Community Engagement - Volunteer & Youth Recruiter

Position: Volunteer & Youth Recruiter

Location: Boston, MA

Hours per week: Full-Time

As the New England’s largest mentoring agency, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) is committed to promoting the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. To further our mission, we have partnered with schools, businesses, and community organizations in the Boston area to bring our programs and services closer to the youth who need them. This position plays a critical role in ensuring people know about, and have a chance to participate in, our programs. Embedded within our Community Engagement team, this person is an externally facing, goal-driven representative of the agency that drives the vision, strategies, and tactics to increase participation from volunteers, families, and external partners.

Role Summary

The Community Engagement Team at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts serves as the primary point of contact for external outreach, building meaningful relationships with community organizations, corporations, colleges and individuals. Our mission is to engage, cultivate, and inspire both current and prospective partners to support our work. Through strategic outreach and collaboration, the team promotes the mission and vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters to diverse audiences – helping to recruit future mentors and establish partnerships that empower young people to realize their fullest potential!

As a Volunteer & Recruitment Coordinator, you will drive the agency’s growth by leading targeted outreach efforts. You’ll actively identify and engage new corporate and community partners to boost volunteer and mentor participation. You’ll strengthen and expand existing partnerships, collaborating on creative strategies to increase involvement across all programs. You’ll also manage volunteer inquiries and referral pipelines, ensuring a seamless experience that deepens community connections and advances our mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Research, identify, and connect with community partners who can provide ongoing supply of potential volunteers. Initiate and maintain relationships with decision makers through consistent and appropriate communications and meetings.

• Host recruitment sessions and tablings as needed. Deepen engagement opportunities at partner organizations and provide guidance to applicants.

• Execute annual strategic plan to meet and/or exceed goals for incoming mentors and volunteers, focusing on the development of superior relationships with mentor-rich organizations, other not-for-profit executives and school system administrators for all programs.

• Create, monitor, analyze, and report on key recruitment pipeline metrics; use data to drive increasing success. Proposes real-time optimization strategies to improve performance.

• Regularly analyze market data and research to understand and identify volunteer recruitment trends, challenges, opportunities, and strengthen the case for partnering with BBBSEM to ensure recruitment goals are met for our programs.

• In coordination with the Marketing team, explore and develop procedures to strengthen customer service and to broaden the agency’s volunteer appeal and client reach.

• Develop and deliver targeted volunteer recruitment campaigns focused on alumni, affinity groups, current Bigs, distinct communities and ethnicities, and develop plans to leverage national BBBS recruitment campaigns.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with one or more years of work experience, ideally in volunteer or program management, or Associates degree or two years of higher education experience with 2+ years of relevant work experience, or High School diploma/GED with 4+ years of relevant work experience

• Knowledge of the Greater Boston landscape, communities, and cultures. Existing network of community relationships to leverage in this position a plus.

• Ability to communicate with professionalism, assertiveness, and empathy to large groups and individuals both verbally and in writing

• Recruiters participate in frequent events outside of traditional working hours (early mornings, evenings, weekends). Must be willing and able to travel throughout the region when necessary.

Desired Qualifications

• Bilingual Spanish-English skills preferred.

• Minimum of one year of success in recruitment and account management, with sales background preferred. Volunteer management, customer service, community organizing, collegiate campaign experience a plus.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.)

• Demonstrated comfort and ability to work with and motivate a wide variety of people, including youth and professional adults, with a preference for candidates with experience in racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse urban and/or recent immigrant communities

• Passion or working in the community: forming, maintaining and strengthening relationships with youth sources

• Demonstrated ability to identify, prospect, pursue, and close leads.

• Effective and confident public speaker; proven ability to develop strong working relationships. Excellent communication skills, written and verbal.

• Exceptional relationship management skills; ability to network and gain access to decision-makers; genuine listener; comfortable making cold calls and setting up appointments; consultative sales approach.

• Familiarity with Canva a plus.

• Ability to successfully work independently and in a team environment.

• Proven organization and time management skills to complete a high volume of varied responsibilities in a fast-paced setting

• Excellent strategic problem-solving ability with a positive, “can do” attitude