Full-time

Seattle Washington United States

No

Uncommon Bridges is seeking an organized, confident, and assertive self-starter who can both work independently, and as a member of a team, to serve as a Project Associate. The position offers dynamic opportunities for personal and company growth in an exciting and fast-paced environment. Project Associates are utility players who offer multi-faceted project support, such as research, community engagement and meeting logistics. Projects span a wide range of topics and purposes, but at the center of all of them is facilitation and community and stakeholder engagement. Applying a racial and social equity lens, we strive for project outcomes that elevate community voice in the process of creating and strengthening organizations, places and policy. Clients are most frequently local and state governments, nonprofit organizations, and place management organizations.

About Uncommon Bridges

Uncommon Bridges is a consulting firm located in downtown Seattle next to Pike Place Market. Established in 2009 (as BDS Planning & Urban Design), Uncommon Bridges specializes in building consensus and unlikely coalitions, communicating complex information, demonstrating leading ideas, and shaping organizations. We build more vibrant, just and thriving communities by braiding inclusive process, consensus leadership, impactful organizations, and meaningful places into everything we do. Key services include Strategic Planning & Visioning; Facilitation; Research & Analysis; Business Improvement District (BID) Formation, Renewal, & Expansion; Community & Stakeholder Engagement; Policy & Program Development; Government Relations & Strategy; and Cultural Placemaking. Examples of current and past client work can be found at

• Multifaceted Project Support — Project tasks are likely to include activities (both in-person and via video conference) such as scheduling and preparing for meeting logistics such as facilities, supplies, refreshments, and materials, graphic and visual communications (e.g., slide presentations, display boards, process and organizational diagrams, etc.), research, data analysis, writing, mapping, summarizing, and report production; as well as public-facing activities such as community engagement, outreach, interviewing, facilitation, graphic recording, note taking, public speaking, and other unique project elements.
• Research — Conduct research for various projects and clearly document findings and trade-offs. Examples of research include existing plan review, best practices, and data research.
• Final Product — Produce attractive, concise final products that summarize the findings of the various aspects of the project and recommend future actions.
• Professional Development — Participate in professional development activities, including seminars, conferences, work groups, certifications, and so forth. The firm may support some of these activities with paid time and/or payment of dues or fees.

Key Skills

• Writing — Strong writing skills are essential. Ability to write professional reports, memoranda, and emails for client products.
• Analysis — Strong analytical and data management skills (qualitative and quantitative) with a professional focus on urban planning, public policy or comparable field.
• Quality Control — Strong attention to detail, able to review one’s own work, as well as provide review of final products for colleagues.
• Communication — Skilled communicator able to work in a multi-disciplinary setting and possesses strong oral communication skills.
• Technology — Nimble and open to continued learning on essential software and hardware, as well as utilizing evolving technological tools.
• Collaboration — Building strong working relationships with colleagues and fostering a collaborative and creative team environment is essential.
• Organization  — Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines and excellent time management skills.
• Equity Analysis — Commitment to racial equity, and the ability to apply racial equity principles to project work and culturally responsive engagement.
• Empathetic Approach — Ability to work empathetically with a wide variety of people from different social and cultural backgrounds.

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.
• One or more years of experience in project coordination, support, and administration.
• Strong skills in word processing, data management and presentation software including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides).
• Experience in and/or ability to learn video conferencing software (i.e. Zoom), project management software (i.e. Trello) and Macintosh/Apple computers.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Academic (or equivalent relevant experience) focus in urban planning, urban design, urban studies, public policy, public administration, or a related field.
• Experience conducting research, including literature reviews, data collection and analysis, as well as in designing and administering surveys.
• Skills in design programs (Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop).
• Skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis and techniques to extract data, perform analysis, and better understand certain variables in specific geographic locations.
• Direct experience with community leadership, movement building, organizing and/or public and stakeholder engagement, especially with and within underserved communities.

Working Conditions:

• Location — Hybrid: work in the firm’s downtown Seattle office a minimum of three days per week; in-office days encouraged to align with full team meetings (i.e. staff meeting) to foster collaboration. Remote work for the remaining days.
• Travel — Travel may be necessary to project locations, locally, regionally, and beyond. The frequency and duration of travel will depend on project requirements and client locations.
• Schedule — This is an overtime exempt position. This position typically requires a standard 40-hour work week; however, additional hours may be required to meet project deadlines, attend meetings, or address urgent project issues. Flexibility in working hours is essential, and flexible scheduling is offered to accommodate.
• Supervision — This position reports to one or more field-area/portfolio Leads. This position could report to a Director in the future, as supervision structures evolve.
• Communication — Frequent communication with team members, stakeholders, clients, and vendors through email, chat, phone, video conferencing, and in-person meetings is essential.
• Community Interaction — This position often involves engagement activities requiring interaction with community members, some of which have complex needs, have experience trauma, or are otherwise vulnerable.
• Stress Levels — This a demanding role which may involve managing multiple projects simultaneously, handling tight timelines and deadlines, and resolving complex issues. The ability to be mindful of one’s stress response and to self-regulate in the moment to support oneself and others, as well as maintain a solution-oriented approach toward problem solving, is important.

Benefits

Salary & Benefits

Salary for this position will depend on experience but is likely $67,500-$82,500 annually. This is a full-time, overtime exempt position. The firm offers health (medical, dental, optical) insurance, 11 fixed paid holidays, three floating paid holidays, paid time off (increasing with years of service), a retirement plan with company match, Paid Family & Medical Leave and an Employee Assistance Program. We offer a hybrid work environment with flexible scheduling.