The Amherst Survival Center (ASC) is a safe place that provides food, health care and wellness, clothing, and community for our neighbors in need — families, the working poor, people who are homeless, and those on fixed incomes who live in Hampshire and Franklin Counties — primarily through volunteers. The Center has a relatively small staff, assisted by 200 volunteers each week to deliver services. All services in the Center (food pantry, community store, kitchen, food recovery, fresh food distribution, health clinic) are assisted and staffed by dedicated volunteers. The Volunteer Coordinator is a new position that works with the Program Director to oversee the recruitment, training, record keeping and acknowledgement for the Center’s volunteers to ensure coverage and opportunities to support the Amherst Survival Center.

Position Summary

Under the supervision of the Program Director in close partnership with all service area Coordinators, the Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for the outreach and training needed to staff all volunteer positions associated with the Amherst Survival Center’s programs. The Volunteer Coordinator works with the Amherst Survival Center team to develop organizational structures and policies to ensure fulfillment of its mission, working closely with the Program Director to ensure adequate volunteer capacity and coverage for the Center’s programs, and continual improvement of the program.

Job responsibilities include:

Recruitment and Outreach: to recruit volunteers needed to deliver regularly scheduled basic needs services in the Amherst Survival Center; to assist the Development Coordinator or Development Committee to recruit volunteers for events and fundraising activities; to conduct and deliver the outreach efforts necessary to publicize the Center’s volunteer program for recruitment purposes; and to explore the feasibility of one-time volunteer opportunities.
Training: Schedule and facilitate volunteer orientations; participate in the review of the Volunteer Handbook annually and make recommendations for updates and/or revisions to the Handbook; implement approved changes and disseminate the Volunteer Handbook. Work with the Program Director on the interviewing and scheduling of volunteers. Provide listing of trained volunteers to Executive Director prior to scheduling. Capacity to fill-in to ensure coverage in service areas (including serving as a back-up driver as needed).
Record-Keeping: To maintain current records of volunteer coverage; create database of prospective and scheduled volunteers; maintain records of volunteer participation (applications, contact information, etc.); have reliable access to volunteer emails and phone contact information, and to partner with service coordinators to maintain job descriptions for all volunteer positions in the Center.
Volunteer Engagement and Appreciation: schedule, develop agendas and help to facilitate regularly scheduled volunteer meetings; and with the Amherst Survival Center team, develop and implement volunteer appreciation and acknowledgment activities.

Additional Duties as defined by the Executive Director

All ASC Employees:

Work as part of a team of volunteers and staff to ensure that all areas and programs of the ASC run smoothly.
Demonstrate professionalism at all times, including appreciating and supporting those you work with, showing respect to all ASC participants, demonstrating high ethical and moral standards, and acting with honesty and fairness in all of your dealings with others.
Share commitment and work to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of all donated goods.
Approach work with an attitude of continuous improvement. This involves continually examining processes to discover and eliminate problems in order to improve participant satisfaction and to enhance program effectiveness.

Qualifications:

Experience with volunteer management and problem-solving
Excellent people skills a must
Experience working in multicultural and/or health and human service settings
Personable and flexible; a team player
Demonstrated leader in creating positive experiences in direct service with a wide range of people
Excellent planning, organizational and time-management skills, meticulous attention to detail and follow through to ensure accurate and timely completion of tasks
Excellent written and oral communication skills, comfortable with public speaking
Valid Massachusetts drivers license and willingness to drive
Able to lift 40+ pounds
Computer literacy (proficient with email, Internet, Microsoft Word, and Excel) and familiarity with database applications
Preferred: bilingual in English and Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese or other language a plus
Ability to be supervised and to be an effective team member

How to apply

please send a resume, cover letter, and the names and contact information of three professional references by email (preferred) to: VolCoordSearch@amherstsurvival.org. Or you can send a hard copy to: Volunteer Coordinator Search, Amherst Survival Center, PO Box 9629, N. Amherst, MA 01059.