US Youth Years Information Design Specialist

Position at Ashoka

US Youth Years Information Design Specialist

Location: Washington, DC     |     Type: Contract      |     Experience Level: early-career

About Ashoka

Ashoka invests in people who see the world not as it is, but as it could be; who seek to change a broken system instead of letting it continue. We call them social entrepreneurs, and over the past 35 years, we have supported more than 3,800 Ashoka Fellows as leading social entrepreneurs in 70 countries.

Our work is based on a fundamental insight: Behind every social innovation, there are human beings. Supporting the best of them, and connecting them with a network of peers, is the most effective way to bring about social change. Our vision is a world where everyone is a changemaker – a world where everyone has the skill and confidence to drive social change and is committed to the good of all.

About Ashoka’s Youth Years

Ashoka Youth Years is on the forefront of a movement to inspire every young person to become a changemaker - anyone who takes action to solve problems or create opportunities for the greater good. In partnership with young people and influential institutions, we build and activate communities of change leaders that are shifting the framework of how society views youth and how youth view themselves. 
Summary:

Working closely with Ashoka Youth Years, Ashoka Changemakers, and young people to ensure effective and professional support for our upcoming Changemaker Challenges. This role is ideal for digital content creators, thoughtful storytellers, and intrapreneurs with a passion for supporting young people, families, and educators to be changemakers.

What is a Changemaker Challenge?

We partner with companies and organizations to activate young people across the country to send in their ideas for change. Challenges activate a large network of young changemakers around a particular field or topic to build the demand for changemaking while also mobilizing a large group of media, youth-serving organizations, parents, and Ashoka Fellows. Throughout the engagement, we support young people to scale their ideas and teams, amplify their stories, create a space to connect young changemakers with each other, generate ideas for peer activation, and engage key stakeholders in understanding the importance of changemaking. Ultimately, these communities are built to mobilize everyone around a world where everyone has the skills to solve problems and create the change they want to see in the world.

Role Summary

Information Design & Content Creation

• Support the team in redesigning, updating, and reimaging Youth Venture curriculum and materials from the last ~20 years to modernize our product offerings and productize our work.

• Help the core team build out new and pre-existing tools, resources, products, and courses to reach early adopters of changemaking in target markets and through strategic partnerships.

• Lead information and visual design efforts for Youth Venture marketing and branding.

• Co-create digital and social media content including producing stories of young changemakers.

Program Support & Youth Engagement

• Design and implement new outreach and engagement strategies for network growth and youth activation rooted in DEI goals and partnership KPIs.
• Assist with various aspects of the Challenge process, which includes the framing and design stage, outreach period, review period, winner’s announcement, convening, and ongoing engagement of applicants.
• Support the youth challenge team in delivering all youth engagement activities to ensure continuity and community building across programs, Challenges, and convenings.

Our Team Values

1. Creators of solutions
2. Work with integrity and transparency
3. Lead with empathy
4. We are playful and have fun
5. An eye for discovery, wonder, and innovation
6. Own our leadership

Your Skills

Successful candidates will possess most of the following skills and experiences:

• You identify as a changemaker. You have had experience having a dream, forming a team, and changing something in your world. You see the potential in all young people to be powerful changemakers.
• You identify as a creator. You enjoy design, storytelling, and crafting powerful narratives.
• You have an eye for design. You have strong creative and visual design skills, with proficiency in graphic design software and multimedia tools. You enjoy and are skilled at creating digital and printable content, such as websites, slide decks, videos, visuals, flyers, and more.
• You are a team player. You have previously worked in teams and executed a vision together with measurable results. You are able to work under deadline, but flexible enough to move fluidly when deadlines shift, priorities change, and revisions need to be made.
• You are detail-oriented, no matter how small the task. You have an appreciation for mechanics and a thirst for making stuff work.
• You are forward-thinking. You are always thinking 2-3 steps ahead by asking questions, solving problems, testing out solutions, and being proactive. You have excellent execution skills in delivering outcomes while managing competing priorities and ambiguity.

Non-negotiables:

• You are able to pass a US Background check.
• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills for internal and external communications in English. Must be able to professionally and thoughtfully communicate with young people, partners, parents, and educators throughout the week with ease.

Additional Details

• Working Style: Hybrid
• Travel: the opportunity to travel to staff in-person events (~3 a year)
• Projected Salary: $50,000 - $55,000
• Format: 1-year contract
• This is a U.S.-based position: In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
• Flexible hours – while many people work during standard business hours (9 AM – 5 PM ET), our team frequently hosts events on weekends and evenings, and works with partners and teammates across time zones. Every week is different. You will be expected to work nights and weekends throughout the year, and bank that time back to use for your vacation and days off.

The Team As part of our Ashoka global team of teams, you will interact with the executive leadership team and entrepreneurial staff from around the world who are working on a variety of different issue areas. You will work closely with partnership managers and an extended challenge team to bring our changemaker events to life. You will also have meaningful interactions with global Ashoka colleagues from all over the world.

Hiring Process

1. A screening call with the hiring manager.
2. Team Interview with other members of the team you would be working closely with.
3. An Ashoka Criteria Fit Interview to talk about your entrepreneurial and changemaking experiences, leadership experiences, new ideas, fit for Ashoka’s culture, and more with a member of a different team.