Midlands Reading Consortium Volunteer Manager

POSITION SUMMARY

United Way of the Midlands was established in Columbia in 1925. We provide critical health and human service needs in Calhoun, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Richland, and Orangeburg counties. With a mission to unite people and resources to improve the quality of life in the Midlands, United Way of the Midlands focuses on helping provide a strong safety net, space for non-profit collaboration, and pathways to resiliency.

United Way's Community Impact Department is a dynamic group of professionals working to improve the quality of life in the Midlands. We enlist an extensive network of community partners and volunteers to make lasting change. We manage grant funding and relationship with partners, directly operate community interventions, and provide thought leadership in health and human service content areas.

The Midlands Reading Consortium (MRC), a signature initiative of United Way of the Midlands (UWM), that supplements and ignites a love of reading and STEM for prekindergarten – third grade students. The program offers five unique volunteer opportunities: one-on-one classroom reading sessions, classroom reading sessions, family engagement night events, STEM activity coordination, and STEM Girls Support. MRC is a partnership between United Way of the Midlands, school districts within UWM’s 6-county footprint, local colleges, universities, and community partners serving over 1,000 children each year.

The MRC Volunteer Manager ensures that volunteers are properly screened, scheduled, and actively participating in MRC activities. The manager is also responsible for serving as the primary point of contact for each MRC partner school’s in-school liaison and lead volunteer.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Volunteer Intake and Placement (50%)

• Manage MRC’s prospective volunteer intake process, which includes helping prospective volunteers navigate the registration and background check processes
• Place prospective volunteers at the MRC partner school that best aligns with their availability and preferences
• Partner with the MRC Volunteer Coordinator to ensure synergy between the volunteer recruitment and management processes

Volunteer Management (40%)

• Serve as the primary point of contact for each partner school’s lead volunteer and in-school liaison
• Meet with each partner school’s lead volunteer at least once a month to ensure program integrity
• Maintain regular communication with each partner school’s in-school liaisons
• Partner with the MRC Director to select and train each partner school’s lead volunteer
• Serve as the lead staff person for MRC’s volunteer management platform
• Track individual and collective volunteer data
• Produce quarterly volunteer engagement reports

Miscellaneous (10%)

• Collaborate with Resource Development staff and engagement network volunteers to support three donation drives that benefit MRC schools: Be A Book Bunny, Ready Set Supply, and Resiliency Kit.
• Support the MRC Volunteer Coordinator’s efforts to develop mutually beneficial relationships with MRC stakeholders
• Support MRC’s data collection and analysis efforts

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• One to two years of working in the educational and/or youth focused arena
• Volunteer coordination skills and experience
• Organizational skills
• Ability to clearly community verbally and in writing
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations
• Ability to manage multiple tasks
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint