Open VISTA Positions

Mercy Corps NW VISTAs oversee projects that build the long-term capacity of their communities through financial education, job skills training, microenterprise & asset development, affordable housing, homeless services, and food security.  While the programs VISTAs develop endure for years, VISTA members perform only indirect service; interaction with clients will be limited and the member will spend the majority of their time in an office setting. However, VISTA offers the opportunity to gain advanced project management skills and exercise creativity in implementing a program—skills highly desired by employers.

Our VISTA host sites are located in both rural and urban areas. Please note that in some cases, rural sites may require that you have reliable transportation. Since VISTA has unique benefits and requirements, prospective applicants are advised to review the FAQ’s on our VISTA program. Pay and benefit information is located in the FAQ’s. 

We are currently recruiting for VISTA member positions to begin in March 2019. Please see descriptions of open positions below and click on the linked header of each position to apply! 

**Applicants must submit an application through the links provided in the header of each position. No other application materials will be accepted.**

ARC of Multnomah-Clackamas: Employment Coordinator–Portland, OR ** FILLED**

The Arc Multnomah Clackamas, located in Portland Oregon, provides advocacy, support, and services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The VISTA member placed at the ARC will assist in the development of the Donation Attendant Employment Program, which provides job readiness skills and job placement of Donation Attendants who receive donations from the public. The Employment Coordinator VISTA will play a dynamic role in ending poverty by developing a funding plan, creating marketing and program materials, and developing training curriculum for instructors, job coaches, and trainees. The VISTA member will also develop an outcome-based work plan to train and monitor instructors and job coaches as well as conduct the instructor and job coach training and oversee the adult IDD training.

JOIN: Volunteer Coordinator–Portland, OR  **FILLED**

Since 1992, JOIN has supported over 10,000 people in their efforts to find permanent housing. As a VISTA member at JOIN, you will play an instrumental role in helping individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness end their homelessness and move into permanent housing by creating and implementing a Volunteer Program.  In your role as Volunteer Coordinator, you will identify and define volunteer needs, create volunteer job descriptions, develop organizational procedures for the volunteer application process, create procedures for managing the volunteer program going forward, create a volunteer training guide, and recruit new volunteers.

Mercy Corps, Community Investment Trust (CIT): CIT Coordinator—Portland, OR

Based in the Portland office of Mercy Corps, this VISTA project will focus on supporting the Community Investment Trust (CIT)—a project that unites neighborhood-based family asset and community development through the purchase of a commercial office space and sale of its equity to some 300-500 neighborhood investors, who we target to be lower- income, low-asset renters. As a VISTA member with the CIT, you will play a role in improving economic and community development in East Portland by enhancing community investor education, participating in the creation of the design, monitoring, and evaluation plan, developing communication tools for replication, and supporting fundraising efforts.

Mercy Corps, Cascadia: Emergency Preparedness Associate—Portland, OR

The Mercy Corps Cascadia team helps Portland metro area communities prepare for emergencies, and works with partner organizations to plan an emergency response. As a VISTA member at Mercy Corps you will help end poverty by building the capacity of low-income members of community organizations to prepare for emergencies. Major functions will include the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of community preparedness outreach programs, as well as communicating preparedness messages, and assisting in the development of an economic recovery emergency response plan.

Mercy Corps Northwest: Small Business Online Education Associate–Portland, OR

Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW), located in Portland, Oregon, is a Community Development Financial Institution that assists economically disadvantaged populations in Oregon and Washington states by increasing their economic self-sufficiency and community integration through self-employment. The Small Business Online Education Associate VISTA will play a dynamic role in ending poverty, by building capacity within the MCNW Education Department and Women’s Business Center (WBC). During their year of service, the VISTA will help to develop and pilot an online education platform for use by the MCNW Business Development Services team to deliver small business training to rural and mobility-challenged entrepreneurs.

Mercy Corps Northwest: Small Business Development Associate–Walla Walla, WA

Our new Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) office in Walla Walla, Washington supports low-income individuals in the Central Washington region achieve their entrepreneurial aspirations through our small business programs, including our Individual Development Account (IDA) program, Microloan program, business education program, and community partnership network. The MCNW VISTA will play an important role in expanding our reach to include some of the most disadvantaged communities, designing the educational material that is shared with existing clients and also creating social media content to share with our growing community.

Mercy Corps Northwest: LIFE Program Coordinator–Portland, OR

Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) works to build thriving communities by providing business education & financing and advocating for equitable opportunities that open doors to current systems of economic power for communities that are traditionally marginalized. The Lifelong Information for Entrepreneurs (LIFE) Program, is a MCNW prison reentry program that provides much needed educational and financial resources to women, both while they are incarcerated and after they return back to the community. The LIFE VISTA member will assist with capacity building, quality improvement, and partnership development that will help influence systemic change and provide incarcerated women with the tools and resources necessary for self- sufficiency and economic stability as they transition from prison to Life Outside.