Site Placement
Working at your site placement is a core component of the QVS program. We hope the work will be rewarding. With that said, “employee” is not your primary identity. Technically, you’re not employed by your site placement. Nor are you employed by QVS. This is a year of service.
Working at your site placement is meant to give you an inside perspective into the way people have organized for social change. What works? What gets in the way? What assumptions need to be reexamined? From the perspective of QVS, engaging these foundational questions is as important as the day-to-day work you’ll be doing at your site placement from September to the end of July.
Service Year
“I started off the year feeling very insecure, and I now feel very confident asserting myself at work and voicing my perspectives during decision-making processes. Overall despite the flaws present in my work experience, I think of the time spent and relationships built with my coworkers as one of my favorite things about QVS.”
Although your employment status is unusual, you’re still expected to be punctual and reliable in performing your responsibilities. The work day is still 8 hours long. You’ll need to follow site placement policies regarding confidentiality, sick days, dress code, etc.
Professional Workspace
To keep the work from claiming more than its share of your attention, QVS has set boundaries for what site placements can expect from you. Every other Friday is reserved for QVS Day programming. Site Placements have received the dates of your QVS Days and Retreats and should avoid scheduling you for other responsibilities at these times.
You also have a commitment to community life inside your House. If a site placement is routinely asking for your time on evenings and weekends, it becomes more difficult to schedule shared meals, house meetings, and other community building activities. It’s possible that you or someone else in your house is expected to work outside regular business hours. If you’re consistently asked to work during hours that interfere with other QVS commitments, please let your City Coordinator know.
You may also need to think about setting a different kind of boundary. If you’re frequently working with people who’ve been traumatized by systemic injustice or misfortune, how do you keep your own equilibrium? What strategy is modeled by others in your organization? Is there someone who can help you process?
Setting Boundaries
The partnership between you, your site placement, and QVS works best if we maintain good lines of communication in each direction.
For the first few months, you should have weekly one-on-one meetings with your site supervisor. Your supervisor should help you understand how your job is connected to the organization’s overall mission. You should also receive practical information: like how to use the photocopier, how to file a grievance, and how to ask for time off.
The site placement agreement with QVS provides you with at least 6 days of personal vacation time. You may request these days at any point in the year. Please talk with your supervisor to schedule vacation time. In addition, you receive 8 days of vacation for recognized holidays, like Thanksgiving and Juneteenth (see the calendar for more info). Your site placement may recognize additional holidays or provide additional vacation days.
Please talk to your site supervisor if you ever need more information or support at work. If you’re unsure about how to make this kind of request, please talk to your local Coordinator. Your Coordinator will be happy to help you strategize or even accompany you to a difficult conversation.
Three times per year, your Coordinator will schedule a meeting with you and your supervisor. The first of these should happen around the time of Fall Retreat. Your Coordinator will want to know if anything has changed with the job description and if you’re receiving all the support you need. Your Coordinator will also want to address any concerns your site supervisor may have.
You never need to wait for your Coordinator to initiate a meeting. If you have questions or feel troubled about something at work, please communicate with your site supervisor or Coordinator, immediately. The sooner you raise a concern, the more quickly it can be addressed.
Lines of Communication
QVS chose to work with your site placement because we believe they’re doing good work in the world. We also think they have the capacity to provide you with meaningful guidance and support. Ideally, the partnership with QVS allows your site placement to accomplish something that it couldn’t do without a Fellow like you on the team.
During the application process, potential Fellows interview with several potential site placements. You have input into the matching process. Site placements also discern which potential Fellow fits best with their organization. Matches aren’t finalized until everyone agrees.
Despite all the discernment that goes into matching Fellows and site placements, some matches start to unravel. If a problem arises, we hope and expect that everyone will enter into a frank and loving conversation about how to improve the situation. Your Coordinator can help facilitate the conversation, advocating for you and making sure everyone’s concerns are addressed.
Sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts, the relationship between a Fellow and a site placement becomes untenable. If your site placement has broken trust or failed to meet expectations, your Coordinator will try to find you a new site placement. A new site must be found within 30 days to continue the program.
If you choose to leave your site placement, or if your site supervisor removes you from the organization because you’ve violated policies or consistently failed to meet expectations, you may be asked to leave the QVS program.
Although there are always ups and downs throughout the year, it’s rare for a Fellow and site placement to sever relationships. We’re confident you’ll have an opportunity to grow at your site placement!