Becoming a Team Member
Milkweed Connections is a peer-run organization which provides peer support and mentoring. We are currently recruiting new team members/co-owners; see the job description below for more information on about this role:
Who should apply to join the Milkweed team?
Milkweed loves to receive interest from people who have prior experience as a peer supporter, mentor, coach, or other similar role. However, people without this experience are welcome to submit application materials if they are able to provide services that align with our values and ethics and are prepared to contribute to Milkweed as an organization. Many skills and life experiences are useful in peer support; Milkweed encourages potential team members from all walks of life to submit materials.
Milkweed values the contributions of team members who have lived experience with a wide variety of challenging backgrounds including involvement with the legal system. If you have a record and would like to know if you are eligible to work with our group, please know that eligibility to work with Milkweed is determined by your eligibility to work in the programs through which we provide services, such as CCS, which is determined by state statute. There are certain convictions that may require gathering additional documentation or completing a rehabilitation review prior to being able provide services. To learn more about these statutes and what our contracts require, please review this document provided by one of our largest contracts regarding eligibility to work with the CCS program.
What will happen after I submit my materials?
If Milkweed is looking to expand its team and thinks your experience, skills, and availability match our needs, someone from the Coordinating Team will be in touch to schedule an interview. Milkweed receives a lot of interest from prospective team members, so if you do not hear back from us immediately, please know that we will keep your materials on file and can consider you during future recruitment periods.
About Milkweed Connections
Everyone who works for Milkweed Connections is a co-owner of the business and is self-employed. This means that each team member has responsibilities that go above and beyond conventional employment. All team members are expected to contribute to the functioning and well-being of our business as well as manage the details of their self-employment. We have designated team members who manage administrative tasks such as referrals, invoicing, financial management, and so on. However, the larger vision and strategic planning for Milkweed is held by all team members on an equal basis.
We operate with shared decision-making. We have a Coordinating Team and an Administrative Team for managing day-to-day logistics and decision-making, but we are committed to a non-hierarchical business model. There are no bosses at Milkweed; we offer each other support and assistance in a spirit of mutuality. For many people, this requires a shift in how to approach one’s workplace and co-workers, since most workplaces are not organized in this way. Prospective team members must have a willingness to learn about our process and to shoulder both the empowerment and responsibility of working within shared decision-making.
Because Milkweed is not an employer, we do not offer traditional benefits to co-owners. We do offer the following benefits as an organization:
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Fringe benefit for healthcare expenses
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Schedule flexibility
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An office with kitchen, art room, yoga room, meeting space, and more for use with participants
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Ongoing training and skills development, including one-on-one mentoring for all new team members
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Co-ownership of a successful small business
If after reading this you are interested in applying to become a team member, please email us at info@milkweedconnections.com and include a résumé and cover letter describing why this work is of interest to you.