Director of Volunteer Programs

Love nature? Then you’re going to love The Nat.

The San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat) was founded by amateur naturalists in 1874 and has played a major role in the conversation of our region. The Museum recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and completed a strategic plan focused on encouraging a love for nature, levering science and collections for conservation, and using our own voice to be here for nature.

The Nat is seeking a Director of Volunteer Programs, that will oversee and guide the operations of a robust core of over 500+ volunteers. The person in this role is instrumental in establishing volunteer connection to our mission, developing strategic and operational plans for the department in accordance with museum and departmental needs, creating new volunteer programs as needed, and refining volunteer operations. They will supervise a Volunteer Coordinator and provide direct and indirect administrative support to all volunteers.

Essential Functions:

Development & management of volunteer programs:

• Guides collaborative planning and decision making through regular meetings with volunteer leaders who support The Nat’s public-facing volunteer programs (Canyoneers, Whalers, Docents, Garden Corps, NATuralists).
• Develops and manages annual budget
• Develops and refines volunteer policies, procedures, and various aspects of Volunteer Department operations.
• Works with internal departments to identify roles and responsibilities of volunteer positions and supports Volunteer Coordinator in developing job descriptions
• Develops new mission-aligned programs and refines existing ones in collaboration with volunteers and museum staff.
• Communicates and reinforces the Museum’s strategic direction to volunteer groups to align their activities with institutional goals
• Attends volunteer-related meetings and events within and outside of the institution to further collaborative opportunities in alignment with the museum mission
• Maintains and builds relationships with external contacts and partner organizations such as City Experiences, Forever Balboa Park, community colleges, etc.
• Represents the needs of the Volunteer Department internally at all levels

Volunteer recruitment, training, and recognition:

• Successfully recruits and recognizes volunteers. Supports Volunteer Coordinator and museum staff in recruitment, interview, placement, and training of volunteers.
• Develops inclusive and equitable recruitment strategies and implements them through in-person and digital outreach (in collaboration with communications team).
• Plans and executes annual volunteer recognition event with support from Volunteer Coordinator.
• Supports Volunteer Coordinator in executing smaller-scale volunteer activities such as trainings, graduations, luncheons, etc.

Staff and volunteer supervision:

• Supervises and supports Volunteer Coordinator in day-to-day operations of volunteer groups.
• Delegates tasks and provides regular feedback to Volunteer Coordinator
• Partners with Education managers to train, schedule, and support Educators to assist with volunteer programming.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Highly organized and detail oriented with strong administrative skills.
• Ability to multi-task and adapt to changing needs.
• Excellent interpersonal skills – patience, compassion, tact, flexibility, professionalism, and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Must be able to compassionately interact with a very broad range of individuals of varying ages, ethnicities, interests, experiences, socio-economic backgrounds, etc.
• Excellent communication skills, including written and oral communication, presentations, public speaking and community relations.
• Skilled in MS Word, MS Powerpoint, Windows, Excel, and Google applications.
• Experience with CRM software and/or volunteer database management (Volgistics and/or Altru experience preferred).

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 5-6 years of experience managing volunteers
• Experience working successfully with a wide range of ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
• Proficiency in Spanish is preferred.

Compensation: $73-75,000/yr

This is a full-time, exempt position with benefits such as health insurance, vacation, 15 paid holidays, free admission into all of Balboa Park’s museums, and more.

Ready to apply? 

In your application please include a cover letter and resume.

A little more about us.

The San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat) was founded by amateur naturalists in 1874 and has played a major role in the conversation of our region. Having recently completed a strategic plan, The Nat is looking forward to an exciting new era as it completes its 150th anniversary. We are evermore focused on innovative audience engagement and a strengthened role in conservation.

For more information about The Nat please go to sdnat.org.