Voter Contact Innovations: Research Canvasser
at Vote Rev Action Fund's career page
LOCATION. Newark, New Jersey. Applications from people who do not currently live within a one-hour commute of Newark, New Jersey will not be considered.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS.
$34 per hour for a minimum of 30 hours per week (most likely 35-40 hours per week, days off will vary)
Generous medical, dental, and vision
Paid time off: Employees accrue 1.5 days/month
ROLE TYPE. This is a full-time, temporary role with benefits with a start date of 4/15 and an end date of 6/7 (Newark, NJ)
APPLICATION DEADLINE. The application will close when all positions are filled. Please submit your application as soon as possible. We intend to conduct interviews on a rolling basis prior to 4/15.
FIELD / FULL TIME / HOURLY.
About the opportunity
The Voter Contact Innovations: Research Canvassers we hire for this role will be part of a canvassing operation leading up to the 2024 primary elections. This is a research-focused program to improve our voter registration and turnout tactics. That means that as well as trying to talk to as many people as possible, you'll experiment with many different ideas, track your data, and participate in determining which ones will be used to turn out voters in this year’s Presidential Election. Research Canvassers will have additional roles that may include scouting and selecting locations, managing data collection, interfacing with the research team, and/or supporting fellow teammates with canvassing.
This role will require flexibility, creativity, an openness to trying new practices, lots of physical movement to approach passersby, and being outside for the majority of the time.
We are dedicated to creating an organization that reflects the diversity of the country we serve. We strongly encourage women, people of color, and others who are underrepresented in campaigns and voter engagement nonprofits to apply.
Responsibilities
Canvass high-traffic areas using the tools and tactics being researched and report back to communicate needs and learnings.
Be active in engaging with the community through canvassing interactions and conversation. Research Canvassers should be excited to connect with a variety of voters.
Be an active thought partner in the team to test and improve tactics.
Support with additional management responsibilities, which may include scouting and selecting locations, managing data collection, interfacing with the research team, and/or supporting fellow colleagues.
Requirements for the role
You should have 1-2 years of canvassing experience in a canvassing or similar role (e.g., electoral or union organizing, charity fundraising, customer service outdoors, political internships)
You must live in or near Newark, NJ.
Commute time will not be included in working hours.
You must be willing to:
Work outside and be mobile for most of the day, regardless of weather
Work a regular Tuesday-Saturday work schedule and be flexible to changes closer to New Jersey's Primary Election Day.
Be available to work between the hours of 10am-6pm and be flexible to work different hours occasionally.
You must be able to use Google Docs and Sheets, and willing to learn team chat software (Slack).
You must be open to constructive feedback and willing to adapt and change on the fly as we update scripts and processes over time.
You must be willing to learn about research methods such as voter interviews and observation.
You don't need any research experience, just excitement about trying new things and learning from both successes and failures!
You must be a U.S. Citizen, Legal Permanent Resident (Green Card holder), or DACA recipient.
Preferred but not required
Experience with voter file data and management systems (Votebuilder/VAN, TargetSmart, Grassroots Unwired, Reach, Impactive, or similar tools.)
Experience or familiarity with New Jersey political landscape and community issues
Timeline
We will close the application when all positions are filled. Please submit your application as soon as possible; priority will be given to applications submitted by 4/5. We intend to conduct interviews on a rolling basis prior to the start date of 4/15.
About the organization
Vote Rev Action Fund designs and quickly mainstreams field-tested civic engagement innovations with and for nonprofits that amplify the power of historically disenfranchised communities. In 2020 we released Polling place vote tripling (PPVT), which was used by dozens of partners like When We All Vote and Vote.org. Our partners' 94,000 canvasser hours of PPVT produced 1,100,000 friend-to-friend reminders to vote. PPVT was featured in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.
This spring, we’ll optimize our existing voter engagement tactics and design two new tactics ready for the Presidential election. We’ll boost tens of thousands of net votes by mainstreaming these tactics to allied organizations around the country in the 2024 Presidential Election!
Note: Due to the nature of our work we are unable to hire any individuals who aren’t U.S. Citizens, Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card holders), or DACA recipients.
Requirements for the organization
Commitment to the mission of the organization to design and quickly mainstream field-tested voter engagement innovations that amplify the power of historically disenfranchised communities
Commitment to understand and actively oppose racism and promote equity
Commitment to working with and for teams of diverse individuals, and, to reducing disparities in whose voice is heard in the electoral space
Demonstrated awareness of one’s own cultural identity and ability to build relationships and collaborate across lines of difference
Reasons to love this role
Your team's work will support a unique blend of canvassing work, design, and behavioral science research. You'll gain experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods and enable some of the most innovative tactic development in the progressive movement.
Vote Rev Action Fund has the ability to mainstream the tactics you'll work on across many of the top political campaigns and organizations, potentially generating an election-changing number of votes in 2024!