Project Name: Cooperative Development Trainer
RFP Issue Date: 01/22/2024
Response Due Date: 02/07/2024
Contract Start Date: 02/22/2024
About Us
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) seeks an experienced, self-directed, and collaborative contractor to work with the Rapid Response Cooperative Development Team and the School for Democratic Management Program (SDM) at our dynamic national nonprofit organization. Our core work is supporting the expansion of democratic employee ownership of business as a strategy for racial, gender, and economic equity. DAWI has a high-functioning, close-knit staff driven by our values, and we want to work with a skilled and reliable contractor.
About the Project
DAWI is a member of the CA Scaled Homecare Cooperative Design Project along with the Philipino Workers Center of Southern California, the National Domestic Workers Alliance/NDWA Labs, The ICA Group, and the California Domestic Worker Coalition (CDWC). This project is part of a multi-pronged strategy for the diverse caregiving workforce in California. The purpose of this project is to build a homecare cooperative model with shared statewide infrastructure that can succeed and grow. In 2024 we
are moving into Phase Two, which entails putting the prototype into practice by creating the central entity, establishing a training academy, and launching 3 new home care cooperatives. Our vision and hypothesis are that such a prototype will catalyze new paths for immigrant home care workers to be better paid and for their jobs to be better regulated because they are operating from the strong position of worker-owner.
Estimated Time Commitment: This contract is from February 2024 to June 2025. Average 15-20 hours/week. Possibility of contract to hire, depending on funding availability.
Geographic Requirement: California presence is a plus, but not a requirement. The project is focused on California, however, Executive Committee organizations are located throughout the U.S.
Who We Are Looking For: A highly-skilled individual who has experience with developing training curricula and tools that are culturally relevant for multiple audiences, understands consulting and training best practices, has advanced training skills, and is skilled at evaluation and program planning.
The contractor will work closely with the Rapid Response Team at DAWI, the Scaled Homecare Coop Design team, ICA Group, and the team at the School for Democratic Management at DAWI to design, test, implement, and evaluate an Academy for the Homecare Cooperative Design Project.
Candidates should have a demonstrated commitment to building the labor movement and to racial, gender, and economic justice. Familiarity and experience with projects and issues related to good jobs, worker-owned cooperatives, and the care industry are strongly preferred.
Scope of Work:
Curriculum Design
● Develop curricula for the Scaled Homecare Cooperative Academy. The academy will have multiple training components and will serve different audiences (Worker-Owners, Member-Administrators, Member Organizers, and the Central Entity staffers).
● Assess existing training material and tools developed by DAWI and field partners. Identify necessary training tools and resources for the academy, and develop new material, as needed.
● Identify trainers, translators, interpreters, and technical assistance providers for the Academy. ● Integrate adult education best practices and accessibility needs throughout the design and implementation process.
Training
● Manage all tracks for the Academy. Lead some of the trainings and oversee other trainers.
● Coach Member Organizers (worker centers) as they support new and growing worker cooperatives.
Coaching
● Establish a system for Central Entity cooperative developers and Member-Organizers to work with home care cooperatives and coach them during the initial phase.
● Establish a system for Central Entity Operations Manager to work with member-administrators at worker cooperatives.
Evaluation & Development
● Create a data-driven framework with clear impact metrics that can be tracked over time.
● Continuously identify gaps in curricula and processes, and work to address identified gaps collaboratively. ● Evaluate training modules throughout the first academy rollout. Provide analysis of learnings, share and discuss with the team, and provide recommendations for improvements.
Systems and Infrastructure Development
● Collaborate with the team to determine where the Academy fits within the Homecare Coop project structure. ● Develop infrastructure and systems for a sustainable and robust Academy.
Key Deliverables
● Design, implement, evaluate, and update the Academy Training Curricula for the Homecare Cooperative Design Project.
● Set up infrastructure and systems for the Academy within the Homecare Coop project structure for the pilot phase and long term.
● Develop and prepare a training team to lead the academy long-term.
● Create, manage, and engage teams to be accountable to HCI Academy Workplan.
Compensation: $75/hour, with total not to exceed $75,000.
Instructions for submitting a proposal:
● Submit a brief 1-2 page LOI (pdf only) with the following elements to Nina Stender, Director of Rapid Response Cooperative Development at nstender [at] institute.coop
● Description of interest, related experience, relevant past projects, expertise, and skills
● LOI’s will be accepted through email submission until Wednesday, Feb 7, 2024
● Selected LOI’s will be invited to an interview
● A decision will be made by Thursday, Feb 22, 2024
Notice of Nondiscrimination
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is committed to a multi-racial and class-diverse staff that reflects the future of worker cooperatives. Women, people of color and others who may be underrepresented at senior levels of the nonprofit workforce are strongly encouraged to apply. DAWI is committed to equal opportunity for all persons without regard to sex, age, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, marital status, disability, or sexual orientation, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law. It is the policy of DAWI to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity. In keeping with that policy, DAWI is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of unlawful discrimination and harassment. Accordingly, DAWI will not tolerate unlawful discrimination against or harassment of any of our employees or others present at our facilities by anyone, including any supervisor, co-worker, vendor, client, or customer of DAWI.