BNC Peer Navigator

Position Summary This recruitment will be used to fill four (4) part-time (a maximum of 24 hours per week) BNC Peer Navigator Positions for the Basic Needs Center (BNC) at Oregon State University (OSU).Peer Navigators are student leaders who play a key role in contributing to the basic needs of Oregon State University students. The OSU Basic Needs Center is a community center where students help students co-create solutions around their basic needs including housing, food, and living on a budget. Peer Navigators promote the use of campus and community resources in addressing these challenges. Peer Navigators provide coaching, problem solving, resource navigation, food support, and community-building opportunities to their classmates who are working through challenging economic realities. The center is a lively space where on any given day you are likely to encounter bustling activities, warm conversations over coffee, laughter, music, and OSU students visiting to volunteer, study, or work on strategy.At the core of the role is leadership development. Peer Navigators help shape the BNC’s schedule of offerings while participating in leadership training, goal setting, and supportive one-on-one meetings with supervisors to check in on work and academic progress. Peer navigators are supervised by a team of professional staff who provide regular feedback and a supportive environment to help them grow, with opportunities for annual cost-of-living raises and performance-based raises. Peer Navigators develop leadership skills while contributing to the mission of the BNC and the success of OSU students. Tips for applying: Interested applicants are encouraged to use resources to support preparation of your application. Please consider visiting the BNC to get a tour and to ask questions before submitting your application. You are encouraged to visit the Career Development Center (or their website) for support with your application materials, or consider asking friends/mentors to give you feedback on your materials.During the search committee review of the applications, we will be focusing on answers to the supplemental questions. Your application materials including resume and supplemental questions are your opportunity to make arguments about why you meet the qualifications listed and why you would be a good choice for this position. Don’t be too modest, your job application is your opportunity to tell us about yourself and your strengths.We ask that applicants generate the ideas inside of question responses without the use of AI. We will look for AI generated answers. We may ask follow up questions about your examples if you advance to the interview stage.Anticipated Hourly Rate: $17.50 Transferable Skill Development OSU is committed to ensuring students are prepared for success after graduation through intentional skill development as student employees. The competencies students develop while working at OSU are defined by the as the essential skills employers seek in their hires. In this position, students learn and build vital career-readiness skills in the primary areas below: Communication, Teamwork, Leadership, Technology, Career & Self-Development Position Duties Two current peer navigators summarize their roles: “The role of a peer navigator is diverse and dynamic. Daily tasks include things such as center upkeep and activities. Another main focus of the peer nav role is to help those that come into the center; this could be done through peer convos, trips down to our library or welcoming to our hospitality bar. Peer navs are also encouraged to collaborate with their team members and other centers on and off campus to do things such as research networking and creating projects that help fill the needs of the center and of the students on campus. Projects could include running one-time events like cooking classes or be a recurring project like a workshop that you created.”“The roles and responsibilities at the Basic Needs Center are never just one thing. Much like our space, the role of Peer Navigator is a very open concept. A good amount of foresight and time efficiency is needed when planning our center projects. You need to be flexible and attentive enough to pivot to a center priority instantly. Casual collaboration between student staff members makes the work easier since our diverse staff comes to the table with unique perspectives and a willingness to get involved. The work environment here is dynamic and positive, intentionally mirroring a drop-in community center rather than a social services office. We have extensive training to prepare our staff for the peer-to-peer strategizing conversations we offer for the OSU student population. These conversations can breach some tense subjects, commonly including housing, food, and financial insecurity. Staffing our recurring center activities and food programs takes up a large portion of the workload. The peer navigators are expected and encouraged to pursue other projects in furtherance of the Basic Needs Centers mission. Collaboration, leadership, and an emphasis on learning are at the core of all our pursuits.”The work of the peer navigator includes the following functional areas and responsibilities. We are a ‘notice and do’ team where we actively pay attention and take action.Community BuildingCreate a welcoming, supportive space at the BNC by connecting with OSU students through meaningful conversations, welcoming each person, casual chats where we remember names, and hosting people at events with intentional design—helping everyone feel seen, valued, and part of the community, whether they’re picking up textbooks, using the pantry, having a peer conversation, or studying while doing laundry. Build relationships through collaboration on projects in the center and across campus that support basic needs and student success.Peer-to-Peer Convos and WorkshopsSupport students in navigating their basic needs by facilitating one-on-one conversations where you help them build positive, realistic plans related to food, housing, and living on a budget. Engage in training to learn how to help students explore strategies, access resources, and field questions about benefits programs (like SNAP) and how to sign up for them. Build a working knowledge of area resources, as well as the ability to search for, constructively assess, and engage with local providers (on and off campus). Communicate resource literacy in a peer-to-peer setting, as part of a problem-solving and planning approach. Plan and implement workshops aimed at teaching and building skills in other students.QuestingTake on “quests”—projects, events, or initiatives that support the BNC community and build your own skills. Quests provide opportunities to lead, collaborate, and gain experience in planning, executing, and reflecting on your work. With guidance from a coach, manage one or more quests based on your interests and term schedule. Some quests are assigned and some are student authored. Some past examples include: build a housing strategies workshop series, teach a cooking class, write a program manual for answering basic needs email inquiries, create a zine of area resources.Center OperationsShare in the complex work of BNC operations, including food program tasks (supervising volunteers, unloading/stocking, repacking, hosting students, and ordering food), textbook lending library (checking out books, helping students find other sources, managing library inventory), and responsibilities such as staffing the front desk, answering phones, organizing files (physical and digital), making copies, and responding to email. Engage visitors through tours and answering questions, help promote events with the BNC social media team, and assist with maintaining the BNC gardens. Open and close the center each day, including basic cleaning, and help maintain a clean, welcoming space throughout the day. Work independently or in small teams, adapting to shifting needs and walk-in traffic. Some roles may include driving to pick up supplies or participating in a supplies pick up if not driving.Leadership Development and TrainingEngage in continuous learning and professional growth with significant time spent in training and practice. Actively participate in leadership development opportunities (for example, weekly Leadership Lab), scheduled training, self-reflection exercises, and team meetings. Gain a deeper appreciation for the strengths and resources within yourself and the communities facing basic needs challenges. Use these experiences, along with shared reading and available resources, to grow as both an OSU student and a BNC student leader. BNC leadership development focuses on applied practice of skills including framing ideas, mobilizing resources and building social capital. Minimum Qualifications Full Employment Eligibility Requirements can be found here: Must be academically enrolled in a high school, community college, or university and pursuing a program or course of study Must meet Academic Standing Requirements; students on academic suspension are not eligible for employment Must meet the applicable minimal enrollment standard High School student: Regularly enrolled in a high school or participating in a home-schooling program Undergraduate and post-baccalaureate student: 6 credit hours per term Undergraduate international student: 12 credit hours per term* Graduate student officially admitted to Graduate School: 5 credit hours per term Graduate international student officially admitted to Graduate School: 9 credit hours per term* *International students may be allowed to carry fewer hours than specified above and still be considered “full-time” by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A reduced course load is approved by the (OIS), and must be provided to the Student Employment Center. Additional Required Qualifications Interest in being a student leader at the BNC and performing the job duties that happen at the Basic Needs Center. Useful skills to add to the team’s strengths. This can be a lot of different things including but not limited to: skills in event planning, project management, gardening and care of outdoor plants, hosting/maintaining a welcoming environment, mentoring and coaching, being a care provider or companion, teaching or training groups, working with a library system, organizing logistics of a plan and its operation for a group or organization, community organizing partnerships, personal budgeting or success sharing with others tips for living on a budget, making social media , etc. Strong Interpersonal Communication: Excellent communication skills, including active listening, the ability to give and receive constructive feedback, and foster positive relationships within a team. Experience working with individuals with diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, perspectives, and identities. Experience accessing resources of any kind to support problem solving for self or with others and ability to explain how using resources is productive. Application and position do not require disclosure of personal health information. Preferred (Special) Qualifications Lived experience managing limited food, housing, and/or economic resources Conversational skills in a second language (especially Spanish) Enjoys beginning and having conversations with people you do not know Experience planning events or transferable skills Valid Oregon Driver’s license, willingness to drive a cargo van. Sophomore or Junior undergraduate standing Working Conditions / Work Schedule Working Conditions / Work ScheduleSuccessful applicants will be required to work 12-24 hours per week, Monday – Friday in academic terms. Some weekend or evening requests may arise for staffing booths and events. Hours may also be available during breaks and summer, sometimes with additional hours per week. Peer Navigator schedules are assigned each term by BNC professional staff based on class schedules and the needs of center programming.The BNC values continuous learning, leadership development, and teambuilding. To support this, all staff fall training is offered March 19, 2026 and Aug31-Sep11, 2026 onsite at the BNC and attendance is required.Hours are performed in-person. Work is mostly inside but will require some outside work. Ability to change tasks frequently and work with interruption to support peer conversations or attend to drop in activity at the center is necessary. Ability to lift up to 30 pounds regularly and 50 pounds intermittently, with team assistance as requested. Ability to push carts up and down a ramp. Work is sometimes messy and very physical. BNC student employees must maintain a 2.0 cumulative and term GPA. Grade checks are done each term and students who do not meet this threshold will be provided with staff support to improve their academic performance.Please note that students who have worked with the BNC for internship credit are eligible to apply for the Peer Navigator role; students hired as a Peer Navigator are ineligible to earn internship credit in the future once hired.