Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager

Overview

TITLE: Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager

DEPARTMENT: Programming, Development

REPORTS TO: Chief Program Officer & Chief Development Officer

FLSA: FT Non-Exempt

HOURS: 40 hours/week

SALARY: $25.50/hour

START DATE: ASAP

SCHEDULE: Variable based on needs; Typical 10:00 am – 6:30 pm regular day

 Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) provides underserved youth with exceptional programs in academics, arts, and athletics within a nurturing environment, empowering them to develop their potential, pursue their education and strengthen their communities. Our core values are Respect, Responsibility, Positive Communication, and Support.

 POSITION SUMMARY

Volunteers are an essential part of the history, present, and future of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA). When Mitchel Moore founded our organization in 1989, he ran it solely with the help of volunteers, and as we have diversified and strengthened our program offerings, volunteers have been key drivers of our increased capacity. Volunteers not only allow HOLA to serve hundreds more students each year than would otherwise be possible—their most common job roles being teachers, mentors, and tutors—they are also often the source of new ideas, and instrumental in piloting new program offerings.

 Volunteers also shape the culture at HOLA, bringing diversity, compassion, and optimism to our environment—not to mention a fair amount of sweat and elbow grease. This energy establishes HOLA as a space in which everyone works together, each person giving according to their ability, to make sure underserved youth have every chance to succeed and to create a bright spot in a neighborhood heavily affected by poverty and violence. Each year, our 500+ multi-generational volunteer base includes middle- and high-income seniors, adults, young adults and teenagers; HOLA alumni, as well as parents and grandparents of both current and former HOLA students, who together contribute thousands of hours of service to HOLA. 

 The Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager is at the nexus of this program, training volunteers and placing them in service areas that best utilize each individual’s passions and talents. The Manager also leads tracking and evaluation of the program, as well as volunteer-specific communications and volunteer appreciation. Through close collaboration with the Chief Program Officer and Chief Development Officer, issues of Volunteer Program planning, resource allocation, and partnership development is also a crucial part of the role. The ideal candidate will be a systems thinker who has excellent project management skills, good judgment, and the ability to connect easily with others.

 Additionally, this position will work closely with our Family Services Department, identifying material needs for our families which can be met through strategic partnerships and in-kind donations, developing relationships with current partners, as well as establishing new ones.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Recruit, train, place, and supervise volunteers throughout the agency
• Oversee onboarding process, including facilitating background checks for volunteers consistently working directly with youth
• Respond to volunteer inquiries via phone and email
• Contribute to the ongoing development of volunteer training curriculum and materials, including a Volunteer Handbook, continuously updating to include new policies & procedures
• Work closely with the Chief Development Officer to develop new, and support existing, corporate philanthropic partnerships that yield volunteers as well as revenue and in-kind resources
• Oversee the processing of in-kind donations
• Collaborate with the development team to identify and steward volunteers to become donors
• Collaborate with program staff on activities and events that need volunteer support; coordinate all pre-event logistics; serve as a lead staff person for volunteer events, including advance planning and communication
• Spearhead the creation of new volunteer opportunities for older adults
• Continue to refine a system to assign, track, and manage volunteer work, including the development and continuous refinement of a calendar of regular volunteer opportunities
• Develop, collect, track, and maintain volunteer impact and satisfaction metrics using Salesforce; this involves routine data entry and monthly review of statistics for both internal reports and trend analysis
• Manage volunteer communications, including volunteer announcements, correspondence, e-newsletters
• Implement and innovate volunteer recognition efforts
• Present information about HOLA and volunteer opportunities at community events and meetings as needed
• Create and maintain an annual calendar of community engagement opportunities, and connect potential partners with the seasonal needs of our participants and their families
• Oversee planning and implementation of service days, and community engagement opportunities involving volunteers and community partners
• Develop and manage complex relationships with partner organizations in support of volunteer engagement & corporate giving strategies
• Work with the Chief Program Officer and Family Services Director to identify the material needs of our families, establish or develop partnerships for meeting these needs, and follow through to support with logistics for distribution
• Work with the Family Services department in organizing events to serve participants, family & community needs, taking a leadership role in organizing events involving the distribution of in-kind donations
• Overseeing Holiday Gift Drive & Distribution efforts organization-wide
• Other materials distributions as necessary
• Develop relationships with partner agencies to provide supplemental volunteer & subsidized workforce development opportunities, and assume supervision of such positions as they are placed in positions serving programming HOLA-wide (as in the case of the Angeleno Corps)
• Leadership role in overseeing our College Access Mentor program, including training, ongoing support, and supervision
• Oversee and manage special projects and other duties as assigned, especially around community engagement.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS)

• Dynamic and collaborative personality with exceptional people skills that lead to quickly engaging, relating to, and motivating a wide variety of HOLA stakeholders such as community leaders, volunteers, children, families, and funders; previous work with older adults is a plus
• Exceptional project management skills with the ability to organize, integrate and manage information from a wide variety of sources and formats
• Excellent public speaking, presentation, and written communication skills
• Outstanding organizational and relationship-building skills
• Ability to juggle multiple projects and balance competing priorities
• Experience project management, volunteer management, and program development is preferred
• Passion, warmth, and sensitivity for HOLA’s constituents and mission
• Availability to work occasional evening and weekend hours
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite and Google Workspace
• Experience with Salesforce or another database program preferred
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
• 1-3 years of previous experience with nonprofits, volunteering, volunteer organizing, and/or education and training preferred
• Ability to be a strong role model for youth during all working hours
• Bilingual in English and Spanish is highly preferred

VACCINATION POLICY

Heart of Los Angeles requires its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to certain exemptions as required by law. New hires working at Heart of Los Angeles must be fully vaccinated no later than 60 days after hire and submit to enhanced masking and social distancing requirements until they are fully vaccinated. Employees are required to get a booster within 10 work days after becoming eligible. Please contact Heart of Los Angeles Human Resources Department for a copy of the vaccination policy.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The building environment may not provide air conditioning and heat in all areas. Outdoor work is expected in some cases.

 This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

 All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills or abilities.

 As an equal opportunity employer, HOLA values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, handicap, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.