We CAN Collaborative

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Request for Proposals for Skilled Facilitator/Facilitation Team to Lead Youth & Community Dialogues regarding Policing in Kensington & Fairhill Neighborhoods

The We CAN [Change and Action Now] Collaborative seeks an experienced facilitator/facilitation team to lead a series of innovative dialogues and other event(s) as appropriate in the Kensington/Fairhill areas of North Philadelphia that support the We CAN Collaborative in the following goals:

• Understanding residents’ good AND bad experiences with police;
• Recording neighbors’ understandings of alternatives to the institution of policing, including their understandings of how these will or will not work/perceived barriers; and
• Develop a plan for sharing findings with the appropriate parties regarding:
  • Resident Perspectives on Policing and Issues Therein
  • Alternative Methods and Strategies for Achieving Community Safety/Accountability

The We CAN Collaborative is an interagency partnership among three community-based nonprofit organizations (NKCDC, Impact Services, and HACE) and many community partners, prominently including the 24th District Philadelphia Police Department. Our collaborative is working through the DOJ’s Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction grant awarded October 2018 to support increased safety and reduced crime in the Kensington/Fairhill areas of North Philadelphia through three major goals: Increasing Collective Efficacy; Improving Interactions among Police and Community Members; and Enhancing Physical Conditions. Our project focus area is bound by Allegheny Avenue (north), Lehigh Avenue (south), Frankford Avenue (east), and Front Street (west). To build towards this stage of Implementation, the We CAN Collaborative has engaged hundreds of residents through project planning meetings, SAFE Clinics, and Police Buddy Outings with youth to destinations like the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Zoo. The Collaborative includes resident leaders who serve as Community Connectors and are a part of the Leadership Team who provide local perspectives and sustainability to the project. This grant is currently active through October 2021. At present, the We CAN Collaborative anticipates selecting a candidate no later than December 2020 who can begin working with us to inform the launch date, format for engagement, and recruitment strategy for youth and police officers, with potential launch in January 2021 with data collection completed by July 2021. Our collaborative has existing relationships and access to local community spaces that we will discuss as we work with the candidate to formalize implementation of this project component. We also emphasize that we are open to guidance from the candidate on how to effectively move this work forward.

The ideal candidate should be:

• Experienced in facilitating activities and conflict mediation among youth and young adults (ages 14-24) in a group setting
• Skilled at developing a scaffolded approach to youth and community dialogues that appropriately invites and adequately prepares all participants to be active contributors, and able to advise the We CAN Collaborative accordingly as we prepare for rollout of these dialogues
• Adept at setting norms/expectations for all participants (e.g. confidentiality & exceptions to confidentiality, participation, how to disagree, use of cell phones, et. al.)
• Able to identify and implement appropriate facilitation tools that support candid communication and support participants’ feelings of safety, especially when engaging with difficult topics
• Familiar with trauma-informed principles/facilitation methods
• Applying their awareness of power dynamics, especially in the context of racialized profiling, bias, etc. to their facilitation
• Adapting their facilitation methods to support safety for all participants in the context of COVID-19
• Bilingual (English & Spanish) fluency is strongly preferred to support accessibility to our constituents
• Familiarity/experience with Philadelphia/Kensington neighborhood dynamics is preferred

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit the following to wecan@nkcdc.org no later than Monday, November 16th, 2020:

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter – a thoughtful letter indicating how your approach to facilitation will best fit We CAN Collaborative goals
3. If invited for an in-person interview, please be prepared to share your facilitation style/approach to achieving the above goals (virtual interviews anticipated mid-November 2020; in-person interviews anticipated mid-December 2020).
4. All candidates, whether successful or not, will be contacted once a decision has been made. If your application is not successful, NKCDC will maintain your resume for one year in the event other We CAN Collaborative opportunities become available that may meet your skill set and our hiring needs.

Compensation

The total fee for the Facilitator/Facilitation Team to Lead Youth & Community Dialogues regarding Policing will be between $8,000-$10,000. The contractor will be required to submit invoices for work completed on an agreed upon payment schedule.This position is a 1099 contractor, or, an independent contractor. This is a legal and tax-related term used in the United States to refer to the type of worker that contracts his or her services out to a business or businesses. A 1099 contractor is not an employee of the business or businesses with which he or she provides services; instead they are an independent contractor, or consultant, who is considered to be self-employed. The contractor alone is responsible for the accurate payment of taxes as assessed by your municipality, state, and federal government.

The We CAN Collaborative (HACE, Impact Services, and NKCDC) provide Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, race, national or ethnic origin, gender identity or expression, religion, language, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or physical ability.