Program Specialist, Volunteer Engagement

Oregon Humane•Portland, OR

7d•$28 - $30•Onsite

About The Position

The Program Specialist, Volunteer Engagement plays a key role in ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and overall quality of the Portland volunteer program. This role provides coaching, behavior and safety oversight, training delivery, and onthefloor leadership. The Specialist also holds shared administrative responsibilities, including approving schedule changes, filling urgent coverage gaps, reviewing onboarding documentation, contributing to communications, and supporting event logistics. This position works closely with the Coordinator, Volunteer Engagement, who manages scheduling, onboarding logistics, and database accuracy. The Specialist partners with and escalates higherlevel issues to the Manager, Volunteer Engagement, who provides strategic direction, sets program standards, and holds final decisionmaking authority on volunteer behavior, policy interpretation, and complex operational or safety concerns.

Requirements

Able to work independently and exercise sound judgment.
Able to maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff, and volunteers.
Able to learn and quickly navigate relevant volunteer management software solutions.
Albe to perform data entry with a high level of accuracy.
Proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful, and professional manner.
Able to work one weekend day on a regular basis, and evenings and holidays as needed.
Able to be CPR/First Aid certified if needed.

Nice To Haves

Two years of experience working with youth or adults in a volunteer or similar environment.
Familiarity with Oregon Humane’s programming and operations.
Experience supporting volunteers or staff in a role that requires clear communication, organization and follow-through.
Experience coaching and mentoring volunteers.

Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances. Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity. Demonstrates an awareness of your individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.
LEARNING Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary. Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress. Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION Communicate effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage. Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside Oregon Humane at all levels. Leverage our best practices externally and grow Oregon Humane’ reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.
Customer Service: Serves as a primary point of contact for volunteer behavior, safety, coaching, and rolerelated questions. Provides timely, compassionate, and clear guidance to volunteers navigating expectations, boundaries, and role responsibilities. Responsible for coaching, counseling, documentation and progressive discipline steps; recommends volunteers for termination of service to Manger, Volunteer Engagement, as needed. Supports staff in understanding how to effectively integrate volunteers and address concerns. Reinforces with volunteers attendance expectations, communication norms, and safety protocols. In partnership with Manager, Volunteer Engagement, supports conflict resolution among volunteers, staff, and guests, escalating to Manager when appropriate. Maintains a calm, supportive presence during challenging interactions, modeling OHS values.
Data & Systems: Reviews onboarding documentation for accuracy, completeness, and role fit. Creates and maintains documentation of coaching conversations, behavior concerns, and followup actions. Tracks training completion, compliance with safety protocols, and volunteer behavior trends. Collaborates with the Coordinator and Data Specialist to ensure volunteer records and training data are accurate and uptodate. Uses data to identify patterns in volunteer behavior, safety issues, or training needs and communicates these to the Manager, Volunteer Engagement.
Program Support: Approves schedule changes and fills urgent coverage gaps to support operational needs. Contributes to volunteer communications, including safety reminders, training updates, and role expectations. Supports event logistics and provides onsite leadership with Coordinator and Manager during volunteersupported events. Participates in volunteer orientations and trainings, reinforcing expectations and safety standards. Designs modifications or accommodations for volunteers of varying abilities in collaboration with the Manager and Coordinator. Maintains confidentiality of sensitive information and models appropriate boundaries. Upholds safety guidelines and takes immediate action to address behavior or procedural concerns. Works with animals on an occasional basis, modeling safe and appropriate handling. Serves as secondary role responsible for volunteer email inbox management.
Provides day-to-day supervision to volunteers.