Volunteer Coordinator VISTA
Position Description
This Volunteer Coordinator VISTA will be hosted by the Habitat for Humanity Lake County in Waukegan, IL. Habitat for Humanity Lake County is a part of the Housing Action AmeriCorps Network, an AmeriCorps VISTA program managed by Housing Action Illinois since 2010. As such, this position will receive customized training, support, guidance, and networking opportunities, in addition to the traditional opportunities for AmeriCorps VISTA positions. Learn more about the program on Housing Action’s website.
Habitat for Humanity Lake County is a nonprofit housing developer that brings volunteers from the community together to build affordable houses for the community. Many people in the broader Lake County community could benefit from these offerings, and bringing volunteers together is a way to limit costs for development and build support for the project.
The VISTA will help to enhance the volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention program for the organization. Working with staff members, past volunteers, and other stakeholders, the VISTA will help build the program to meet the expectations of future volunteers and provide a sufficient volunteer base to build more houses and change more lives.
Lake County is located north of Chicago at the Wisconsin border, and it’s the third-largest county in Illinois, 700,000 people live here. Lake County has large outer ring suburbs with a more urban feel, typical suburban communities, and rural areas. The need for affordable housing exists in all parts of the county.
The ideal candidate will have a passion for working with the community, is enthusiastic about providing affordable housing solutions, and is excited to be a part of a team focused on change. Bilingual Spanish is preferred, but not required.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Assess volunteer management systems and work to implement a comprehensive and easy-to-use system.
- Implement the new system including interest forms, communication tools, and initial engagement techniques.
- Research strategies to recruit new potential volunteers and new audiences; identify new ideas to incorporate into HFHLC’s efforts.
- Develop a volunteer engagement strategy to promote retention; in coordination with other program staff, implement techniques and overall programming to ensure volunteer retention; train staff on how to best engage volunteers to promote this retention.
- Review the results of surveys for volunteers; refine survey questions as needed to gather more relevant information and recommend changes as a result of data collected.
- Document the new system for recruitment, engagement, and retention for new staff to sustain the strategy.
Benefits – Financial
Bi-Weekly Living Allowance: $575
Choice of two End-of-Service Awards:
- Segal Education Award: $6,345
- Cash Stipend Award: $1,800
Forbearance or Deferment of Student Loan Payments While in Service
Non-Competitive Eligibility Status
Healthcare Allowance
Leave Days: 10 Personal and 10 Medical
Positions located in the Chicagoland area that use public transportation to commute to and from your office receive or are reimbursed for an unlimited pass to use the public transit system.
Some organizations can offer supplementary financial benefits in the form of a housing or grocery stipend. Ask your interviewer if they offer any supplemental benefits.
Benefits – Training
In addition to the training offered by AmeriCorps to all members in the VISTA program, Housing Action coordinates two mandatory, multi-day, trainings. One in September focused on setting AmeriCorps members up for success during their term of service, and one in the spring focused on setting AmeriCorps members up to secure their next professional endeavor after their term of service. Both trainings are highly specialized based on Housing Action’s experience running the program, contemporary best practices, and trends, and input from the currently serving AmeriCorps members themselves.
Benefits – In-Kind
- Waived registration fee for annual HousingAction Conference
- Waived registration fee for annual Housing Action Benefit Event
- Informational interviews through your hosting organization and Housing Action network(s).
- Peer networking among the cohort.