Job: Shop Host – Bikes for Humanity PDX

Job Title

Shop Host

Company / Organization

Bikes for Humanity PDX

Job Description

Position Description:
Bikes for Humanity PDX is a non-profit bike shop and school located in SE Portland. Our mission is to increase public access to affordable and safe bicycles while empowering self-sufficiency in bicycle maintenance and commute. The shop host runs the space on Powell and prioritizes tasks ranging from coordinating volunteers, selling bikes, parts, and accessories, refurbishing bikes, communicating on behalf of the organization, and educating users of the space on bike mechanics. We are currently in transition to a new space in the same building. For the first few months, the shop host would be involved in transitioning equipment, volunteers, and customers to the new space. This position would be 15-20 hr per week depending on shop hours (longer in the summer) and events. $12.50/hr

Primary Objectives:
The shop host opens our space to volunteers and the public to expand our ability to impact the community with our mission. Open hours allow us to serve individuals of all economic strata, provide volunteers with experience working on bikes and running unique version of a bike co-op, and create revenue for our programs.
-Expand access to safe affordable bikes by taking in donated bikes and refurbishing them
-Expand free mechanics education to members of our community by including volunteers in the process of refurbishment, and providing them with the resources to be successful
-Empower members of the community to be self-sufficient commuters by giving them a space to work on their bikes, access to affordable used parts and refurbished bikes, and free mechanics education.

Specific Responsibilities of the Job

Greeting everyone who enters the space, and accommodating them
-Communicating the mission, programs, and opportunities at Bikes for Humanity
-Asking new volunteers to fill out the volunteer waiver, collecting their contact information
-Deciphering if the individual entering the space is a customer, volunteer, or participant in a program, or simply an interested member of the community
-Empowering a volunteer to engage with individuals entering the space

Presenting volunteers with a task suitable to their skills and interests
-Knowing the space’s needs and communicating tasks towards those needs to volunteers
-Being aware when a volunteer is lost, confused, or frustrated
-Creating a space of open communication where a volunteer feels safe and comfortable asking questions

Accomplishing goals set for the day, and empowering volunteers to take part
-Each shift should see a certain amount of productivity, and volunteers should be empowered to accomplish as much as possible
-The shop host, as the paid staffer, should accomplish tasks that must be done, but for which volunteers do not show interest
-If sales, donations, and volunteer participation are minimal, the shop host should accomplish other tasks toward our mission

Accommodating and thanking individuals who donate bicycles
-Donors are treated as a priority, needing only a moment to collect the bike, and be given a donation receipt to fill out, and to have a quick conversation
-Donors are thanked and given a sense of how their donation will serve our mission and the community

Prioritizing helping customers needing service, or looking to buy a bike
-Shop host communicates how an individual may use the space, or if we can fix their bike for a fee
-Clearly communicates other resources to individuals if we are not in a position to help
-Checks in with other volunteers that they will be assisting someone interested in buying a bike that they will be temporarily unavailable
-Asks for help from other volunteers or staff, or even customers or donors if appropriate, when overwhelmed

Creating an inclusive, safe space for all members of our community
-The shop host sets the tone for all participants in the space
-Is knowledgeable about privilege and oppression, and the role of intentionally inclusive spaces in fostering an anti-oppression community
-Engages with customers or volunteers about the meaning and value of a safe space, and challenges microagression and privilege

Communicating with board, program coordinator, and other employees about activities of the day
-The shop host works with board and co-workers to find an effective way to communicate successes and challenges of the day
-Empowers volunteers to track their own time in volunteer log
-Enters all sales and monetary donations into Lightspeed
-Sends donation receipts to donors, and files our physical copy
-Follows policy on which bikes to fix and which to scrap

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Job Requirements
-A self-starter, ready to take initiative and ask questions as needed
-Drive to identify and complete new tasks and goals with little guidance
-Above average skills in teaching, coordinating volunteers
-Excellent skills in communication, working with people
-Demonstrated ability to multitask, prioritize, and communicate tasks
-General knowledge of anti-oppression work, bicycle advocacy, environmental work

Education and Experience
-3+ years experience, formal or informal, teaching, coordinating volunteers, or facilitating community and/or safe spaces
-Some experience, formal or informal, in working on bikes
-Interest or experience in community service

Physical Demands
Shop hosts need to be able to move freely in the space and be active for the four hours of open hours. The host needs to be able to lift a bike into a stand, and otherwise perform the physical tasks associated with mechanical work on bikes.

How to Apply

Please send a cover letter and resume or C.V. to Alexandria at alex@b4hpdx.org with the subject: “Shop Host Position”