Who We Are:

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is the leader of a movement to connect everyone in America to the outdoors. A national nonprofit, TPL partners with communities to create high-quality parks and protect public lands—especially in communities that need them most—to improve public health, create social cohesion, strengthen historic and cultural connection to place, and increase climate resilience. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, generated over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

Position Summary:

The Community Outreach Coordinator will support the New York Playgrounds Program with a particular focus on community engagement. This role involves organizing and identify & prioritize needs to support the educational and gardening programming, boosting school and community use of our playgrounds. The Coordinator will strengthen relationships and seek partnership opportunities with civic, nonprofit, and public organizations for our playgrounds.

This position will report to the Program Director and will be in-office (Noho), with field work throughout the five boroughs of NYC. This is a full-time, non-exempt (hourly) position with full benefits (40 hours/week), and some weekend work is required.

Essential Functions:
Conduct Community Engagement Activities

Plan and execute stewardship events at schoolyards (planting days, cleanups, tree care workshops, planting annuals or bulbs on schoolyards with students, teachers and/or community members).
Engage in communication, meetings, and programming with schools, local nonprofits and civic organizations to increase use and care of our playgrounds.
Coordination with custodial engineers and school staff to access sites, identify issues and provide solutions. Help maintain internal repair and stewardship records.
Create and distribute communications and outreach materials, including flyers, emails, social media and web presence.
Maintain and document communication with external partners, including growing list of community partners and work to build new community relationships.
Share stories, photographs, and videos with Philanthropy and Marketing.
Provide ideas that support the approach to gaining community support in ways that are true to the community in which we are working.
Serve as a point of contact for staff, external stakeholders and the public.
Other duties as assigned

Special Knowledge & Skills

Proficiency in presenting information clearly in both written and oral formats.
Demonstrated experience with community engagement and outreach.
Demonstrated experience in building relationships with school administration, teachers and community partners.
Ability to juggle multiple projects and collaborate with diverse partners.
Familiarity with NYC trees, plants, and weeds a plus.
Experience working with kids is a plus.
Knowledge of Spanish a plus.

Qualifications:

Strong commitment to TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization.
At least one year of experience performing similar duties
Experience with gardening
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds (soil, mulch, etc.)
Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to prioritize multiple tasks, promptness and dependability.
Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to work well with others.
Ability to work with a high degree of self-direction, flexibility, and speed, especially with respect to taking initiative, prioritizing multiple tasks, and using good judgment to resolve problems.
Good computer skills; familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel programs, and able to use technology to make processes more efficient. Experience managing remote communications technology such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Willingness to travel to the five boroughs of NYC; evening and weekend hours are possible.
Commitment to TPL’s mission of creating parks and protecting land for healthy, livable communities.
Driver’s license a plus
Some weekend hours

Compensation:
Trust for Public Land is a hybrid work environment, and this role will ideally be located near a Trust for Public Land office. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $27.71/hour to $31.25/hour ($57,638-$65,000/year).

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.