Deliberation Facilitator

Founded in 2020, Unify America is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on a mission to replace political fighting with collaborative problem-solving. We are creating civic experiences that reduce polarization, teach essential civic skills, and invite Americans to use their differences to better solve common problems together. Our programs include civic engagement opportunities through local Democracy Leagues and practice grounds like the Civic Gym, which has engaged more than 30,000 college students across the U.S. in meaningful conversations across the aisle.

What’s a Democracy League? We’re glad you asked. A Democracy League is a locally rooted network of people and organizations working together to make their local civic life more participatory, trusted, and effective. It serves as a hub to bring residents together across differences, train local leaders in facilitation and engagement, and create structures like Civic Assemblies where representative residents can help shape public decisions.

Our first Democracy League is taking root in Akron, Ohio. And the community in Akron has chosen Housing as the topic for their first Civic Assembly. Specifically, this Civic Assembly will be a deliberation on how to increase access to affordable, safe, well-maintainted homes for Akron residents.

To assist in this process, we are seeking a team of skilled and collaborative Deliberation Facilitators to support the deliberation process. Each facilitator will work directly with a small group of five participants, alongside multiple co-facilitators, to guide productive, inclusive, and well-organized discussions.

Facilitators will help ensure all participants have a voice, discussions stay aligned with the agenda, and any concerns are escalated appropriately to facilitation trainers. All methods and models needed for this process will be covered during the March training and pre-session orientations.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate small-group deliberations (5-person groups) during each scheduled session.
• Collaborate with co-facilitators to maintain structure, timing, and fidelity to the deliberation model.
• Ensure inclusive participation and respectful dialogue among all group members.
• Adhere to the session agenda and process guidelines.
• Participate in mandatory pre-meetings for training, orientation, and process review.
• Monitor for issues or concerns and appropriately escalate them to facilitation trainers.
• Maintain professional neutrality and support a psychologically safe environment.

Preferred Experience & Qualifications

Experience is requested but not required — training will be provided.

Preferred familiarity includes:

• Civic engagement practices
• Deliberative democracy methods
• Community meeting facilitation or related community-engagement experience

Additional preferred qualities:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Comfort managing group dynamics and guiding discussion
• Ability to collaborate effectively with co-facilitators
• Reliability and punctuality for all required Saturdays and training sessions

Time Commitment

Schedule:

• Mandatory training and pre-session orientation meeting on March 2
• Saturdays 9am-6pm: 3/14, 3/28, 4/11, 4/25, 5/9
• Thursdays 5:30-9pm: 3/19, 4/16, 4/30, 5/14

Location: Akron, Ohio (You must be available in Akron to attend all program sessions in person)

Training: Required training and orientation in early March (3/2)

Employment Type: Temporary, part-time contract role

Payment: $50/hour; paid after project completion