Written on March 23, 2012 by brandy
Experience Matters is seeking a Program Administrator to support the coordination of our Encore Fellowships Program.
Encore Fellowships Program: Encore Fellows are successful, highly-skilled, experienced professionals transitioning from their midlife careers in the for-profit sector looking to make a significant impact in nonprofit organizations. The fellow typically earns a stipend and works for 12 months, half-time in an embedded role. As part of the program, Encore Fellows and host site supervisors participate in ongoing meetings and trainings.
Overview of Work Scope: Reporting to the Encore Fellowships Program Director, the Encore Fellowships Program Administrator is a part-time position, approximately 10 hours per week. To be successful in this position, candidates should possess excellent attention to detail; organizational skills; and the ability to produce high quality results in a fast-paced environment. We are seeking a candidate that can add to our great culture and be a strong asset in our team-oriented environment.
Proposed Start Date: May 1, 2012
The Encore Fellowships Program Administrator duties:
- Ensure reception and submission of deliverables associated with program deadlines, including: reports, evaluations, grants, correspondence, enrollment documents, etc.
- Compile and produce program activity reports, including: surveys, status updates, etc.
- Produce emails communications related to: Fellow recruitment and placement; Fellow meeting announcements, Etc.
- Coordinate orientations and Fellow meetings: book venues; secure and transport necessary meeting supplies, equipment and food.
- Produce program materials, including handouts for meetings.
- Maintain Encore Fellowships Program files.
- Other duties as assigned.
Requirements: 1-2 years demonstrated professional administrative experience; nonprofit experience a plus; Associate degree; excellence in written and verbal communications; extremely organized with the ability to multitask; a positive attitude with a professional, customer-focused demeanor; proficiency with Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, Outlook; comfortable with technology, using and learning online applications including CRMs, social media and other tools. Must be able to lift 30 pounds.
Work Environment: The Experience Matters Consortium is a start-up organization that operates in a small, highly flexible work environment with a mix of traditional paid staff, contract consultants and committed volunteers. Communication and collaboration in virtually every area of the operation, both internal and external, is open and frequent. Work will take place in the Experience Matter’s office, with attendance at off-site meetings required.
To apply, please submit a brief cover letter and resume to Linda Mason at lmason@experiencemattersaz.org. No phone calls please.
Experience Matters Upcoming Events
Written on February 28, 2012 by brandy
One of our signature programs, the Explore Your Future workshop series, helps boomers develop personal plans for reconnecting with their passions and repurposing their lives. Program facilitator, Georgianna Marie, has put together a series of articles in which she will share insights and experiences from the workshop.
For the second installment (read part 1), Georgianna explains that looking back at your past is a critical exercise in the journey forward.
Where to Start?
When we reach that intersection in our lives when we know it’s time to move on, we often don’t know what to do. When we start to ask questions we may have been avoiding, it can be scary – questions like: what is your life’s work? What do you really want? When we know it’s time to make a change, for whatever reason, we often don’t know where to start. That’s where I was when I decided to leave my 15-year business and begin exploring a new future. Where to begin?
Look Back, Look Forward
Ironically, what I learned through much reading, networking and, ultimately, finding Experience Matters, is that the first step in moving forward is looking back. This is what we do in the first installment of the Explore Your Future workshop – using specific tools and the support of our cohorts, we learn how to review the “what was” for clues that will help us learn more about “what is” and, ultimately, to define “what will be”.
It’s Not the “What”, It’s the “How”.
When we do this “looking back”, it’s important to properly adjust the lenses we look through. When we review the past and take a look at key junctures in our lives, how we do this can make the process productive and meaningful…or not. For many of us, who are our own “worst critics,” a trip down memory lane can be painful – filled with regrets, judgments and a lot of “woulda, coulda, shoulda” thinking. This is not only NOT helpful; it actually can hinder our learning and keep us from real insights that will inform our futures.
Let Go
As we look back then, we let go of the judgments, the evaluations and the regrets and we “just look”. We write down the major events, people, places and things that have had an impact on who we are today. Sure – there may be painful memories along the way- but the point is not to dwell in our perceptions of either the negative or the positive – but rather to just notice what we see. Make no mistake: it’s not easy to let go of our habit to judge ourselves and this work is not for the faint-of-heart. It takes time, commitment and deliberate, conscious effort to look back from this detached place. But if we really want to understand where we are today and how we got here, this work is key…and worth the investment.
What Do You Notice?
Once we’ve documented the major events, people and places, we then take time to notice trends and patterns. When I did this work, I noticed how major life “crises” always pushed me to a better place –that I always have emerged from the most challenging periods of my life a little better, in small and big ways. For others, they’ve noticed trends of putting others’ needs before their own; or, a pattern of avoiding certain situations, only to have them arise again in another context. Each person will notice different things about the landscape of their life – and these insights become just one piece of data that informs our next steps.
A Little Help From My Friends
It’s important to have support and input during this time. Certainly, we can each individually do this looking-back and can even make great strides in recognizing patterns and themes. But something magical happens when groups of like-minded people get together and, in the spirit of moving forward toward one’s Life’s Purpose and greatest good, amazing things happen. By listening to others, we learn more about ourselves. By hearing others’ perceptions of our stories, we discover things we never knew. By seeing patterns and themes for other people, we see more about ourselves. The synergy that happens when we look back – with support – enriches the process.
Don’t Forget to Celebrate
One aspect of looking back that we often aren’t able to do so easily for ourselves is to celebrate. Taking the time and making the psychological space to really acknowledge all that you have accomplished, all the lives you’ve touched and the person you are – this is important. Honoring the past and really giving ourselves credit for how we’ve spent our first 40, 50, 60 or more years helps us form a foundation for moving ahead.
…And Mourn
In a similar way, it is often difficult for us to acknowledge losses and take the time to let go of the things in the past that didn’t work out as we had hoped. Sometimes, even as we celebrate what has “worked” about our lives, we also must mourn what didn’t. This recognition of our losses is different from evaluating and judging – again, we notice and acknowledge our disappointments and honor them, by mourning and letting go. This too, helps form a solid foundation for forward movement.
What Will Be?
It’s been my privilege to work with dozens of people as they go through the Explore Your Future workshops. The starting point of “looking back” helps us to:
- Identify the significant people, places and events of our lives
- Notice patterns and themes
- Gain insights from colleagues
- Celebrate our accomplishments
- Mourn our losses
- Choose which aspects of our lives we want to bring forward…and which we don’t
This process helps us get a clear, complete picture of “what was”. With that in mind, we then move on to discover “what is”. The insights we gain in this first step provide a small part of the data we will ultimately use to help us define “what will be” and how we choose to move ahead in the next phase of our lives.
Experience Matters Explore Your Future
5151 North 19th Avenue, Suite 200