contributing over $350,000 in volunteerism, pay & benefits to our local community service platform each year for the next 5 years, while building capacity for much greater investment to come.
POSITION DETAILS
PAY: approx $2,000 per month, paid as a biweekly living allowance
Benefits
End-Of-Service Award: In successfully completing your year of service, you’re eligible to receive either the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award (education award – $6,895) or the VISTA end-of-service cash stipend – approx $1800.
Preferred Selection for Federal Jobs: All VISTAs, upon completion of their service year automatically earn Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) status to obtain employment in the federal government. This benefit enables AmeriCorps VISTA alumni to apply for federal positions without having to go through the standard competitive process.
Healthcare Benefit: The AmeriCorps VISTA program offers two healthcare benefits options to members, one for VISTA members who already have health insurance coverage and the other for those who do not.
Childcare Benefit: If you have children under the age of 13, you may qualify for the VISTA program’s childcare benefit. Your approved benefit rates will be your child care provider’s rates or the maximum allowable rate in the state in which the child care is being provided (whichever is the lesser of the two).
Relocation Expense & Settling In Allowance: If you are moving more than 50 miles from your home to a new community to serve, VISTA offers relocation travel assistance (.40 per mile) and a settling-in allowance ($750).
Reduction of Education Costs: VISTA provides several benefits that can help you manage, or even reduce, your federal student loans, and offers others that can lower your overall student debt.
Leave: As a VISTA member, you are entitled to personal leave, medical leave, and leave for certain holidays (those recognized by your sponsor.) Family leave and emergency leave are also available in certain situations. Military service and jury duty can also necessitate a leave of absence, both of which are covered.
Training: AmeriCorps VISTA provides a wide variety of training and development opportunities before, during, and after service. Take advantage of the many opportunities for gaining knowledge and skills that will support your service year — and the years beyond.
Requirements & Specifics to Consider Before Applying
Education Requirement: Because our aim is to purpose these positions for those who need them the most, we opted to accept candidates with a minimum of a high school diploma/GED. Even with that requirement, the work is very much office oriented, requiring a lot of technical skill, comfort with computers and other office-related day-to-day functions. In order for the candidate to be and feel successful, they will want to be comfortable in a professional setting with an ability to collect, organize, interpret, and present data to leaders and stakeholders, and must have strong interpersonal skills.
Criminal Background – We advocated for the ability to accept candidates with some criminal background, but it is on NC CIVIL leadership to show justification. For it to be justifiable, the candidate needs to have some time since the last conviction with no incidents.
Additional Commitments – While additional college enrollment or outside employment is allowed, the position requires that VISTA be the primary full-time commitment, given higher importance than any schooling or additional employment.
STEPS TO APPLY: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
NC CIVIL is an official AmeriCorps VISTA host site. AmeriCorps is a federal agency that places individuals in service opportunities within communities across America. You’ll go through the below steps on your way toward becoming a member of NC CIVIL’s AmeriCorps VISTA team:
- ***YOU MUST*** Create a Profile on the AmeriCorps site. Creating this profile on the my.americorps.gov site is not your application. Having this profile allows you to create your application.
- ***YOU MUST*** Complete your AmeriCorps VISTA Application. This is different than your typical job seeking process, where you normally apply directly to the job you want. In this case, after creating a profile, you then create your application to AmeriCorps, which will allow you to then connect your application to the position you want. The application asks for detailed information about your education, work and volunteer history, references, etc. *Note: applications are often held up because references do not complete their reference request. It is a good practice to speak to your references in advance and follow up with them to ensure your references are complete.
- ***YOU MUST*** Search through the AmeriCorps positions to find the one you’d like to apply for. If you were not send a specific position link, you will need to search my.americorps.gov for positions with NC CIVIL
- ***YOU MUST*** Attach your AmeriCorps application to the specific position(s) you want to apply for.