Type: Full-time, including evenings and Saturdays

Wage: $18 to $25.00 per hour 

Location: Based in Bellingham but covers all of Whatcom County

Reports to:  Director of Community Engagement

About the Position

The Volunteer Development Manager will lead exponential growth in the volunteer labor required to meet aggressive mission goals. The incumbent will be responsible for all aspects of nurturing volunteer engagement and facilitating volunteer activities. The goal is to achieve a staff to volunteer ratio of 1:2 for non-construction activities and a 1:4 ratio for construction services. 

Outreach & Solicitation

The Volunteer Development Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing effective strategies to solicit individuals and organizations in our community to volunteer with Habitat. The Volunteer Development Manager will be working with our construction team, the Habitat Store, and the Habitat office staff to identify types of volunteers needed, will keep an active database of potential volunteer sources throughout our community, oversee background checks and give presentations on behalf of Habitat as needed.

Onboarding & Engagement 

The incumbent will assist with the onboarding process for volunteers, ensuring they go through proper orientation, complete waivers and background checks, establish mentors/leads, and assist volunteers with registering/checking-in. They will also:

• Meet and communicate with relevant staff regularly to schedule volunteers
• Maintain volunteer job descriptions
• Ensure that volunteer liability waivers are signed, filed and updated annually
• Manage community service volunteers, ensuring their hours are tracked
• Follow up with each volunteer applicant
• Communicate with volunteers weekly, making sure they are properly engaged
• Assist with the creation and management of volunteer committees

Stewardship, Culture & Relationship 

The Volunteer Development Manager will:

• Be responsible for fostering a relationship with all volunteers, and maximizing their experience with Habitat while making sure they feel appreciated.
• Create stewardship strategies tailored to each of our volunteers, and ensure they are being adequately supported, and recognized. 
• Enable a culture which respects and nurtures the acceptance and appreciation of the value volunteers bring to Habitat’s mission.
• Be responsible for producing monthly reports to keep track of volunteer milestones, and will take the lead on putting together volunteer appreciation events. 

The Right Candidate

• Demonstrates a strong desire to serve low-income families with the belief that housing is a human right, and believes in Habitat for Humanity’s vision of a world where everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to live
• Volunteer management and outreach experience is a plus!
• Is willing to lead volunteer groups
• Will take ownership of the volunteer recruitment process
• Will be unsatisfied with the status quo, and always be looking for opportunities for growth
• Enjoys challenges and problem solving
• Has strong communication and interpersonal skills 
• Loves people, and enjoys forming and fostering relationships with diverse groups 
• Is able to deal well with stressful situations and a wide variety of people
• Is outgoing and energetic
• Will maintain a strong relationship with the construction, Habitat Store and office staff 
• Will act as a site host for various volunteer groups. 
• Will be flexible! Our needs often change, and no two days are the same 
• Organized and efficient, with attention to detail and follow through
• Patient teacher with strong delegation skills
• Reliable, honest, able to maintain confidentiality
• Belief in team approach to work environment

Typical Activities Include (directly or through a volunteer):

• Ensuring the onboarding experience (orientation & new job assignment) feels welcoming and productive.
• Ensuring volunteers feel valued for the work performed. Celebrating volunteer’s special days and accomplishments.
• Ensuring the work environment is both physically and emotionally safe.
• Accurate and timely record-keeping, maintaining volunteer records
• Working collaboratively with the affiliate Management Team
• Recruiting individuals and groups
• Forming and charging committee/task force groups 
• Conducting criminal and sex offender background checks
• Planning and implementing volunteer events
• Substantial use of and proficiency with software and electronic devices 
• Evening and weekend work as needed.

Job Title: Donation Ambassador
Reports to: Habitat Store Management Team
Type: Both full and part-time positions available
Compensation: $17/hr

Join us as we transform the lives of Whatcom County families!

About the Habitat Store

We are a nonprofit that accepts new and gently used items, such as furniture, appliances,
construction supplies, hardware and much much more. All proceeds go toward building safe,
affordable housing right here in Whatcom County.

The Habitat Family

As part of the Habitat family, you’ll be working with a diverse crew of volunteers, donors,
customers, our Homebuyer Families, as well as our construction crew.

We’re a team-oriented workplace that understands the importance of individuality and service
supporting a greater mission. At the Habitat Store, we value the contribution of each and every
employee as an integral part of realizing our vision of a world where everyone has a place to
call home.

We acknowledge and celebrate each person's unique skills and abilities, and know that open
communication between management and staff is critical to the success of our daily operation.
We also realize people's lives have a variety of commitments outside of work, so we offer
employees flexible shift options with variable hours and days.

A Typical Work Day Could Consist of…

• Driving through Whatcom on our 16ft box truck or electric van, meeting with
• donors, and picking up various donations
• Working at our donation dock, helping donors unload items from their cars while
• following our donation guidelines
• Working in our receiving room pricing donations, and getting them ready for the
• sales floor
• Keeping the receiving area clean and safe, and properly and safely recycling
• unsellable items
• Working with the Habitat Store team, and helping innovate ways to improve sales
• and efficiency.
• Assisting customers and donors by answering questions and directing them to
• products in the store.
• Ensure and adhere to all safety procedures
• Working in our receiving room/dock in sorting donations off the truck, into the
• trash, recycling, repurposing, or selling categories. Expected to help with
• cleaning, pricing, and stocking donations to the sales floor.
• Must have open availability Monday-Saturday.

Requirements:

A valid and clean Washington State Driver’s License and a clean driving record. The incumbent
must have strong customer service and interpersonal skills, and have the ability to deal with
stressful situations and with a wide variety of people. The employee must be dedicated to
Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County’s Mission, and be willing to work closely with all staff.
Preferred

• Experience with customer service or working in a retail store environment.
• Working with volunteers or in a nonprofit organization.

Physical Demands:

The incumbent will be required to lift up to 50 lbs, unassisted, on a regular basis, with frequent
bending, squatting, lifting, and repetitive motion. The position will occasionally be exposed to the
outside environment (e.g., heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, etc.) Work is performed in a public
environment and requires the ability to engage customers and donors and represent Habitat for
Humanity in a positive, professional way.

To apply, please email a resume and cover letter to courtney.bartley@hfhwhatcom.org
1825 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225 – (360) 715-9170

Habitat for Humanity is looking for just the right Warehouse and/or Retail manager to lead our team of dedicated staff and volunteers to move donated items from the receiving dock to the sales floor in record numbers in 2025.

If you have a “can do” approach to problem solving, use data to improve processes and performance, and want to go home at the end of the day feeling like you have done something impactful to solve Whatcom County’s housing crisis, we would like to talk to you.

Click here to see the job description.  

This is a full-time position with a starting hourly rate of $25.00/hr., but negotiable up to $35.00 depending on experience.

Please contact John Moon, Executive Director via email at careers@hfhwhatcom.org with your resume and a cover letter.