Public Engagement Technology Consultant
Public Agenda’s nonpartisan mission, to help build a democracy that works for everyone, has never been more important to America and its future. We pursue our mission through projects that employ research, public engagement, and communications to:
• Help the public better understand the challenges facing their communities, such as education, health care, police-community relations and climate change.
• Help leaders better understand and respond to the public’s views, values and concerns.
• Give those affected by a problem a voice and role in forging solutions.
Founded in 1975, Public Agenda is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in New York City.
Public Agenda is seeking a Public Engagement Technology Consultant to help us develop tech components for our public engagement projects. We are looking for a budding tech generalist rather than someone with extensive experience in any one area or application. The ideal applicant should be someone with a passion for engagement and a curiosity about ways to use technology in the service of democracy.
Note that this consultant position could eventually lead to full-time employment.
The kinds of tasks we would ask the PE Tech Consultant to perform include:
• Tech-based tool development for public engagement projects, taking advantage of existing technologies and platforms (no new coding) for:
o Geo-location
o Grasstops collaboration and list management
o Crowd-resourcing
o Rating and scorecards
o Network mapping
o Opinion clustering and consensus-building
o Sentiment analysis
• Working on digital elements of our existing Engagement Scan tool
• Providing technical assistance to our partners and the Community Voices for Health (CVH) grantees on tech-related questions
The capacity to work on the following tasks would be a plus:
• Communications support, particularly through social media, not just on public engagement projects but for Public Agenda as a whole
• Exploration of development and communications opportunities related to our Rewiring Democracy paper on the implications of new technologies for democracy
Here are some resources to help you understand the technological aspects of our work:
• Community Voices for Health: www.
• Cycles for Resilience in Jamaica Bay: http://www.srijb.org/
• How does public engagement need to evolve? https://www.
• Strengthening and Sustaining Public Engagement: https://www.
• Rewiring Democracy: https://www.
Required Background:
• Minimum educational requirement is an undergraduate degree in social science or related discipline (e.g., public policy, public administration, education, political science, organizational development/psychology, social psychology, public health, etc).
• Exemplary written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational and problem solving skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, and to manage time effectively in a fast-paced, high-energy environment
• Strong project management skills and highly organized
• Exceptional analytic capacities (ability to research and synthesize material quickly).
• A sense of humor and ability to work with a diverse team on diverse projects
• Keen eye for detail
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Apps (Google Docs and Google Sheets)
• Knowledge of Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Hootsuite)
• Strong commitment to the mission and work of Public Agenda and the issues we work on
Environmental Requirements:
• This is not physically demanding position
• Must be able to sit at a desk for the majority of the work day
• Regularly stands, bends, lifts and moves intermittently during workday
• Employee must be able to meet deadlines, arrive to work on-time, complete paperwork, follow directions and work as a member of a team
Location: Brooklyn, NY
The successful candidate will join our team for approximately 25 – 30 hours per week from December 1 – May 31, 2020, at a rate of $35 – $50 per hour, with the possibility of joining the team in a permanent capacity. If an offer for full-time employment is extended, compensation will be renegotiated. This position reports to the vice president of public engagement at Public Agenda.
To Apply:
Send a resume, writing sample and cover letter explaining how you heard about this opportunity and what you hope to gain from working at Public Agenda to careers@publicagenda.org
Please indicate in the subject line that you are applying for the Public Engagement Technology Consultant.
Public Agenda is committed to equal employment opportunity and diversity in the workplace. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis [“protected class”] including, but not limited to: veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.
