POSITION OVERVIEW
Reality Changers prepares youth to become first-generation college graduates and agents of change in their communities. Serving more than 800 students and 4,000+ program graduates annually throughout San Diego County, the organization relies on the support of dedicated volunteers, interns, community partners, and donors to help advance its mission. The Volunteer Coordinator plays a key role in cultivating these relationships by recruiting, onboarding, coordinating, and stewarding volunteers, tutors, mentors, and interns while creating meaningful opportunities for community members to engage with and support the work of Reality Changers.
The Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for managing volunteer and internship programs, developing community partnerships, managing volunteer support for programs and events, and supporting donor engagement through volunteer experiences and in-kind donations. promoting volunteer opportunities and helping increase awareness of Reality Changers' mission and impact. This role is ideal for a relationship-focused professional who enjoys connecting people to purpose-driven opportunities and advancing community engagement in a mission-driven environment.
The Volunteer Coordinator reports to the Vice President of Development.
BENCHMARKS / GOALS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS:
- Attract and retain mission-aligned volunteers to Reality Changers to help the organization achieve its goals.
- Enhance volunteer effectiveness through design, execution, and assessment of ongoing development activities.
- Increase development team capacity by supporting them within-kind donations and events.
REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES
An incumbent may perform any combination of the essential functions shown below. This position description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, knowledge, or abilities associated with this classification, but is intended to accurately reflect the principal job elements.
RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Volunteer Management (50%):
- Recruit, engage, and steward adult volunteers in alignment with organizational volunteer, outreach, and Development goals.
- Maintain, develop and administer clear volunteer on-boarding and retention strategies, including coordinating with Human Resources on the application process, background checks, orientation, tracking, volunteer recognition/appreciation, ongoing training and development.
- Maintain accurate volunteer records and hours in the volunteer database.
- Conduct at least one (1) volunteer orientation or training session per month.
- Recognize volunteers through at least one (1) appreciation effort per quarter.
- Recruit and coordinate required volunteers for major events.
- Confirm volunteer assignments at least one (1) week prior to events.
- Submit two (2)–four (4) volunteer spotlight stories, testimonials, or impact updates to Marketing and Communications.
- Provide volunteer content and photos for social media or newsletters to Marketing and Communications.
- Respond to volunteer inquiries within two business days.
- Manage tutor, mentor and intern program administration; collaborate with department staff and local partners to support volunteer assignments and responsibilities.
- Collaborate with the Alumni Network team to provide meaningful support to mentors.
- Collaborate with the Director of High School Programming to provide meaningful support to mentors and tutors.
- Regularly evaluate volunteer programs and make recommendations for improvement.
- Provide consistent communication with the volunteer community through in-person and remote activities, as well as other communication channels.
2. Community Outreach (30%):
- Develop, recruit, and coordinate volunteer, mentor, and intern opportunities that support organizational, programmatic, development, and administrative needs.
- Build and maintain relationships with 6–8 key community partners to expand volunteer engagement and outreach.
- Collaborate with the Development and Marketing & Communications teams to promote volunteer opportunities, engage donor and corporate partners, and support fundraising initiatives.
- Coordinate volunteer logistics and staffing for organizational events, including donor engagement activities such as The Ripple Effect Gala and Voices for Change.
- Prepare and provide monthly volunteer updates and content for organizational communications.
- Develop and coordinate new volunteer opportunities.
- Lead volunteer logistics and coordination for assigned events.
- Manage volunteer, mentor and intern recruitment and maintain volunteer and intern presence at Reality Changers’ key events and programs.
3. Leadership and Supervision (15%):
- Maintain and develop a volunteer records database (Salesforce) to manage all volunteer reporting, volunteer applications, etc.
- Track and report volunteer hours and impact metrics.
- Provide monthly dashboard reporting including number of active volunteers, new volunteers recruited, volunteer hours contributed, and partnerships developed.
- Lead tutor and mentor recruitment, onboarding, training, and administration; partner with the Director of High School Programs on tutor placement and ongoing support.
- Integrate organizational Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals into volunteer efforts.
- Develop and evaluate annual volunteer goals and assessments to ensure on-going progress towards strategic plan.
- Support staff with program specific volunteer training and professional development for volunteer management.
4. General Admin (5%):
- Manage program budget with support from the V.P. of Development to meet annual budget.
- Driving to and from Reality Changers’ locations and related events is required.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year college or university is required.
- 1-2 years of volunteer management experience and/or nonprofit development or fundraising.
- Prior work with young adults is preferred.
- Experience in volunteer recruitment and/or donor engagement required.
- Experience in making presentations to the professional business community is strongly preferred.
- 1-2 years of experience creating content and/or managing social media accounts for a company/organization preferred
KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS / ABILITIES
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, organization skills, and computer skills.
- Capability to work effectively and authentically across generations, cultures and diverse constituencies.
- Proficiency in a second language (Spanish) is a plus.
- Provide positive encouragement to students in all public and private settings.
- Instill a sense of empowerment in the tutors, volunteers, and interns to uphold Reality Changers’ expectations of students (such as areas of discipline in the study room).
- Strong attention to detail and good follow through.
- Exceptional organization skills and dedication to detail, with experience managing multiple deadlines and complex assignments.
- Must be highly adaptive, versatile, and responsible, even when confronted with ambiguity.
- Communicate effectively orally and in writing.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
- Plan and organize work.
- Meet schedules and timelines.
- Maintain records.
- Read, apply, and explain rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
- Knowledge and proficiency in Microsoft Office, G Suite, Zoom, email systems, Volunteer Hub or other CRM system platforms. Experience with Salesforce is a plus.
ADDITIONAL EXPECTATIONS
- Represent Reality Changers in a positive manner in all public and private settings.
- Provide positive encouragement to students and instructors in all public and private settings.
- Exemplify commitment to Reality Changers’ mission and values.
TRAVEL / HOURS
- Variable schedule averaging 20 hours per week. The schedule will be determined in partnership with the supervisor based on organizational priorities, program activities, volunteer engagement, and special events.
- Regular evening availability required.
- Occasional weekend availability will be expected.
- Occasional travel will be expected.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS
- A valid driver’s license or reliable transportation to and from site location(s), Reality Changers’ headquarters, and related events.
- Clear Tuberculosis Test (TB) or ability to obtain medical clearance
- A job offer of employment is contingent upon completion of our pre-employment screening process.
SALARY / BENEFITS
As a candidate for this position, starting salary and related elements of compensation will be contingent upon work experience, education, job-related skills, and any other factors Reality Changers considers relevant factors to the hiring decisions for this position. This position is eligible to receive three (3) floating holidays (12 hours), accrue a maximum of 15 days Paid Time Off, and 5 days sick leave per calendar year on a pro-rata basis.
This position is not eligible for medical, dental, vision, or retirement benefits.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
This job requires the ability to sit, use hands and arms to perform repetitive motions. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus. It requires moderate dexterity, application of basic skills (calculator, keyboard, hand-eye coordination, etc.) and the ability to bend or stand as necessary.
At Reality Changers, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) are connected to our mission and critical to the well-being of our staff and our community. In 2021, we were recognized as an “Outstanding Organization for Diversity & Inclusion” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals San Diego Chapter.
Reality Changers serves first generation youth from low-income backgrounds and from groups who are traditionally under-represented on college campuses---such as Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBT+, Immigrant and/or Undocumented communities. Because we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities and/or backgrounds.
TO APPLY
To apply, please submit the following to [email protected] by July 31, 2026:
- A thoughtful cover letter outlining your interest in the position and how your qualifications align with the above requirements and Reality Changers’ focus and mission.
- Current resume
- This non-exempt position is eligible for appointment at $25.96
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible, as interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis. The anticipated start date is as soon as possible.
Applicants who identify as first-generation college students/graduates are especially encouraged to apply.
Please note:
- No phone calls.
- Relocation is not available.
- All prospective staff will be fingerprinted and must pass a TB and criminal background check.
- For more information, please visit www.realitychangers.org
Pay: $23.08 - $28.85 per hour
Benefits:
Experience:
- managing the volunteer intake process: 2 years (Required)
- delivering orientations and role-specific training sessions: 2 years (Required)
- managing a comprehensive volunteer program: 2 years (Required)
- volunteer management system: 2 years (Required)
- building volunteer schedules and deployment plans: 2 years (Required)
- Supervise and support on-site volunteer activities: 2 years (Required)
- Coordinate volunteer placements across programs and events: 2 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
