PT Youth Program Volunteer Engagement Assistant

Description

About the Oregon Humane Society
Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. We are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, OHS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical and humane law enforcement programs. Visit oregonhumane.org to learn more about how we’re creating a More Humane Society.

The Team
The People & Culture team is a multifaceted and dedicated group of individuals that plays a crucial role in advancing OHS’s mission in shaping our organization's culture to ensure the well-being of our employees, volunteers, and community. Comprised of experts in human resources, project management, employee communications, safety, emergency response, community education, volunteer management, facilities, and learning and development, our team builds and fosters a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for our organization, reflecting our core values and commitment to OHS’s mission.

The Humane Education team oversees the diverse educational programs OHS offers to the community, including school visits, summer camps, after school clubs, field trips, tours, community presentations and events. The team builds positive relationships, shelter-wide, for the program.  Humane Education is made up of a group of passionate, collaborative and skilled team members who work every day to ensure OHS continues to care for pets and the people who love them.

The Position
The Youth Volunteer Engagement Assistant will help execute daily activities and will support the growth of the Youth Volunteer program for youth ages 12-17. This position will oversee 5 shifts of youth volunteers on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

You will partner with OHS leadership and staff to execute meaningful and innovative opportunities for youth volunteers within the organization, impart humane values and support the mission of the Oregon Humane Society.

Essential Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
•    Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
•    Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to the organization’s values, while treating all people with respect and dignity. 
•    Demonstrate an awareness of personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT 
•    Manage, support, and provide coaching feedback to team members. Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence within their own team and embrace their role and responsibilities in advancing shared goals and priorities. 
•    Manage day-to-day implementation and support for key activities including coordination with other teams implementing complementary activities. 
•    Role model inclusive leadership, creating an environment where diverse viewpoints are welcomed and actively engaged

LEARNING
•    Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary.
•    Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress.
•    Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
•    Communicate effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage.
•    Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside OHS at all levels.
•    Leverage our best practices externally and grow OHS’ reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
•    Execute and support shift activities for youth volunteers.
•    Work closely with Youth Volunteer Manager to support achievement of programmatic goals.
•    Support a team of adult volunteers and youth volunteer leadership to assist with the youth program.
•    Provide mentorship and leadership on topics including humane values towards animals and teaching animal care and animal handling skills to youth. Ensure volunteers participate in a collaborative, team-centered manner.
•    Train and retain youth volunteers for the long-term youth volunteer program.
•    Provide motivation, recognition, and encouragement to all assigned volunteers.  
•    Plan and facilitate activities to build community amongst the youth volunteers.
•    Manage volunteers in accordance with OHS policies and procedures. Adhere to all OHS volunteer guidelines, OHS safety, incident reporting, and training protocols.  Maintain accurate attendance records. 
•    Maintain confidentiality of information according to OHS policies and procedures.
•    Engage with existing volunteers daily and provide feedback and additional guidance as needed.
•    Maintain ongoing communication with manager and volunteers.
•    Support Humane Education as a Tour Guide, presenting educational presentations and assisting with various Education Events

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY
Supervises: Direct supervision of youth volunteers. 

ACCOUNTABILITY
Reports Directly To: Volunteer Engagement Manager- Youth Programs
Often Engages Directly With: Across all OHS teams
 

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane Society.
 
•    At least 18 years old
•    Volunteer experience at OHS or comparable organization preferred but not required
•    Experience working with youth (ages 12-17) in a structured learning or mentoring environment.
•    Able to work in a team environment, handle multiple tasks, react to change in a positive manner and meet deadlines.   
•    Able to work weekends, evenings and holidays as requested.
•    Able to work independently.
•    Able to evaluate a situation or a challenge objectively with a clear head, understanding of calculated risks, and able to make an informed decision.
•    Able to exercise sound judgment and maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff, volunteers, and families.
•    Proficiency using the Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel.
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful and professional manner.

Work Environment Conditions & Physical Requirements
This position interacts and collaborates will all levels of the organization, including OHS staff, executive team members, donors, general-public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication are carried out through face-to-face, telephone and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional, and respectful in all circumstances.

WORKING CONDITIONS 
•    Work is performed in an office and medical center/animal shelter environment.
•    Travel between the two campuses may be required.
•    Working at both campuses may be required. 
•    Weekend and evening work will be required.
•    Animal contact and related injuries may occur.
•    Noise exposure varies and sometimes includes uncontrolled barking and other animal vocalizations.
•    Pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects/tasks to completion.
•    Contact with angry or emotional people may occur. 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
•    Occasional lifting and moving of inanimate objects weighing up to 50 lbs.
•    Occasional pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 100 lbs.
•    Occasional moving items above shoulder level. 
•    Occasional use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level. 
•    Prolonged standing, sitting and/or stooping may occur. 
•    Occasional climbing and bending.
•    Must be able to lift, move, restrain, guide, or manage an animal weighing up to 150 lbs. on a leash on an occasional basis. 
•    Must be able to remain in a stationary position for prolonged periods.
•    Ability to respond and perform life saving techniques in an emergency.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and address and overcome complex challenges and barriers. We strive for a culture of integrity, respect and compassion where every member of our community contributes their perspectives and authentic selves and where everyone reaches their potential as individuals and teams. We recognize that striving for diversity, equity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Oregon Humane Society is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group.

At-Will Employment
This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.

Salary : $19 - $19