General Description: 

Responsible for providing primary program and research support for Cities United, a national strategic partnership designed to assist participating cities in their efforts to eliminate violence and violence-related deaths among African American males. Reports to the Institute's Senior Fellow for Youth Development.

Examples of Work:

Gathers research data and other information that highlights the issue of violence and violence-related deaths among African American males and helps spur action at the local, state, and federal level.

Brokers access to experts and other resources upon which cities can draw as they design, develop, and implement solutions for reducing violence and violence-related deaths among African American males.

Plans and organizes programs and events with and for the Cities United network, including but not limited to:  annual convenings where city teams can share their challenges and successes; an annual youth summit where youth can build new skills and speak to national and local leaders; regular and separate conference calls with the initiative's principals, core planning team, and resource team members; audioconferences; structured site visits and other activities designed to engage NLC member cities on these topics.

Provides support for NLC technical assistance to a small cohort of selected cities and responds to requests for information from NLC member cities, state municipal leagues, and other interested parties on topics related to violence and violence-related deaths among African Americans males.

Compiles and disseminates planning documents used by other cities to launch violence reduction efforts, toolkits created by other successful efforts, and self-assessment planning surveys specifically designed to determine readiness, strengths, and challenges for implementation.

Supports the authentic engagement of young African American men in Cities United events as appropriate and in participating cities as part of local strategies to own the problem and develop effective solutions to eliminate violence-related deaths among young black men.

Assists the Institute's Senior Fellow in developing and cultivating partnerships with other national and civic organizations as well as federal and state agencies working in the violence prevention field, and identifies opportunities to draw upon these partnerships in order to broaden the array of resources available to local elected officials in NLC member cities.

Contributes to new reports, strategy guides, and toolkits for NLC member cities; prepares articles for NLC's weekly e-newsletter, Institute outreach and peer network communications, participates in social media efforts; and develops program summaries for posting on the Institute's pages of the NLC web site.

Plans and implements workshops and meetings at NLC's two annual conferences - the Congress of Cities and the Congressional City Conference - as well as the Institute's biennial Summit on Your City's Families.

Represents NLC at national, regional, and state conferences and meetings in order to build new partnerships, raise the visibility of NLC's work, and stay abreast of the latest developments in the violence prevention and youth development fields.

Contributes to the development of long-term work plans, foundation proposals, and reports to funders related to the Cities United initiative.

Serves as a resource on related issues to other NLC staff.

Some travel required.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree required; graduate degree in public policy, social work, education, or a related field preferred; minimum of five years progressively responsible relevant experience in policy analysis, program development, or research; experience with association or membership organization preferred, or a combination of education and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Extensive knowledge of issues related to violence prevention, including familiarity with issues in juvenile justice, foster care transition, high school completion, black male achievement, and youth development; experience in working with city officials, and/or knowledge of city initiatives in these areas preferred. Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills as well as ability to interact effectively with NLC members, representatives of other organizations, consultants, and all levels of NLC staff. Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, schedule and implement projects of substantial complexity and variety.