Outer Coast Outreach Fellow

Outer Coast is an emerging, two-year liberal arts college in Sitka, Alaska. We offer a transformative, community-based, and student-governed education for students from across Alaska and around the world. In fall 2024, we will launch our inaugural undergraduate program.

Our mission is to teach and inspire young people to create virtuous change in the world and in their own lives through academics, service & labor, and self-governance.

Outer Coast seeks to serve a student body that is national and international in breadth and diverse in many ways, including racial, ethnic, cultural, and gender identities, and socioeconomic status. Outer Coast emphasizes reaching students from across Alaska, particularly Alaska Natives and rural Alaskans, as well as other high-potential students from backgrounds underrepresented and underserved in American higher education.

Position Description:

What does ‘Outreach’ mean?

Outreach means building the relationships — philanthropic, programmatic, and administrative — that an organization needs to operate day-to-day and grow sustainably into the future.

Working in outreach involves strategically communicating the message, mission, and impact of Outer Coast to different audiences and stakeholders. This work helps recruit students, build partnerships, secure donations — among much else — for the organization as a whole. Examples of outreach work include: writing grant applications, emailing with prospective students and teachers, pitching Outer Coast to promising partner organizations to recruit students, and interviewing Outer Coast alumni to create student profiles for our website.

Unique Value of this Role:

Outreach work is the engine of all nonprofits. This fellowship offers on-the-ground outreach experience that is widely applicable to a wide variety of development/fundraising, program, and operations roles across the nonprofit sector and beyond. Fellows will also gain valuable and practical financial knowledge and skills, such as learning accounting and donor management software, and the backend processes of nonprofit administration. The Outreach Fellowship at Outer Coast offers a unique opportunity to dream big about the possibilities of innovative education.

The Outreach Fellow will be a primary collaborator on the Outer Coast team and will work directly with the Operations team, reporting directly to the Outreach Lead. The Outreach Fellow’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Responsibilities:

Development, Communications, and Administration (80%)

• Work with the Outreach Lead, Executive Director, and Chief Operating Officer to support all aspects of Outer Coast fundraising, communications, and administration
• Assist with the successful administrative launch of the Outer Coast undergraduate program, with a particular focus on institutional authorization and college accreditation processes
• Build out the body of content that we use to describe Outer Coast by:
  • Drafting original language tailored to specific stakeholders
  • Editing existing documents
  • Writing structured grant reports
  • Creating profiles for newsletters and other communications with partners
• Help to manage and streamline workflows, systems, and routines for the development and recruitment teams
• Research and share findings on a range of topics in order to support institutional success (e.g., granting organizations, high-capacity donors, collaborators in Alaska, financial aid, accreditation protocols, non-traditional models of higher education, etc.)
• Track and log financial expenditures and prepare financial documentation
• Lead and grow Outer Coast’s social media presence
• Coordinate communications with stakeholders and collaborators

College Design and Operations (20%)

• Participate in discussions and worksessions on topics pertaining to student programming and the college building process
• Meet and speak with experts, collaborators, and community members about issues related to the recruitment, development, administration, and the operation of the college

• Work closely with all Outer Coast undergraduate program staffulty, including faculty, deans, and student support staff
• Support event planning and coordination for a range of on-campus programs, including visiting university groups, Board of Trustees retreats, and prospective student weekends
• Other projects guided by fellow interest

This position provides a tremendous learning opportunity as well as the chance to have an impact on the DNA of Outer Coast. Outer Coast fellow positions are uniquely immersive and fast-paced and require a high level of commitment. This position changes from week to week and involves a great deal of self-directed work, guided by daily check-ins and meetings with fellow project staff. Candidates should be willing to work on occasional evenings and weekends.

Qualifications:

• Mission-aligned with Outer Coast and its goals
• Self-motivated and directed
• Passionate about creating change in American higher education
• Responsive to feedback and constructive criticism
• Eager to work on a small and highly collaborative team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with young people in an educational setting, particularly high school and/or college-aged students
• Demonstrated knowledge or experience in Alaska Native cultures, languages, values, and traditions

We especially encourage applications from Alaskans and Alaska Natives, as well as other identities representative of the students we seek to serve.

For questions about the position please contact:

Rachel Thomson (rachel@outercoast.org), who is a former AFP Outer Coast fellow. Prospective applicants are highly encouraged to contact Rachel beforehand to understand the position fully.

Application Materials:

• Résumé
• Cover letter / statement of purpose of no more than 2 pages
• Three references to be contacted