Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator

ACLU of Louisiana•New Orleans, LA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The ACLU of Louisiana is seeking a highly organized, collaborative, and mission-driven Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator to support and expand engagement with pro bono attorneys, volunteers, and community members. The role serves as a logistical and programmatic connector across the organization’s legal and advocacy work, coordinating relationships with pro bono attorneys and law firms, volunteer engagement, and legal clinics. The Coordinator is expected to take projects from concept through execution, anticipate logistical challenges, and build sustainable systems for effective volunteer and community engagement. The position coordinates pro bono attorney and law firm engagement; volunteer activities and clinics across Justice Lab programs; community advocacy projects; an annual stakeholder tour of Louisiana detention facilities; quarterly public-facing teach-ins; and logistics for legislative advocacy and coalition projects. It also supports other legal, advocacy, volunteer, and community engagement projects, maintains systems and records, reports on participation and outcomes, and collaborates across the Legal, Advocacy, Communications, Development, and Operations teams. This is a full-time hybrid position based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Occasional evening and weekend commitments and travel within Louisiana, particularly to Baton Rouge and Shreveport, are required. The ACLU of Louisiana is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Requirements

Strong organizational and project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build productive relationships with attorneys, volunteers, community members, and organizational partners.
Ability to work independently, take initiative, and follow projects through to completion.
Comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities may shift quickly.
Commitment to the mission and values of the ACLU of Louisiana.
Proficiency with common office and collaboration tools, including Google Workspace or Microsoft Office.

Nice To Haves

Experience coordinating volunteers or community engagement programs.
Experience working with attorneys, law firms, legal organizations, or nonprofit organizations.
Experience coordinating legal clinics or other direct-service programs.
Experience with advocacy campaigns or legislative engagement.
Experience planning public events, webinars, trainings, or educational programs.
Familiarity with Louisiana’s legal, political, or advocacy landscape.
Experience with case-management, volunteer-management, or CRM systems.
Bilingual or multilingual skills.
A JD, paralegal certification, or other legal experience.

Responsibilities

Coordinate relationships and engagement with pro bono attorneys and law firms, serving as a logistical point of contact and managing onboarding, scheduling, communications, materials, records, and volunteer recognition.
Work with legal staff to support pro bono volunteers and identify opportunities to expand the pro bono attorney network.
Coordinate volunteer engagement across Justice Lab programs, including immigration, voting rights, and other legal advocacy initiatives.
Coordinate Justice Lab legal clinic logistics, including scheduling, recruitment, communications, materials, follow-up, and volunteer and case tracking.
Ensure volunteers receive timely instructions and resources, improve volunteer experience and retention, troubleshoot logistical issues, and escalate substantive legal questions to legal staff.
Coordinate volunteer- and community-engagement advocacy projects, including Pack the Court and rapid-response or campaign-based initiatives.
Develop project timelines, recruitment plans, logistics, communications, and execution plans; track participation and outcomes; and provide post-project reports and recommendations.
Coordinate and execute an annual stakeholder tour of Louisiana detention facilities, including planning, scheduling, invitations, transportation, communications, materials, day-of logistics, briefing materials, agendas, and follow-up.
Plan and host at least one public-facing teach-in per quarter, coordinating topics, speakers, scheduling, registration, technology, materials, promotion, and follow-up.
Develop an annual strategy for engaging communities across Louisiana and host at least one annual teach-in in Baton Rouge and one in Shreveport.
Build relationships with community organizations, schools, universities, bar associations, and other partners to expand public education participation.
Support logistics for legislative advocacy events, volunteer engagement, and community mobilization at the legislature.
Support collaborative coalition projects and campaigns when volunteer and community mobilization is needed.
Support other legal, advocacy, volunteer, and community engagement projects and special projects advancing organizational priorities.
Develop and maintain systems for managing volunteers, events, communications, and project timelines; prepare regular updates on engagement, progress, participation, and outcomes; and identify process improvements.
Collaborate across the Legal, Advocacy, Communications, Development, and Operations teams and perform other duties as assigned.