Strong Towns is Hiring!
Have you ever wanted to work as part of the Strong Towns Team? If yes, this might be your chance. We are seeking to fill an Office Assistant (hourly) position on our team. Note: This is an in-person position located in Brainerd, MN.
About Strong Towns
Strong Towns, a nationally recognized non-profit organization, is seeking a dynamic individual to help us grow our movement. The mission of Strong Towns is to support a model of development that allows America’s cities, towns and neighborhoods to grow financially strong and resilient. We have nearly 3,000 members worldwide, including at least one in each U.S. state. Our influential media site reached over 1.7 million people in 2019 and is shaping the national conversation on growth, development and the future of cities.
Most of our team collaborates digitally from locations around the country, but this is an in-person position located at our Brainerd, MN office. While the Office Assistant does not need to live in Brainerd proper, they would need to be prepared to come to our Brainerd office a couple times a week to deal with in-person tasks. We have periodic deadlines and occasional event-driven or calendar-driven demands, but generally keep a flexible schedule. We are an equal opportunity, family-friendly organization. Our work is rewarding and our organization is making a difference.
Note: During COVID, we are ensuring that employees work separately, so, while the Office Assistant will need to come into the physical office in order to sort mail, process checks, print letters, etc. they can arrange to do this while no other colleagues are in the office (or maintaining a safe distance in our large office space).
Hiring Process
Our hiring process is unique, so please read all of the following. Do not contact us about this position, or send us a resume, except as outlined in the following. Doing so will disqualify you from consideration. We strive to ensure that our process is as open as possible. We welcome all applicants, regardless of background and experience, and will judge you only on the skills you demonstrate during the application process. We will not even ask your name, let alone for your resume and background, until the very end. If you think this position might be a good fit for you, we strongly encourage you to apply.
For this position, we will conduct two stages of discernment. During the first stage, we will invite interested applicants to fill out a questionnaire. This should take no more than an hour. We will review each submission and then invite a select number of applicants to submit a resume and participate in a one-hour interview (by Zoom video). We then will make a formal job offer to one applicant for this position.
Here is the schedule we are anticipating for this process:
To treat everyone fairly and with due consideration, and to achieve the best outcome in the most reasonable period of time, we are unfortunately not going to be able to adjust this schedule to accommodate special requests. We have tried to provide ample time for responses and will be very flexible (including evenings and weekends, if needed) during interview weeks.
For more information, and to apply for this position, please see the information below.
Office Assistant
Close Initial Applications: Sunday, September 13 at noon Central
Round 1 Questions Posted: Monday, September 14
Round 1 Questions Due: 11:59pm Central, Friday, September 18
Interviews: Week of September 21
Office Assistant (hourly)
The position of Office Assistant includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Phone and email communication with members and potential members to gather and provide timely information, led by our Development Associate.
Sending mailings, including packages and bulk mailings using mail merges, as well as routing incoming mail.
Basic printing, scanning and digital filing of critical documents.
Scheduling, with the coordination of schedules and travel itineraries using digital communication tools.
Booking hotel rooms, plane tickets and other travel arrangements for staff.
Data entry, utilizing spreadsheets and online databases.
Work with our Bookkeeper to enter and process donations, invoices and other financial documents.
Managing approvals for the organization’s online platforms.
Basic office management including ordering supplies for employees across the country and for the Brainerd office.
The potential exists for periodic travel, estimated at one or two times per year, for events and other engagements, although travel will never be mandatory.
This is a part time position averaging 10-20 hours per week that pays up to $15 per hour. In addition, Strong Towns provides part time staff with a vacation benefit and a matching contribution for retirement. You may download the entire description for this position here.
If you have any questions, please email Alexa@StrongTowns.org and we will answer as soon as possible.
Cover image of the historic Franklin Arts Center (Brainerd, Minnesota) via Wikipedia.