Farm Fresh Rhode Island seeks an articulate and organized Volunteer Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA with demonstrated initiative and strong logistical and communications skills to assist programs organization-wide in engaging, qualifying, and retaining reliable volunteers. As an integral part of the Farm Fresh RI team, this person will be responsible for understanding and communicating our needs to potential volunteers, creating strategies to attract and recruit new volunteers, implementing and improving on existing procedures for managing volunteer interest and scheduling shifts, facilitating virtual trainings, developing tactics for thanking and retaining volunteers, and generally being ready to problem-solve as the needs of volunteers and our programs evolve and shift with the seasons.
This position offers a unique opportunity to increase community engagement through volunteer recruitment, training, management, appreciation and retention to help Farm Fresh RI achieve its mission of farm vitality and food security. Members must commit to a full year of service, from June 7, 2021, to June 7, 2022. Deadline to apply is April. 8, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Primary Responsibilities
- Assist programs organization-wide in engaging, qualifying, and retaining reliable volunteers.
- Develop strategies to reach and recruit new people to join in volunteering.
- Be responsible for understanding and communicating Farm Fresh needs to potential volunteers in monthly e-newsletter.
- Work with Director of Communications to incorporate volunteer-related messaging on social media and in other communications vehicles.
- Implement procedures for managing volunteer interest and work with program managers to connect volunteers with matching opportunities program-wide.
- Improve overall volunteer management processes to create a sustainable, ongoing pipeline of volunteers for the organization.
- Act as primary point of contact for volunteers: answering questions, scheduling shifts with program managers, and facilitating onboarding and hours reporting.
- Perform initial screenings and orientation, enhance and facilitate virtual educational and training materials.
- Develop new tactics for thanking and retaining volunteers long-term.
- Work with shifting needs to keep the volunteer program robust as our work changes with the seasons.
Essential Skills
- Must have a high school diploma/GED. College degree (or working toward one) preferred but not required.
- Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of position commencement.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or Permanent Resident and be able to provide documentation of citizenship.
- Must be able to build relationships with people from varied cultural, economic, educational, racial, and religious backgrounds.
- Excellent professional communication skills (written and verbal)
- Focused attention to detail and administrative acuity
- Desire work in a self-directed environment, and ability to maintain self-motivation
- Ability to collaborate and work as part of a team, even while working remotely
- Excellent time-management and reporting skills
- Ability to think, react, iterate, and redirect in a fast-paced environment
- Proficient with Google Docs or similar word processing applications
- Ability to prioritize and handle a variety of assignments simultaneously in a vibrant work environment
About AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members bring passion and perseverance where the need is greatest: to organizations that help eradicate poverty. AmeriCorps VISTA members serve as a catalyst for change, living and working alongside community members to meet our nation’s most pressing challenges and advance local solutions.
AmeriCorps VISTA Member Benefits
- Bi-weekly living allowance of $479.08
- Student loan deferment
- Mileage reimbursement
- Professional development opportunities
- CNCS health benefit & childcare assistance
- $6,195 Segal Education Award upon completion of service to help pay for college, graduate school, or vocational training, or to repay student loans
To Apply
Applications are due by April 8, 2021, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
- To apply, please go to: http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/vista.asp and review the AmeriCorps VISTA information on that site.
- Then go to https://my.americorps.gov/mp/login.do and click “Search Listings.”
- For the search, select the “Rhode Island” and “AmeriCorps VISTA” options.
- Scroll until you find this position, click on it, and click “Apply Now.”
- Submit your application including two references.
About Farm Fresh RI
Farm Fresh has grown briskly since achieving 501c3 status in 2007, to capture the public interest in locally grown food and translate it into sales for local and regional farmers and producers. Strongly mission-driven, Farm Fresh RI hosts a variety of programs to enhance the local food system, with particular attention to farm viability and low-income access to fresh food. Farm Fresh also operates a range of marketplace programs (retail, wholesale, processing) that engage and connect tens of thousands of eaters with thousands of farmers and food producers across the Northeast region.
Mission: Farm Fresh Rhode Island is growing a local food system that values the environment, health, and quality of life of farmers and eaters in our region.
Vision: A Northeast region abundant with diverse family farms and fertile soils, with locally and honestly produced foods and flavors at the heart of every dinner table.
Farm Fresh Rhode Island is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment for all employees. We encourage enquiries from candidates who will enrich and contribute to the cultural and ethnic diversity of our organization. Farm Fresh RI does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, national origin, or disability status in employment or programming. Farm Fresh Rhode Island is an Equal Opportunity Provider.