Join the Words Alive Team

Employment Opportunities - Detailed Description

POSITION:  Volunteer Coordinator

COMPENSATION: $20/hour – $22/hour

STATUS: Regular, Full-Time, Non-Exempt

HOURS:  40 hours a week, occasional nights and weekends as needed. Time during the day flexible during regular working hours (8-6).

LOCATION: Requires in-person/in-office work at offices in San Diego. Eligible for some hybrid/remote work as determined in coordination with supervisor.

SUPERVISES: Volunteers

REPORTS TO:  Community Engagement Manager

WHO WE ARE: Words Alive connects children, teens, and families to the power of reading.  We serve students of all ages and their families throughout San Diego County. During the 2022-2023 year, we served 5,000 children, teens, and families facing extraordinary life circumstances through family workshops, read alouds in classrooms, and teen book clubs. Words Alive is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

POSITION OVERVIEW: Words Alive’s Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for supporting the daily operations, recruitment, onboarding, retention, and engagement of volunteers in support of the various mission priorities of the organization. This position is responsible for an array of responsibilities coordinating how individuals can contribute as volunteers to Words Alive. They must seamlessly manage highly organized processes, a network of exceptional volunteers, and the data critical to the organization's success.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Volunteer Management (30%)

  • Train and manage volunteer engagement team (10-15 volunteers).

  • Provide weekly email updates to volunteers.

  • Coordinate scheduling and volunteer staffing for orientations.

  • Manage data entry for applications and service hours.

Volunteer Recruitment (30%)

  • Coordinate across Words Alive team to support volunteer needs for major programs, including Family Literacy Project, Read Aloud, Adolescent Book Group, Social Media Squad, and Page Turners.

  • Design and implement volunteer recruitment strategies based on needs.

  • Generate recruitment collateral such as flyers and website updates.

  • Manage all website pages and content relating to volunteer recruitment, orientations, onboarding requirements, resources, and volunteer roles and opportunities.

  • Respond to inquiries from potential volunteers and questions/concerns from existing volunteers.

  • Manage volunteer recruitment postings across multiple partner platforms.

  • Facilitate seamless transition through onboarding process to place volunteers in roles.

  • Using multiple systems, communicate and track compliance requirements for volunteer roles, including orientation attendance, applications, Words Matter training (including both live and asynchronous trainings), fingerprint and name-based background checks, TB tests, mandated reporter training, program/role-specific training, COVID vaccination records, court-mandated service, youth volunteer waivers, and media releases.

  • This position requires becoming certified with the California Department of Justice to be responsible for the security, storage, dissemination, and destruction of background check results furnished to Words Alive. This requires a fingerprint background check and meeting confirmation requirements for this role set by the State of California.

  • Maintain database of 1,000+ volunteers.

  • Manage Volunteer@ inbox.

Wild Books and Event Support (20%)

  • Staff on-site volunteer events such as Wild Books and corporate events, including occasional weekends and after hours.

  • Support project staging and registration as needed.

  • Support planning for special events such as the Author’s Luncheon.  

  • Solicit sponsorships and in-kind donations for events as needed. 

  • Attend production meetings.

Volunteer Retention and Appreciation (20%)

  • Process hours verification requests.

  • Prepare visual and written content for social media and monthly newsletter (volunteer needs, mission moments, etc.).

  • Manage the reporting and tracking of volunteer demographics, including drafting the Volunteer Round Up.

  • Coordinate Volunteer Appreciation Celebration events, including a virtual program, in-person event, and volunteer awards ceremony.

  • Draft and maintain SOPs related to volunteer roles.

  • Support staff with best practices in volunteer management.

EXPECTATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

Educational, Experience, and Technical Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience

  • Some higher education preferred: certificate programs, degrees, or equivalent experience

  • Excellent computer skills. Including virtual platforms such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), remote working platforms (Teams, Zoom), time management apps (Asana), CRM systems (DonorView), and website (Squarespace)

  • Experience (1+ year) of volunteer and/or team management

  • Excellent customer service for both external stakeholders and internal partners

  • Very organized and can manage many moving parts of processes, programs, and calendars successfully

  • Self-starter who takes ownership of projects, with strong time management skills and ease in moving quickly through many priorities simultaneously

  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with a diverse variety of individuals

  • Excellent written and verbal language skills, comfort with public speaking, and experience proofreading

  • Accountable, with a strong sense of responsibility

  • Resourceful and can take initiative and gather information to work through a project independently

  • Comfortable with numbers and data

  • Ability to respect and uphold confidentiality

  • Optimistic, positive, welcoming, thoughtful, gratitude-driven, and professional demeanor

  • Unwavering commitment to the mission and population served

We strongly prefer:

  • Experience with database software, websites, and social media platforms

  • Prior experience volunteering with or working for a literacy, education, creative arts, or nonprofit organization

  • Fluency in a language(s) in addition to English

  • Lived experiences aligned with the organization’s mission, participation in Words Alive programming

  • Experience managing staff and/or volunteers

Physical Demands, Travel, and Availability

  • This position is responsible for maintaining the physical goods for our programming and regularly includes bending, lifting, twisting, carrying, and moving materials. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals to perform essential functions.

  • Ability to work on a computer and phone for at least 80% of the workday.

  • Role includes in-office work. Reasonable accommodations will be made.

  • Ability to drive or with access to reliable transportation to and from meetings, activities, and events occasionally throughout Words Alive’s service area. Overnight travel is a rare possibility.

WORDS ALIVE VALUES & CULTURE
At Words Alive, our programs and impact made in the community are driven by our core values, which represent the motivation, dedication, and focus of our Words Alive staff and volunteers. Our values include:

  • Commitment: by pledging to make reading matter for everyone

  • Equitability: by working to level the playing field

  • Empowerment: by investing in lifelong learners

  • Responsiveness: by listening to community needs and developing innovative solutions

  • Collaboration: by partnering with the community

  • Connectedness: by creating a familial environment that includes all Words Alive participants and support

TO APPLY: Carefully review this job posting, expectations, compensation, and criteria to ensure it is a good fit. Submit 1) a brief cover letter or introductory video sharing why you’d like to work with Words Alive, and 2) a resume or summary of experiences qualifying you for this position via email (only) to: [email protected].