Seasonal Community Engagement Coordinator (Winter Wishes & Coat Drive)

Seasonal Community Engagement Coordinator (Winter Wishes & Coat Drive)

About New York Cares

At New York Cares, we are driven by the belief that individuals can make a significant impact on their communities. With over 30 years of experience, we’ve evolved into New York City’s leading volunteer management organization. We continually adapt and respond to the ever-evolving needs of our community, whether it’s addressing food insecurity, and educational inequity, or responding to crises like 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our success lies in the partnerships we build, the actions we take, and the change we create. We are guided by our core values of equity, humanity, and trust, fostering dynamic relationships with all stakeholders – volunteers, donors, staff, and community partners. Together, we work towards a more equitable New York City.

About the Volunteer Events Team

The Volunteer Events (VE) department at New York Cares is the driving force behind our Programs division. This dedicated team executes volunteer events with excellence, ensuring every participant has an exceptional service experience in our projects and events. We adhere to volunteer engagement and programmatic best practices while effectively managing all logistics.

Our commitment to delivering high-quality, culturally competent events strengthens our relationships with corporate and community partners. We believe that every New Yorker can make a meaningful difference in addressing our community’s most pressing issues.

About the Community Engagement Coordinator

For decades, New York Cares has spread cheer and joy throughout New York City with our Winter Wishes program. Each year, we coordinate the collection and distribution of approximately 10,000 heartfelt letters from young people, each with their holiday wishes. These wishes are fulfilled by our dedicated volunteers. In recent years, this process has transitioned to a virtual format.

The Seasonal Community Engagement Coordinator plays a vital role in this program, handling communication with Community Partner organizations, overseeing letter screening, and managing logistics for letter distribution. Reporting to the Director of Volunteer Events, the coordinator collaborates closely with other members of VE and our Programs teams to ensure the program’s success.

This is a hybrid, seasonal position running from October 2023 through January 2024.

Scope of Responsibilities

As the Seasonal Community Engagement Coordinator, you will:

• Monitor and manage inbound communications including those involving the Coat Drive and Winter Wishes email inboxes, promptly responding to inquiries and providing excellent customer service.
• Engage with Community Partners for Coat Drive and Winter Wishes to confirm receipt of communications, remind them of important dates, and ensure the timely receipt of gifts.
• Support the Director of Volunteer Events in communicating with Corporate Partners and wish granters, responding to inquiries and facilitating the distribution of letters, reviewing Coat Drive applications, maintaining accurate partner records, and overseeing coat distribution events.
• Coordinate coat pick-ups, and distributions and capture stories/content from nonprofit partners.
• Supervise letter screenings and compile comprehensive reports in Salesforce, ensuring accurate tracking of Community Partners, wish granters, and letters.
• Must be able to lift up to 35 lbs. and may be required to work on weekends and outside the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. work window.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and additional duties may be assigned as needed.

Qualifications

• Be passionately dedicated to New York Cares’ mission and committed to creating a more equitable New York City.
• Possess strong customer service skills, with the ability and initiative to respond to the needs of external stakeholders such as Community Partners, Corporate Partners, and gift recipients.
• Demonstrate proficiency in producing clear, concise, and compelling written and verbal communications.
• Show proficiency in project management, particularly in managing cross-departmental projects related to large programs.
• Exhibit the ability to effectively manage a range of internal and external stakeholder relationships.
• Have a fundamental working knowledge of Salesforce or other database reporting.

Compensation

The salary for this position is $21 per hour. The engagement is seasonal, running from October through January 2024, with an expectation of 40 hours of work per week.

At New York Cares, we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are deeply committed to fostering a workplace where diversity, equity, and inclusion are valued and prioritized. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other non-merit-based or legally protected grounds.

New York Cares