Volunteer Manager

Overview 

Boston Debate League (BDL) is a non-profit organization that prepares young people for college, career, and engagement with the world through debate-inspired learning in the classroom and beyond. BDL creates inclusive learning communities for all, centering the experiences and assets of Black, Latino, and other marginalized young people in Boston. 

BDL implements three core programs, each with a proven track record of success. BDL works in partnership with public schools in the Greater Boston area to support academic debate teams in local schools and to train teachers to use debate-inspired practices as part of their classroom practice. 

●   The After-School Debate program builds debate teams and facilitates monthly tournaments open to middle and high students who have the opportunity to develop their confidence, communication, and critical thinking skills through a competitive activity that engages them in discussions about important real-world issues of policy and equity. 

●   The Resolved program uses the core elements of policy debate, mentorship, and affinity-based community building to engage and empower Black and Latino young men in middle and high school. Through the program, cohorts of ten to fifteen Black and Latino young men from partner schools meet twice a week to have meaningful conversations, explore their identities, reflect on their future plans, and use the skills of debate to evaluate and form arguments or advocacy about issues in their communities. 

●   The Debate-Inspired Classrooms program uses an instructional model adopted by schools and teachers across content areas, inspired by the elements that make debate a powerful learning experience. The program trains and supports teachers to facilitate rigorous and student-centered classrooms. Through debate-inspired instructional practices, which BDL views as an approach to anti-racist teaching and learning, teachers guide students through a progression of skills as they learn to build complete and compelling arguments. 

Results have consistently shown the positive impact of debate and debate-inspired instruction on students and classrooms. BDL’s long-term vision is that all young people in Boston are ENGAGED in critical discourse, INFORMED by evidence, and EMPOWERED to lead. We strive to create inclusive learning communities where all participants are welcome and supported in achieving the transformative, lifelong benefits of debate. The community the BDL serves encompasses over 35 public schools in and around Boston. 

More information can be found at www.bostondebate.org. 

Responsibilities

The Volunteer Manager is a member of the External Affairs team. The Volunteer Manager will report to the Managing Director of External Affairs. The BDL works with nearly 500 volunteers annually, most of whom support monthly debate tournaments.  To recruit, cultivate, and steward relationships with volunteers, the Volunteer Manager will have multiple responsibilities including, but not limited to, the following:

Volunteer Management - Create a volunteer experience that includes recruiting, educating, and inspiring a diverse pool of volunteers who are representative of the BDL’s core mission, vision, and values:

• Produce and execute an annual volunteer engagement plan to achieve the goals of the strategic plan, outlining quarterly activities, communications, and events
• Craft and execute regular communications with potential and current BDL volunteers
• Ensure volunteers are trained and prepared to effectively support programming goals
• Serve as main point of contact at volunteer events, including tournaments, creating a positive environment and experience for all volunteers
• Manage and develop leadership/long-term volunteers (15-20) to grow into “super volunteers” who are leading volunteer efforts
• Recruit, orient and supervise Volunteer Lead position to support tournaments
• Oversee the vision, strategy and implementation plan of developing volunteer opportunities beyond tournaments

Volunteer Operations 

• Update and maintain volunteer handbook, training manuals and videos, and additional materials to support volunteer management
• Maintain current and accurate volunteer contact information in the data management system
• Track volunteer hours and use the data to create reports to assess progress toward goals, challenges, and trends
• Produce and analyze the results of an annual survey to obtain volunteer feedback
• Manage the volunteer relations budget responsibly and with transparency to support the strategies of this work 

External Affairs

• Serve as externally-facing BDL spokesperson, representing the organization at events to attract potential volunteers including individuals, corporate employee groups, college students and groups, BDL alumni, parents, and retirees to ensure there is a sufficient number of volunteers to meet the After-School Debate tournament needs each debate season
• Partner with area companies and social and professional groups to create affinity-group (e.g. Black and Latino professionals, Law professionals, STEM professionals, etc.) volunteer opportunities; coordinate and manage those relationships and engagements
• Develop external communications to promote the visibility of volunteer opportunities, including amongst local volunteer agencies, posting opportunities on volunteer sites, etc.
• Manage and execute in-house design needed to refresh branded collateral and e-communications (e.g. non-apparel swag, marketing, and other print materials); collaborate with external artistic vendors as necessary
• Support external events and develop strategies to network with and recruit and collect contact information of potential volunteers 
• Support External Affairs communication and outreach efforts by creating and executing event-specific communication and social media strategies
• Assist with External Affairs filming, photography, recording and marketing and collateral creation for follow-up communications and stewardship activities     
• Additional External Affairs projects as assigned

Organization-Wide Work

As a member of the BDL team, the Volunteer Manager participates in staff meetings, contributes to the implementation of the strategic plan, and fulfills a support staff role at key BDL events during the year. Additionally, as a member of the External Affairs team, the Volunteer Manager works across and collaborates with all members of the organization to advance the goals of the BDL, supports with the promotion of externally-facing program events, and serves as liaison between program staff and partners as needed (e.g. program speakers, etc.).  

Required Skills

The following skills, characteristics, and/or experience are required for this position:

• A sophisticated relationship builder, who can communicate with a wide variety of people both within and outside the organizational setting and clearly articulate the mission of the BDL,  demonstrating its values, achievements, and activities, and earn the respect of the constituencies of the BDL community
• Experience supervising volunteers and enthusiasm for volunteerism
• High-energy individual, who takes initiative, maintains a positive outlook, can embrace change, and is flexible and able to be responsive  
• The ability to quickly compose clear and concise communications for a diverse audience
• Strong event-planning and organizational skills with attention to detail for leading multiple programmatic efforts and managing tournaments throughout the year 
• Strong public speaking and meeting facilitation skills for groups of varying sizes
• Ability to work with ethnically, culturally and socially diverse volunteers, students, staff, Board members, senior executives, and other constituencies
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a changing environment but also as part of a team with internal and external participants and stakeholders
• A working knowledge of Google Workspace

Preferred Skills

• Fluency in Spanish preferred 
• A working knowledge of Salesforce, Constant Contact, Slack, and Canva

Working Conditions 

At this time, work is performed on a hybrid basis, with at least two days per week in person at the Boston office (usually Tuesdays and Fridays) and up to three days per week working remotely. This is a year-round position with some in-person evening and weekend requirements. The Volunteer Manager is responsible for staffing weekend tournaments, which occur twice a month - Friday evenings and full Saturdays - between October through March.  Work is primarily performed in an office environment with occasional lifting of up to 25 pounds. If requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to accommodate employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position, absent undue hardship. 

• Generous time off benefits, including: 
• Three weeks vacation time each year (increasing to four weeks after the second year of employment) 
• Two personal and eight sick days per year 
• 12 paid holidays, plus office closure from December 26th - January 1st 
• Multi-week sabbaticals at 4-, 7-, and 10-years of employment 
• Comprehensive health benefits, including: 
• Medical insurance (75% employer paid for employee and spouse/family) 
• Dental insurance (50% employer paid for employee and spouse/family 
• Flexible spending account and dependent care account 
• Long- and short-term disability coverage 
• Other benefits, including: 
• Pre-tax commuter benefits 
• 3% 403(b) retirement plan match 
• Professional development funds 
• A family-friendly and flexible work environment, including opportunities to work remotely and flexible work hours

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with interviews likely to begin in late-May/early June. The start date for this position is July. 

Confidential inquiries, nominations, referrals, and resumes with a detailed cover letter outlining how skills and experience demonstrate an ability to meet the challenges and opportunities of this position, should be forwarded via email in Word or PDF format to: 

Kimberly Bartlett-Ra, Director of Operations 

Kbartlett-ra@bostondebate.org 

The Boston Debate League is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In support of its organizational values, the BDL actively seeks candidates of color who reflect the experiences and backgrounds of the students and teachers served by BDL’s programs. For more information about the Boston Debate League, please visit http://www.bostondebate.org.