Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
2021 Downtown Ambassador Program
New this Year: Tree Ambassadors!
Employment type: Part-time, Seasonal, Non-exempt
Compensation: $15.00/hour
Hours: Up to 20 -30 hours a week, subject to available funding
Number of positions: Four
Estimated start date: Tree Ambassadors: Friday, April 30, 2021. Downtown Ambassadors: Thursday, July 1, 2021
Estimated end date: Tree Ambassadors: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 with potential to extend to September 6, 2021. Downtown Ambassadors: Monday, September 6, 2021
Location: Downtown and Morningside and West Side neighborhoods in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
TO APPLY: Send resume and cover letter by email to [email protected], attention Cheryl Mirer, Executive Director, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. by April 19, 2021. Please indicate whether you are interested in being considered for the position of Downtown Ambassador, Tree Ambassador, or both. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Positions open until filled.
A great program starts with great people. We are looking for candidates who are willing to learn, can think on their feet, and who can provide a high level of customer service with a smile and a great attitude! If you take pride in your community and want to work to make it better, then this is the job for you. If you are bright, cheerful, friendly, compassionate, and have a desire to make a difference, you may have what it takes to be a part of the Downtown Ambassador team. If you have an interest in urban ecology and/or environmental justice, you may have what it takes to be a Downtown Tree Ambassador.
Job descriptions for A. Downtown Ambassadors and B. Tree Ambassadors:
A. Downtown Ambassadors
The Downtown Pittsfield Ambassador Program is a partnership between Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. (DPI) and the City of Pittsfield Police Department (PPD). The program addresses increased visitor presence during the summer and helps to relieve the demand on police presence downtown. The job is twofold:
Customer Service: The Ambassadors are a welcoming source of information residents, employees, and visitors. They help visitors find parking, offer
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
directions and wayfinding, and provide information on dining, shopping, and cultural activities.
Safety: Ambassadors are trained by the PPD in CPR, public safety protocol, and certified in First Aid. Ambassadors observe street activity and when needed, call for assistance via police radios, which they are equipped with.
Downtown Ambassadors walk in pairs along North and South Streets between West Housatonic Street and Berkshire Medical Center, as well as First and McKay Streets. The Ambassadors wear a distinctive bright orange T-shirt identifying them as official representatives of Pittsfield and greet everyone with a smile. The goal of the program is to create a welcoming downtown environment for everyone downtown by delivering on DPI’s mission to maintain a clean, safe, and friendly district.
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Work with the other Downtown Ambassadors and Tree Ambassadors, PPD, DPI to serve the Downtown Pittsfield community by providing a high level of customer service.
• Communicate in a friendly manner with employees, residents, and visitors to:
o exchange accurate information, directions and/or recommendations; and
o respond to questions from the public regarding directions, events, building locations, and parking.
• Deal effectively, tactfully, and compassionately with the public and use skill to interact with diverse groups of people regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation (M.G.L. Chapter 151 section 4)
• Cover assigned areas and be punctual and reliable.
• Keeping sidewalks clear of debris
• Prioritize and respond to situations and emergencies.
• Represent the Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. at special events.
• Interact with downtown businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Report broken infrastructure, graffiti on private property, etc. and log reported conditions and how they were addressed or resolved.
• Maintain a positive, professional environment in full compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
Required Qualifications:
• Positive demeanor and strong communication skills
• Ability to work and interact with the public in a friendly and professional manner
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
• Ability to handle stressful situations, demonstrating diplomacy and tact under pressure
• Able to traverse sidewalks for up to eight hours in various outdoor weather conditions
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work under minimal supervision, as well as part of a team
• Experience using a smartphone
• Capability of helping people operate multi-space parking meters
• Must be available to work weekdays and weekends through September 6, 2021
• Must be 18 years of age or older
Preferred Qualifications:
• Knowledge of Downtown Pittsfield and its business and cultural community
• Multi-lingual
• Knowledge of available social services and other resources available to residents and visitors
• Demonstrated customer service or hospitality experience
*Please note: candidates must pass a background check (CORI)
This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
B. Tree Ambassadors
The Downtown Pittsfield Tree Ambassador Program is a partnership between Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. (DPI), Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) and the City of Pittsfield Police Department (PPD). The Massachusetts Greening the Gateway Cities Program (GGCP) is entering its final year of tree planting in Pittsfield; thousands of trees have been planted since 2016. The planting zone is located primarily within Environmental Justice (EJ) areas that include the downtown corridor and surrounding neighborhoods.
DPI and BEAT seek to ensure that the investment by the Commonwealth and the City in these trees, and the benefits that they provide to residents, are sustained into the future. Tree Ambassadors will conduct outreach to Downtown businesses, residents and neighborhoods to provide information on planted trees and tree care.
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
Two “Tree” Ambassadors will be hired for an expanded season and area and scope of service. They will conduct street-to-street and door-to-door engagement with residents to share materials on the Massachusetts GGCP, tree health and the “do’s and do’’t’s” of tree care. They will also install “Tree-Via” “ornaments” that have been designed by BEAT to illustrate interesting facts about and benefits of urban trees and distribute a “Tree of the Month” calendar.
As they also work under the umbrella of the Downtown Pittsfield Ambassador Program, the job is twofold:
Customer Service: The Tree Ambassadors are a welcoming resource for sharing information with residents, employees, and visitors about trees that have been planted in Pittsfield and what they can do to care for them.
Safety: Ambassadors are trained by the Pittsfield Police Department in CPR, public safety protocol, and certified in First Aid. When needed, Tree Ambassadors can call for assistance via police radios, which they are equipped with.
Tree Ambassadors walk in pairs along North and South Streets between West Housatonic Street and Berkshire Medical Center, as well as streets in the neighboring Morningside and West Side areas where trees have been planted. The Ambassadors wear a bright orange T-shirt identifying them as official representatives of Pittsfield and greet everyone with a smile.
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Work with the other Downtown Ambassadors and Tree Ambassadors, PPD, DPI to serve the Downtown Pittsfield community by providing a high level of customer service.
• Communicate in a friendly manner with employees, residents, and visitors to:
o exchange accurate information, directions and/or recommendations; and
o urban trees, tree care and their benefits to the City; and
o respond to questions from the public regarding directions, events, building locations, and parking.
• Deal effectively, tactfully, and compassionately with the public and use skill to interact with diverse groups of people regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation (M.G.L. Chapter 151 section 4)
• Cover assigned areas and be punctual and reliable.
• Prioritize and respond to situations and emergencies.
• Represent the Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. at special events.
• Interact with downtown businesses and entrepreneurs.
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
• Report resident tree care requests, tree care needs, etc. and log reported conditions and how they were addressed or resolved.
• Maintain a positive, professional environment in full compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
Required Qualifications:
• Positive demeanor and strong communication skills
• Ability to work and interact with the public in a friendly and professional manner
• Ability to handle stressful situations, demonstrating diplomacy and tact under pressure
• Able to traverse sidewalks for up to eight hours in various outdoor weather conditions
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work under minimal supervision, as well as part of a team
• Experience using a smartphone
• Capability of helping people operate multi-space parking meters
• Must be available to work weekdays and weekends through September 6, 2021
• Must be 18 years of age or older
Preferred Qualifications:
• Knowledge of Downtown Pittsfield and its business and cultural community
• Multi-lingual
• Interest in environmental justice, urban ecology, and public health
• Demonstrated customer service or hospitality experience
*Please note: candidates must pass a background check (CORI)
This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
BENEFITS:
Non-benefited position.
DPI was formed in 1983 for civic, non-profit purposes to foster, develop and improve the physical, economic and commercial well-being of downtown Pittsfield and the surrounding area. Since that time, DPI has become a recognized leader to mobilize people and resources to create and sustain a creative, lively and sustainable downtown. DPI members include property owners, businesses, residents, cultural venues, restaurants and non-profit organizations that make downtown as a great place to live,
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall, Suite 101 | Pittsfield, MA 01201 | 413 443-6501 |
downtownpittsfield.com
work, and play. DPI works in partnership with the City of Pittsfield on streetscape projects, parking improvements, marketing, and other initiatives.
Founded in 2003, BEAT’s mission is to protect the environment for wildlife in support of the natural world that sustains us all. BEAT believes that an informed and involved citizenry is the environment’s best protection. Through programs in stewardship, watchdogging, and outreach and education, each year BEAT involves hundreds of volunteers, and partners with dozens of organizations to restore, protect, and improve the condition of our landscape, watershed and waterways. BEAT has been working on the GGCP since May 2016. BEAT has worked closely with Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) foresters to obtain tree requests from local residents, help ensure public trees are watered, educate residents about the benefits of urban trees, and conduct outreach going door-to-door throughout the planting zone to build community support for the GGCP.
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