Community Engagement Fellowship

Location: New York, NY

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Primary Location

CUNY INSTITUTE FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Bargaining Unit

No

CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG): About Us The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance has a mission to improve the financing, delivery, and measurement of critical public services through research, technical assistance, and education. We lead projects aimed at reforming the criminal justice system, measuring urban inequality, expanding the reach of social service providers, and more. Our staff have the opportunity to work with colleagues and supervisors across projects and with different types of expertise. We are seeking new team members with enthusiasm to shape the future of state and local policy.

For more information about ISLG's work and initiatives, please visit our website at https://islg.cuny.edu/

Our Goals for Diversity and Inclusion

We strive to foster an office environment and an approach to work that welcomes and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences. We are working towards our goal of continuing to recruit and retain staff and board members who are diverse in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic status, disability, and justice system involvement.

About the Approach: Block-Level Community Safety and Wellbeing Initiative The NYC Mayor's Office of Community Safety (OCS), the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and ISLG are working in partnership to strengthen community safety and wellbeing on the city blocks with the highest concentrations of serious outdoor crime. These efforts are grounded in research that demonstrates a disproportionate share of violent crime in New York City is concentrated in a small fraction of city blocks; blocks that are home to residents, families and community members who hold deep knowledge of their neighborhoods and a stake in making them safer.

ISLG serves as the implementation and technical assistance partner for the City’s hyper-local strategy, which will include:

establishing block-level safety partnerships between City government and residents;

enhancing the physical environment of blocks using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles and community-led investments in physical improvements; and

elevating the leadership of block residents and other natural supporters.

The model draws on lessons from the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), evidence from community violence intervention research, and a public health approach to gun violence that centers resident leadership, community investment and hyper-local interventions.

Position Description

ISLG is seeking five Community Engagement Fellows to serve as neighborhood-based staff for the City’s block-level community safety strategy, representing OCS and acting as the primary bridge between City government and the residents of blocks where programming will operate.

The Community Engagement Fellowship is a full-time, paid professional opportunity that combines neighborhood-based program implementation with structured knowledge- and skills-building. Fellows will be assigned to a portfolio of blocks across the City where hyper-local strategies will be implemented, serving as residents' primary point of contact with City government and as the connective tissue between community members, City agencies, and program partners. This is not a desk job; Fellows will spend a significant amount of time in communities working directly with residents.

Fellows dedicate approximately 80% of their time to program implementation, consisting of the day-to-day field-based work described below. The remaining 20% is dedicated to fellowship activities, which include participation in a cohort-based curriculum encompassing civic and community engagement, strategic leadership and communications, specialized policy workshops, peer learning, and opportunities to engage with and learn from leaders across City government. Fellows will also work with ISLG and City staff to co-develop and refine program models and implementation strategies based on their field experience.

The Fellowship offers full-time employment with comprehensive benefits, meaningful government and community experience, and a pathway to deeper engagement in New York City's community safety ecosystem. Fellows will work alongside ISLG and OCS staff, City agency partners, and community organizations, gaining exposure to the landscape of public safety policy and practice in one of the country's most complex urban environments.

This role requires flexibility, including availability for evening and weekend hours to accommodate community events and resident engagement activities that extend beyond standard work hours.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to

Community Organizing and Direct Engagement

Build and sustain trusted, long-term relationships with residents, community leaders, natural supporters, local businesses, and other stakeholders on assigned blocks, serving as a consistent and visible presence in the community.

Conduct initial resident engagement on each assigned block, introducing the program model, identifying community strengths and challenges, and cultivating relationships with residents, informal block connectors, and natural supporters.

Facilitate biweekly block huddles with residents and community leaders, managing scheduling, note-taking, action item tracking, and follow-up to promote accounta