Street Roots Vendor Program Coordinator

This listing can be viewed at http://www.streetroots.org/VPC

Street Roots Mission

Street Roots creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and social change.

Position Summary

The Vendor Program Coordinator takes the lead in daily interaction with Street Roots vendors, opening the vendor office and hosting Street Roots’ more than 170 active vendors. Duties include selling the newspaper to vendors, managing vendor accounts and maintaining the vendor database (which includes extensive writing); hosting biweekly vendor orientations; overseeing office cleanliness and organization; maintaining vendor sales locations and badges while analyzing sales data; supporting and motivating vendors; managing the front desk (fielding calls and messages, distributing Rose City Resource Guide, serving as a Street Roots ambassador); and helping the organization continue to deliver core services while dreaming big.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Street Roots Vendor Office:

• Open and close vendor office 5 days per week including Saturday & Sunday (office opens at 7:30am daily)

• Manage SR front desk (selling newspapers, distributing Rose City Resource guides, managing mail, triaging calls, managing crisis, relaying messages to vendors; and distributing forms such as sale post requests, bus pass requests, in-kind donation forms) Many things happen simultaneously at SR. The person in this position needs to be able to maintain grace and calm under pressure.

• Maintain vendor database (ensuring sales records are input correctly, running and analyzing weekly sales reports, documenting all incidents in office or on location)

• Manage a space that is inclusive and safe for people across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity, housing status, family status, ability and sexual identity.

• Manage a safe office, working with staff to mediate and de-escalate vendor conflict, support vendors in crisis (in conjunction with Vendor Program Director)

• Collaborate with Vendor Program Director on vendor support, disciplinary action and/or collaboration with other organizations/case managers when necessary

• Conduct new vendor orientations 2x per week

• Oversee distribution of vendor mail and hygiene supplies

• Use social media to tell compelling stories of SR vendors across our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts

• Oversee cleanliness and organization of vendor office by distributing vendor chores daily, inventorying hygiene supplies and communicating supply needs

• Maintain vendor sales posts and badges by managing requests, running and analyzing sales through weekly reports, creating badges, keeping sales-post map up to date, creating weekly potential sales-post sheets and communicating results to staff

• Help vendors get to sales locations through our transportation programs (including Uber grant and TriMet passes)

• Keep impeccable records

Vendor Support

• Coordinate monthly vendor recreational and cultural event

• Potentially coordinate vendor speaker’s bureau; vendor groups; and other vendor professional development and leadership opportunities

Staff Development

• Participate in ongoing trainings, staff meetings, and Street Roots ongoing equity & inclusion work.

Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Core Competencies

• Relevant coursework in social work or related field and/or experience working with people in homelessness and poverty (including employment, volunteerism, peer support training, lived experience)

• Exceptionally dependable with time, records management and cash handling (vendors depend on the office being open on-time every day and for their accounts to be accurate)

• A strong capacity for treating people with respect, dignity, and nonviolence in often trying situations

• Self-motivated and work well in unstructured, sometimes chaotic environment

• Strong communication skills (both written and verbal) and a strong commitment to teamwork, communicating regularly and clearly with Vendor Program Director as well as vendor team members (staff, volunteers)

• A demonstrated commitment to non-violence in crisis de-escalation

• Able to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and confidentiality

• A demonstrated commitment to keeping an inclusive, safe, and equitable environment for people across across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity housing status, family status, ability and sexual identity; and to Street Root’s ongoing work around equity

• Technology: Every day you will be using MacOS, GMail, Google Drive Applications, and a Salesforce database. Ability to use modern computer technology is essential.

Work Environment

Small, sometimes chaotic office environment in Old Town.

Individuals from all walks of life come into and call Street Roots daily. You will be expected to treat everyone with the same level of respect.

The Vendor Office is open during the following hours 365 days per year regardless of holiday or weather. Your schedule will involve working weekends.

M – F 7.30 AM – 3.00 PM

Saturday 7.30 AM – 2.00 PM

Salary and Benefits Information

• $16/hour (35-40 hours/week) *Working Saturdays and Sundays is required*
• 100% coverage of health and dental insurance premiums
• Annual paid time off (vacation and holidays)

Want to apply?

Email a resume and a brief cover letter to executive director Kaia Sand atkaia AT streetroots DOT orgby Thursday, May 31, 2018. Please write “vendor program coordinator” in the subject line.

In your cover letter, tell us how you heard about the position and respond to these questions:

• What qualifies you to work with people who are experiencing poverty and homelessness?
• What skills (personal, professional, educational or volunteer) do you bring to the job?
• Street Roots strives to create a safe space for people across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, housing status, family status, ability and sexual identity. How would you work to support this?

All inquiries will be handled confidentially. Interviews will begin in early June; job will begin in July. An email acknowledgement will be sent to all applicants within two business days. If you do not receive an acknowledgment within that timeframe, please contact Kaia Sand: kaia AT streetroots DOT org.

Once an offer is extended, we will do a criminal record check, but a criminal record will not necessarily disqualify a person from the position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $16.00 /hour