Position Title: Volunteer Assistant

Accountability: Volunteer Assistant reports to Volunteer & Community Science Manager

Job Classification and Compensation:  Hourly, part-time. Pay rate $13-15 per hour.

About: Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation (Catawba Riverkeeper) was founded in 1997 as the 21st waterkeeper organization in the U.S. Now, proudly part of an international movement that boasts over 400 local organizations, we preserve, protect, and restore the waters of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin for all through education, advocacy, and engagement. Our 5,000 square mile river basin includes over 8,900 miles of waterways across 26 counties in North and South Carolina. 

The Volunteer Assistant is responsible for assisting the Volunteer & Community Science Manager with the planning and execution of community science projects, volunteer programs, public cleanups, outreach events, and collaborative volunteer workdays with partner organizations.  This role is heavily hands on within the community and involves running programs both indoors and outdoors, managing the supplies, volunteers, and overall safety of any given event. Strong communication with both volunteers and the general community via in person, email, or newsletter is a big aspect of this role. In this role, the Volunteer Assistant will help plan and run our two biggest volunteer events of the year, Riverfest and Riversweep, coordinate volunteers for different events, manage cleanup and outreach supplies, track community science data, communicate professionally with volunteers, work events, and help promote and grow our mission through our volunteer program. An ideal candidate will be someone that can work fluidly and adapt to change quickly, communicate professionally and clearly across various platforms, comfortable working in/with a team and on their own, comfortable working outdoors across varying terrain and weather, comfortable leading groups of people, someone who thrives in a fast paced, extraverted environment.

Responsibilities 

• Proudly serve the local community, serving as a brand ambassador, promoting awareness and advocacy for the Catawba Riverkeeper and our mission.
• Assist in the planning, prepping, and execution of public and private cleanup events across the basin.
• Assist in the prepping and execution of outreach events.
• Coordinate volunteers across various programs and opportunities and work to grow the volunteer department into a more efficient tiered and integrated program.
• Support various Community Science programs under the direction of their manager.
• Assist in the planning and execution of the annual Catawba Riversweep, the largest one-day river cleanup in the Southeast.
• Manage our Central Basin Trash Traps and the partner organization relationships that go along with them.
• Create marketing materials for volunteer events and curate content for the volunteer newsletter.
• Track and analyze data collected from various programs to asses their value and effectiveness.
• Communicate our mission and our opportunities with the public, corporate sponsors, and volunteers.
• Exemplifies the Catawba Riverkeeper mission statement and supports staff, departments and leadership in pursuing and achieving goals.
• Performs any other duties needed to help drive to our vision, fulfill our mission, and abide by our values.

Requirements:

• Exhibits a passion for the mission of Catawba Riverkeeper.
• Successfully pass a standard background review.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• CPR/AED/First Aid Certified
  • Catawba Riverkeeper hosts discounted CPR/AED/First Aid courses for employees.
• Committed to 25-30 hours per week.
• Able to work weekends and some evenings as needed.
• Able to lift/move 50 pounds.
• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation.
• Willing to work with all people equally regardless of their race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, gender identity and/or sexual orientation.

Education & Experience:

• Previous outdoor experience preferred.
• Active CPR/First Aid certification. Riverkeeper hosts courses throughout the year
• Strong management skills.
• Comfortable speaking to a wide range of people and customizing communication accordingly.
• Ability to maintain an organized and detailed workflow with changing variables
• Ability to make quick decisions and remain calm in various situations
• Comfortable working autonomously as well as working in a team environment

Location: The Volunteer Assistant will be based at Catawba Riverkeeper’s headquarters in downtown McAdenville, NC.

Catawba Riverkeeper Values: We are an organization of action, quality, leaders, innovation, and engagement. We prioritize getting meaningful work done. We hold ourselves to a standard or excellence in everything we do. We strive to be leaders in our individual areas of influence as well as an environmental organization in this region. We are not afraid of trying new things and are willing to take thoughtful risks in achieving our mission.  We work to actively bring our communities into the work we do.

Catawba Riverkeeper provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type.

How to Apply: Applicants should email their resume and cover letter to Kaity D’Angelo at Kaity.d@catawbariverkeeper.org. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis, as applications are received.