The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy (HPPC) is a small 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and advocate for the green spaces and waterfront of Long Island City, Queens, and to ensure the parks remain an indispensable asset to the community.
The Conservancy works in Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunter’s Point South, providing volunteers for park upkeep, funding occasional park maintenance projects, and hosting over 120 free events in the parks each year. We also manage a boathouse and environmental center. Free events include movie nights, fitness classes, environmental education and art classes, and a 6 week-long program of free children’s activities.
Position Overview
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy is looking to hire a second full-time employee as Programming and Communications Coordinator to help with the Conservancy’s programmatic and communication efforts and allow us to significantly increase our activities at the Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center, which opened in late 2023.
As this is a growing organization, the time spent on specific activities, and the activities themselves, are subject to change, and will shift depending upon the season.
Job Responsibilities – Note: “Summer” refers to April – September, “Winter” is October - March
Environmental education programs (25%)
Help develop boathouse curriculum for field trips/afterschool programs/college partnerships
Assist in developing new programs
Support work on partnership with outside orgs to develop and promote our new center
Park Programming & Stewardship (35% summer, 20% winter)
On-site program management - set up equipment, track attendance, interface with programming partners, talk to attendees
Help maintain website calendar and manage updates for rain delays etc
Help develop programs to increase populations served
Assist with quarterly large events
Assist with volunteer gardening groups
Help expand volunteer engagement with new residents and other targeted groups
Support park stewardship projects (documenting issues in parks to potentially fund, helping identify problem areas that need more staff/HPPC attention, and supporting advocacy around these issues
Communications & digital engagement (25%)
Social media
Develop a regular schedule, keep track of updates to Instagram algorithm, share programs, highlights from the parks, boathouse info, etc year-round, and track engagement
Assist with a short-form environmental education video series
Write blog posts to post to our website
Draft weekly newsletter to ~14,000 subscribers
Draft signage, digital flyers, and outreach materials for programs and events
Add park programs to NYC parks websites, local event calendars, etc
Fundraising (15% winter)
Develop and maintain database of local businesses to use for sponsorship asks etc
Support as needed for individual giving campaigns, collecting data for grants, and researching foundations
Admin (15%)
Assist with filing permits and required reports to city agencies
Track metrics related to programming, digital engagement, etc to allow for more informed business development decisions
Take minutes at board meetings
Help manage day-to-day running of boathouse
Help with other admin tasks as they arise
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
1-2 years of experience working in parks, public programming, community engagement, or environmental education
Ability to multi-task and work on several projects at the same time
Ability to work independently and take ownership of projects
Comfort speaking in front of groups of people, interacting with strangers as well as partners, community leaders, government officials, etc.
Comfort interacting with members of the public in a friendly and professional manner
Strong writing and communication skills
A willingness to learn and teach oneself new skills
Experience with social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Constant Contact)
Must be able to lift 35 lbs
Additional Desired Qualifications:
Graphic design experience (particularly with Adobe Suite, or experience using Canva)
Experience editing short-form videos
Experience with Long Island City or other Western Queens communities
Experience planning large-scale events
Compensation and Schedule
This is a full-time, salaried position. The salary range for this position is $51,000 to $56,000, commensurate with skills and experience.
HPPC offers new full-time employees 10 days paid vacation, 5 sick/personal days, 12 paid holidays, and a match for a retirement plan.
In the summer, the Programming and Communications Coordinator will be required to work Saturday mornings and three evenings/week to cover programs for most of the season, and to cover 6 weeks of Sunday programs. They will also need to be flexible to cover approximately 5-10 large annual events on weekends, and to occasionally cover evening and weekend programs during the winter season.
HPPC employees work at Hunter’s Point South Park, Gantry Plaza State Park, and from the Queens Landing Boathouse at 57-28 2nd St Unit 105, Long Island City, NY 11101. This position requires attendance at programs and events, but allows work from home on days there are no park activities.
Hunters Point Parks Conservancy is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. It is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, political orientation or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law.
To Apply:
Please send your resume and cover letter as one PDF document to info@hunterspointparks.org with “Programming and Communications Coordinator” and your name in the subject line.