.
  • Advises and assists departments on strategic planning, policy, program operation and performance accountability. 
  • Performs other duties as required.

Minimum Requirements:

  • Must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Policy, Business Administration, Public Administration or a substantially similar area.
  • Must possess a valid driver’s license and safe driving record.
  • Must possess five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience in policy development, workforce development/compliance, or related field.
  • Knowledge, skills, and abilities in the following areas:
  • Ability to work and reason independently as well as within a team. Self-starter, professional, with strong interpersonal skills. Strong customer service skills and the ability to deal positively and effectively with the general public and other staff and individual agencies or persons.
  • Ability to develop an awareness of community culture and subcultures within the community.
  • Successful experience working with cultural identity groups who do not share the cultural identity of the person holding this position; experience in the field of diversity and inclusion, multicultural education and/or multicultural identity development.
  • Ability to foster an environment where culturally diverse people can work together cooperatively and effectively to meet community and organizational goals.
  • Considerable knowledge of the principles, practices and techniques related to dialogue, intercultural communication, transforming conflict, collaborative decision making, consensus building and group facilitation that fosters a chosen accountability and asset based approach.
  • Ability to mediate in highly charged and emotional situations involving issues of identity and respect, with a preference for experience in transformative mediation; ability to facilitate learning experiences related to intercultural communication;
  • Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationship with internal staff as well as the City of Evanston as a whole at all levels including external partner organizations and vendors.
  • Proficiency and knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite mainly, but not limited to, Excel and Word.
  • Strong oral, written and organizational skills; strong research, analytical and project management skills. Ability to apply reasoning to work assignments, research of issues, summaries, letters and memorandum, and reports using prescribed format and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. 
  • Ability to read manuals (safety, instructional, etc.), professional and technical journals, financial reports, legal documents, and newspapers, including the ability to understand read materials, and apply instruction and narrative if required.
  • Ability to handle daily, weekly, monthly, and annual calendars and scheduling. 
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF WORK:
Work is sedentary, walking and standing is required.  Occasionally using 10 pounds of force to lift, carry or otherwise move objects normally found in an office setting. The employee is subject to inside and outside environmental conditions.

SUPERVISION:
This individual reports directly to the City Manager. The individual has contact with other departmental and city staff at all levels, and uses the necessary resources in other departments and divisions, as well as, external resources as appropriate.   Work is assigned through specific projects assigned by various staff of the department as well as through customer requests. The employee is responsible for prioritizing work tasks, and for identifying and utilizing the appropriate resources to resolve a problem or situation and/or research and analyze specific data. Performance is reviewed through observation, completion of projects, status reports, and meetings. Guidance is provided through departmental policies, City operating practices and procedures, and other resources as applicable to the specific project assigned. Work is evaluated at least annually, with respect to problem-solving ability, customer service, research and analytical skills, written and verbal communication skills in accordance with this classification standard.

Additional Information:

Chosen candidates will be required to provide proof of licenses, certifications, and education required for this position.  Candidates will also be subject to qualifying pre-employment processes, including medical examination, drug/alcohol screen, employment verification, and criminal background check.

The City of Evanston is an equal opportunity employer and ensures against discrimination in employment on the basis of a person’s race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military discharge status, source of income, housing status, or gender identity.  The City of Evanston is also committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities.  Any person needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Human Resources at 847-448-8204 (voice) or 847-448-8052 (TTY)
on