Career Center

ABOUT THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE:  Cambridge is a unique and growing urban community of 120,000 residents. It is the fourth largest city in Massachusetts with an annual operating budget of $800M and over 1,600 full-time employees. Our community is diverse, with 34% of residents identifying as people of color and 34% of residents’ home language is a language other than English. The city stands out as a hub of innovation and is home to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an increasing number of biotechs and high-tech start-ups. The biotech corridor in Kendall Square has been called “the most innovative square mile on Earth,” and has led the country in everything from the invention of rubber hoses to the development of Covid-19 vaccines. Cambridge has access to significant resources but is confronting similar challenges as other urban centers – rising housing costs, climate change, sustainable transportation, homelessness, and persistent economic and racial inequities. The City Council and City leadership are committed to being a leader and creating a city that works for everyone.

ABOUT THIS ROLE:

The Director of Community Engagement is a new position that reports directly to the City Manager. The Director of Community Engagement will develop and implement a comprehensive program to deepen relationships and trust between city government and the local community, with the goal of ensuring more sustainable, meaningful outcomes for all involved.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, formal community engagement program for the City of Cambridge that:
  • Prioritizes equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in decision-making processes
  • Reaches diverse, under-resourced communities
  • Includes both dynamic in-person and leading-edge digital engagement strategies
  • Utilizes data to measure program effectiveness
• Collaborate closely with twenty plus staff from other City departments’ engagement and communications programs.
• Partner with the Director of Communications to optimize messaging and outreach.
• Hire, supervise and develop staff as assigned.
• Perform related duties as required

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Ability to access input and retrieve information from a computer. Ability to operate office equipment including copiers, printers, and scanners. Executes multiple tasks involving keyboarding, telephones, writing, bending, reaching, and lifting boxes of files (up to 10 lbs).

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Standard office environment, which includes fluorescent lighting and air conditioning. Moderate noise level, which can elevate with phone calls and walk in members of the public. Busy office work environment characterized by multiple work demands from department staff, a great deal of customer interaction, and heavy call volume. This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City’s Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Vacation and Sick leave eligible
• Sick Incentive Pay Eligible
• 3 Personal days
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Management Allowance, $2,700/year
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement Bluebikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Submit both your resume and cover letter via email to: [email protected] or to the Personnel Dept, Room 309, City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139. Fax 617-349-4312. Resume and cover letter requested by 2/21/23. Position will remain open until filled. We are an AA/EEO Employer.

Experience

• 5+ years of increasingly responsible experience in community engagement work. Must include both direct interaction with community members and the strategic planning work.
• Demonstrated ongoing and recent experience with both in-person and digital engagement.

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to build collaborative relationships with members of the community and City staff from across the organization.
• Deep sense of humility, curiosity, and learning-orientation
• High ethical standards and personal integrity
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies

Preferred Qualification

• Knowledge of Cambridge preferred

About City of Cambridge

The City of Cambridge is a diverse and vibrant community that 120,000 residents of different ethnic, racial, religious, U.S. nationals and other backgrounds call home. Thirty-four percent of our residents identify as people of color, and thirty-four percent of residents’ home language is one other than English. We take pride in our City’s diversity and strive to create a workplace that is reflective of the community we serve -- one in which all employees can thrive. The City is also deeply committed to creating an environment in which all our employees are treated equitably and feel included. In joining our team, you would work in a workplace environment that advances and values antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI), and that is committed to embedding ADEI best practices and tenets in all aspects of our work.

Connections working at City of Cambridge