All Things Urban

Connect the Dots is an impact-driven firm that specializes in civic and community engagement. We build consultative processes based on data that help organizations to meaningfully engage with their stakeholders so they can move projects forward and drive positive outcomes.

We are a certified WBE/DBE firm.

Connect the Dots incorporated in Ireland in 2014 and has since successfully expanded into the stateside Philadelphia/NYC market. Both branches work closely on project approach and design, and each expands and contracts as needed to tackle all scales of projects.

Clients and collaborators range internationally and locally - from the ‘Congress’ of Ireland to engage stakeholders on informing new policies; to Dublin City Council, Meath County Council, South Dublin County Council, and Galway County Council, among others; to Center City District in Philadelphia, to Bywood (PA), to the OPW, to the National Transport Authority, to the National Disability Authority, to the Department of Justice in Ireland; to Comcast, Accenture; the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment to Delaware County Planning Department (PA), to Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, to University College Dublin, and many more. Connect the Dots has also recently been selected as one of the teams to lead engagement across 100s of 'rebuilds' of community assets over the coming years as part of Philadelphia’s Rebuild program, with project budgets from $50,000 to more than $13 million.

Connect the Dots is a women-owned stakeholder/community engagement firm that innovates participatory processes to connect diverse voices to decision-making.

Our work focuses on building meaningful engagement and outreach methods that elevate community voices in participatory processes. Through our creative and iterative approach, we incorporate education and intentionally-designed interactions to ensure these processes are inclusive, accessible, and representative.

We are working on a range of exciting projects focused on the public realm, transportation, comprehensive planning, equitable development/investment, urban economic development, parks/open spaces, sustainability, master planning, and more.

We are a small fast-growing team based in Philadelphia, PA committed to ensuring communities’ voices are a meaningful part of decision-making processes.

Connect the Dots (CtD) is looking for a driven and motivated Project Manager of Community Engagement to join our team full time. You will be joining a fast-growing, close-knit, passionate team with an array of partners. We are committed to co-creation, collaboration, and social, racial and economic justice, and are looking for candidates that already have experience in running community engagement and public participation processes – and are excited about supporting the growth of Connect the Dots.

We are looking for people in or willing to relocate to the Philly area. You will have access to our office in Center City and can work remotely 2-3 days a week.

Email the following to info@connectthedotsinsights.com with the subject line “Jan2023CtDPM [Your Name]”. Applications are due by February 16th, 2023.

• Resume
• Letter of interest
• 2-3 references
• 3 work samples including:
  – a writing sample
  – Insight-gathering (engagement) plans or materials (i.e. workshop, survey, etc)

*Only complete application packages will be considered.

Project Work (90% of role)

Plan informed and creative engagement and public participation processes, tailored to each project: Design engagement and outreach processes and key tactics to spread the word and gather insights in a collaborative, thoughtful manner. This varies by and within communities so requires listening, research, conversations and collaboration with partners to develop the best-fit strategies. Adapt CtD’s tactics toolkit to specific project needs and creatively develop new tactics to ensure we are truly meeting people where they are, and ensuring accessibility and transparency. Plan and implement these strategies and tactics. Oversee and collaborate with staff and partners to accomplish.

Manage multiple projects in a highly organized, efficient, and collaborative manner: Manage small, medium, and large projects with varying timelines. Organize multiple aspects of multiple projects concurrently. Develop project plans, collaborate with a wide variety of clients, partners, and team members, use and maintain project schedules, budgets, and hour allocations. Organize multiple aspects of multiple projects concurrently. Clearly communicate challenges, updates, and progress throughout. Is able to adapt and shift plans as needed. Has strong ability to manage staff and subcontractors, assigning tasks, following up, and ensuring high quality and timely work products.

Business Health and Growth (10% of role)

Support the continued growth and evolution of Connect the Dots: We love that each new member of the Connect the Dots team brings something new and special to our team that enables our development as a firm. This could relate to internal work from business development, to operations, or more. We look for an overlap between skill/experience and our needs to co-create this unique part of your role.

Required:

Engagement Experience: Experience with large-scale and small-scale engagement and outreach processes and confidence developing, designing, and delivering workshops, outreach strategies, mixed-methodology insight-gathering processes.

Organization: Must be highly organized with the ability to manage multiple people, projects, tasks, and deadlines simultaneously.

Internal Communication: Must be a strong communicator, both internally with the team and with partners. Must be able to easily work with team members, assign tasks, ensure accountability, enable collaboration, provide and receive feedback in an efficient, fair, and clear manner.

Leadership: Must be a strong leader, with skills in guiding and supporting teammates to deliver positive outcomes.

People Management: Must be able to thoughtfully and effectively engage and collaborate with partners, subcontractors, team members, and other stakeholders to anticipate roadblocks, pivot, make strategic decisions, and move projects along.

Scheduling and Resource Management: Must be able to manage project budgets and associated resources in order to produce high quality deliverables in a timely manner. Must be a strong strategist and planner with attention to detail.

External Communication: Must be a strong writer and able to communicate with partners and the general public about projects in a clear and accessible manner, with the ability to distill complex information in a way that is engaging and understandable to different audiences.

Community Building: Must be welcoming, open, and humble – able to build trust and relationships with community leaders and groups.

Collaboration and Adaptability: Able to co-create outreach and engagement strategies and tools with the team to best connect with communities and gather input. Able to pivot, iterate, and adjust plans as needed. Must be a skillful negotiator and problem-solver.

The role is a full-time, non-exempt position. Salary will be discussed openly to ensure commensurate with experience.

Salary range: 62-67 K, dependent on experience.

Tech and Wellness Plan: $1200 annual stipend 3 months after start to support wellness and technical capacity needs.

Monthly Health Insurance contribution of $200 per month, group insurance option
PTO policy including 10 Holidays (4 Roving), 15 PTO at base level, and 5-6 days of office closure between Christmas and New Years
Personal Development Plans and learning opportunities.

IMPORTANT NOTE

We welcome qualified candidates from all walks of life and value diversity in our company. We prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, military service, disability unrelated to job requirements, marital status, or domestic partner status.

62-67 K, dependent on experience.

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.