Volunteer Coordinator

Volunteer Coordinator

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Work Week: Tuesday - Saturday, 8 am - 4 pm, occasional later Thursday hours. 40 hours per week

Wage Grade: $36.21 per hour

$1 per-hour increase for applicants with conversational proficiency in our top five service languages

other than English.

Benefits: North Helpline provides a comprehensive benefits package including: 100% employer

covered medical, dental and vision benefits; employer matching Simple IRA; PTO, and holidays.

Reports to: Food Access Manager

Description of Organization:

North Helpline is a community-based nonprofit dedicated to combating food and housing insecurity in North Seattle. We operate food banks in two locations (Lake City and Bitter Lake), as well as supportive programs such as homelessness prevention and financial assistance that uphold dignity, respect, and equity for all neighbors. North Helpline is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and volunteers. We encourage applicants from underrepresented communities to apply.

Position Summary:

The Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for cultivating and overseeing all aspects of volunteer engagement at North Helpline. They also engage with our community, act with transparency and integrity, seek feedback, and communicate our mission. We invite those passionate about food and housing insecurity to join this organization and work with us on building equitable volunteering practices that center anti-racism and social justice. The primary responsibilities of the Volunteer Coordinator are to serve as the primary contact for individuals and groups seeking volunteer opportunities, and to organize the recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, recognition, and retention of the hundreds of volunteers who make our programs function every month. This position does not directly supervise staff, but provides leadership and guidance to volunteers, interns, and volunteer team leads, and works closely with the Food Access, Client Services, and Development teams. To ensure the highest level of services are provided, additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned as needed. Occasional evening or additional weekend hours may be required for special events, volunteer appreciation activities, or recruitment fairs. Success in this role will be measured by volunteer engagement and retention rates, feedback from volunteers and staff, and the effective coordination of volunteer schedules and recognition efforts.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Volunteers

o Develop a generalized volunteer recruitment and retention strategy and oversee implementation in collaboration with program staff.

o Communicate regularly with program staff to determine their volunteer needs and match volunteers with them.

o Manage the volunteer appreciation program, including the solicitation of volunteer bios, photos, and nominees for recognition. Collaborate with program staff for acknowledgment campaigns such as Volunteer Appreciation Week.

o Participate in the training of new volunteers.

o Provide ongoing training and redirection for existing volunteers.

Communications

o Work with the Development team to craft a weekly volunteer newsletter and other social media posts as needed.

o Maintain North Helpline’s volunteer database on Get Connected, including creating shifts, approving volunteer qualifications, and checking and signing off on volunteer hours.

o Send email and text blasts to volunteers as needed to ensure priority shifts are covered.

o Represent North Helpline at volunteer recruitment events off-site.

o Patiently troubleshoot volunteer issues with our scheduling system.

o Develop training modules for volunteer roles in collaboration with program staff.

o Develop a new volunteer orientation program.

Programs Support

o Warehouse support when staff are out, or volunteer numbers are low. This may include supporting various programs such as distribution, home delivery, check-in, sorting, and grocery rescue.

General

o Along with the Development team, assist in enhancing the intersections of donors and volunteers.

o Work with the program staff to ensure volunteer coverage and training.

o Collaborate with other North Helpline departments to continually improve the workflow as pertains to volunteers.

o Generate and maintain volunteer statistics and reports as required for grant reporting and internal evaluation.

o Attend Staff Meetings and report on pertinent issues.

o Attend Safety Committee meetings when volunteer issues arise.

o Attend cross agency volunteer meetings.

• Other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements:

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform

essential functions.

Skills and Abilities

• Passion for the North Helpline Mission.
• Commitment to anti-racism.
• Ability to navigate sensitive situations with empathy, cultural humility, and conflict resolution skills.
• Highly organized.
• Willingness to learn and grow in this position.
• Willingness to work on a variety of tasks, with changing priorities, and semi-frequent adjustments to plans.
• Willingness to work as a part of several small teams.
• Willingness to communicate and ask questions of peers and supervisor to ensure the completion of tasks and common understanding of objectives.
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and uphold our organizational policies.
• Ability to prioritize projects and take initiative towards their completion, including assigning oneself tasks.
• Ability and willingness to redirect volunteers who are not following North Helpline policies.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to drive a work van as needed for special events, preferred.
• Ability to speak multiple languages, preferred.

Education & Experience

1 to 3 years of relevant experience with the majority of the following between a combination of education and professional roles:

• Experience working with and recruiting volunteers preferred.
• Outstanding interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills with the capacity to effectively present in a group setting and one on one.
• Skilled at being inclusive, welcoming, and flexible with people of various abilities and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.
• Familiarity with the Google ecosystem (Google Sheets, Docs, Drive, etc) and Microsoft ecosystem (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc). Training on North Helpline’s volunteer management platform will be provided.
• Familiarity with moderate computer functions within the Windows OS ecosystem.
• Familiarity with serving populations who may be food and/or housing insecure, preferred.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Able to remain in a stationary position about 50% of the time, and on your feet the other 50%
• Able to occasionally move about inside the office to access necessary office equipment and resources.
• Able to move and set up tabling supplies, such as folding tables, chairs, banners, etc.
• Constantly operate a computer and other office equipment, such as a scanner, copy machine, and printer.
• Constantly accesses, handles, and uses non-electronic resources.
• Able to move donations, equipment and other food bank resources up to 50 pounds.
• Able to inspect, recognize, observe, assess, compare, detect, discern, and distinguish office resources, necessary documents and reporting, and other organizational resources as needed.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is sometimes exposed to outdoor weather conditions and expected to work in the non-climated controlled warehouse. The noise level in the work environment varies.

Hiring Process / Timeline

Candidates from non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please address how your experience and skills relate to the requirements of this position in your cover letter. To apply please email your resume and cover letter to search@northhelpline.org with “Volunteer Coordinator” in the subject. We will read your cover letter first; it’s important for us to understand if this is the right fit for you. In your cover letter, please be sure to tell us why you are interested in this job and working at North Helpline. Applications may also be dropped off in person at our Lake City Food Bank location located at 12736 33rd Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125, during food bank hours (Wednesdays 9:00am-1:45pm, Thursdays 4:00pm-6:45pm; Saturdays 9:00am-1:45pm). Email applications preferred. We will review applications and conduct phone screenings on a rolling basis through the week of November 10th, 2025. Interviews will begin the week of November 17th, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled.

North Helpline provides a comprehensive benefits package including: 100% employer covered medical, dental and vision benefits; employer matching Simple IRA; PTO, and holidays.