Listen Up! Youth Radio
Partner Agency: Listen Up! Youth Radio
Location(s): 550 Vandalia St, Saint Paul (within SPNN) and/or other partner locations in MPLS or STP
Name of Site Supervisor and Title: Jordan Lee Thompson, Executive Director
CTEP Program Overview:
The AmeriCorps Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) bridges the "digital divide" for new immigrants and low-income communities in the Twin Cities. CTEP is a program of the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN).
Role:
The Training & Pathways Coordinator position will support Listen Up's youth media entrepreneurship and employment programming for Twin Cities youth and young adults and provide capacity building work to support higher education access and media career pathways for participants.
Capacity Building Projects - 15 hours/week
Goals:
1. Increase the number of young people trained in media production, journalism, media literacy,
leadership, and group dialogue/facilitation
2. Increase the number of young people competitive in higher education and employment
3. Establish pathways to substantive employment positions for current and former participants 4. Build systems/structures to sustain a supported community of youth taking on issues in their community through media
Tasks:
1) develop partnerships with local high schools to create options for participants to receive credit for their work with Listen Up,
2) develop partnerships with local and national higher education media departments, and journalism and media outlets to create internship and job pathways for Listen Up participants,
3) develop structures to maintain youth leadership of Listen Up programming,
4) create an inventory and subscription plan for our equipment and technical software,
5) update curriculum on media production, media literacy, financial literacy, and media career readiness,
6) produce a plan for weekly and monthly marketing, communications, and social media content,
7) create structures for distribution of Listen Up's youth-produced media content,
8) develop a plan for keeping current volunteers engaged and recruiting future volunteers, and
9) generate a plan for gathering and maintaining participant data and evaluation.
Train the Trainer Support for Youth Leaders - 15 hours/week
Goals:
1. Deliver high-quality media production, technology literacy, and career readiness programming to
young adults to support tangible learning and job or internship placement
Tasks:
1) Co-facilitate after-school and summertime programming with Listen Up youth leaders for high schoolers on radio broadcasting, audio and multimedia storytelling, journalism, media literacy, media justice, career readiness, group dialogue/facilitation, and worker cooperative literacy
2) Support youth to lead media workshops for schools and local youth organizations and co-facilitate these at times
3) Integrate technology education, financial literacy, and career readiness training into programming, with an emphasis on media entrepreneurship and worker cooperative models
Weekly Routine Work & Training - 2-9 hours/week
Tasks:
1) Attend trainings on media production, media justice, social media marketing, and more
2) Write reports for CTEP program
3) Attend Corps Days with your CTEP cohort (twice monthly)
Preferred Schedule for Member:
Flexible schedule with breaks. 32 hours/week (M-Th by default) + 2x/mo Corps Days (see below). 2-3 days per week will go until 6 or 6:30pm. Some weekend training or events with youth if/as needed. 1700+ hours.
In addition, members attend professional development days with their fellow CTEP members to enhance service-readiness skills, personal attributes at the service site, and citizenship skills. These Corps Days take place twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Fridays from 9 AM to 4 PM, and these trainings are mandatory. Members also attend statewide AmeriCorps events, such as the Martin Luther King Day celebration, and/or serve on the statewide InterCorps Council.
Site Environment:
This position is hybrid in-person and remote, although an in-person workspace will always be available for you. We are located inside of St Paul Neighborhood Network, at 550 Vandalia St. This space houses the CTEP program staff and SPNN's youth programs and team as well, whom we collaborate with. There is a kitchen/lounge, bathrooms, conference rooms, studio and control room, editing suite, and youth lab. You will be provided with a desk in Listen Up Youth Radio's section of the office.
The physical demands of the position include: working multiple hours a day in virtual meetings and commuting a couple of times per week to or between program sites to hold programming. The emotional demands include: working multiple hours a day in virtual spaces and some emotional labor supporting young people during programming. The intellectual demands of the position include: learning and teaching media and technology skills, learning and teaching cooperative models and entrepreneurial literacy, writing, speaking to groups of young people, thinking creatively about individual projects and at team meetings, understanding how to work with young people and managing and posting to social media accounts. An individual who is self-motivated, comfortable in adapting with a small and quickly growing organization, and initiates project work is best suited for this position.
Listen Up Mission and History
MISSION: To provide Twin Cities youth with access to radio and digital media, tools to build community through media justice, and opportunities to amplify voice and leadership.
Listen Up Youth Radio began in January 2018 and went public with our first program that June via a weekly, youth-hosted radio program. Today, Listen Up is a worker self-directed nonprofit with an embedded youth media entrepreneurship cooperative. Our board includes Youth Media Collective members and alumni and adult volunteers.
Our program strategies are: 1) youth employment, 2) training and education in media production, journalism & media literacy, and 3) civic engagement and leadership development. We run:
1) 8 monthly youth-produced radio shows (4-5pm, Mondays/Thursdays on WFNU + Fridays on KRSM) 2) a year round Youth Media Collective (employment and entrepreneurship cooperative program), 3) a Summer Media Institute (peer-to-peer training program),
4) Youth Forums (aired on 5th monthly Mondays/Fridays), and
5) media education and media production services for schools, companies, libraries, and community organizations.
Listen Up Youth Radio Benefits include:
1. Flexible role that can align with your skillset and areas of desired growth
2. Access to MediaJustice network and trainings, and other relevant professional development
3. Your photo and bio profiled on our website
4. Personal access to Hindenburg Pro audio editing software and Canva for Teams
CTEP AmeriCorps Benefits include:
1. A Segal education award of up to $6,345 (upon successful completion, 1700 hours)
2. A living allowance of approximately $770 biweekly (before taxes)
3. Payment of federal student loan interest if you put your payments on hold during your year in
CTEP (upon successful completion)
4. A head start on the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program-if you choose to
enroll-which has a potential to save you thousands/tens of thousands of dollars on student loans
5. A personal and professional network through our intensive professional development program
which meets twice a month with local change makers and non-profit professionals
6. Health and dental insurance options
7. Child care assistance (depending on qualifications)
8. A partnership with our local YMCA network which offers free enrollment, discounted membership, and other benefits
9. Additionally, as a CTEP member you may qualify for state assistance programs such as food assistance of up to $200/month; Transit Assistance Program ($1 bus fares); and Energy Assistance programs which can save you up to $300 over winter months
10. Ability for members to work a second job or study while serving in AmeriCorps if desired
How to Apply:
Apply online at my.americorps.gov and click on “Apply to Serve” (be sure to search for the “Community Technology Empowerment Project” or “CTEP” when asked to indicate what program you would like to send your application to). Contact: Tess Hackbarth, hackbarth@spnn.org, 651.298.8910
Literacy Minnesota fosters an organizational culture that is welcoming and inclusive to all. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities.
Reasonable accommodations will be made upon request. Alternative formats of this document are also available.