Volunteer Coordinator

Title: Volunteer Coordinator
Classification: Full-Time 32-hour work week nonexempt
Reports to: Director of Visitor Services and Public Programs
Compensation: $23.00 - $29.00/hour or DOE
Schedule: Tuesday-Saturday, 8:30am - 5:00pm, during tour season. Must be
available to work evenings and occasional Sundays.

About Lotusland:
Ganna Walska Lotusland is a 37-acre botanical garden and historic estate located in Montecito featuring a collection of over 3,000 plant species from around the world as well as historically significant Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Since opening to the public in 1993, Ganna Walska Lotusland has grown to become one of the world's premier botanical gardens and a center for sustainable garden practices, horticultural education, and plant conservation.

Mission Statement:
Our mission is to preserve and enhance the distinctive botanical gardens of Madame Ganna Walska. Lotusland educates and inspires visitors with its collections, sustainable horticulture practices and plant conservation.

Position Description: The Volunteer Coordinator has a leadership role within the Visitor Services Department, representing Lotusland in and outside the organization. This role is an intricate part of the Visitor Service Team as a role model, liaison, and champion for our Volunteers and visitors. The role involves working closely with the Director of Visitor Services and Public Programs and the Education Coordinator. The Volunteer Coordinator is a team player who can effectively prioritize and strategize while maintaining a sense of humor and community oriented, service first attitude

Key Responsibilities:

Volunteer Recruitment

• Coordinate with each department to assess Volunteer needs by gathering feedback and assisting with Volunteer engagement opportunities.
• Collaborates with the Director of Visitor Services and Public Programs and the Director of Communications and Marketing on diverse ways to recruit new Volunteers and maintain current Volunteers.
• Collaborates with community organizations to recruit volunteers at their events.

Volunteer Coordination

• Interview and place new Volunteer applicants in appropriate roles that complement their strengths.
• Onboard, train and be the main point of contact for Volunteer base of over 200 active individuals.
• Provide ongoing support and guidance for Volunteers, including weekly communications.
• Maintains the digital database of Volunteers to track and maintain records and report and record on Volunteer metrics including number of active Volunteers and hours worked.
• In collaboration with the Director of Visitor Services and Public Programs, develops and maintains the Volunteer handbook and all training materials, content, and curriculum for all educational trainings to include recertification of Volunteers, docents, and continuing education, including emergency training.
• Develop and maintain a yearly calendar of Volunteer engagement opportunities including classes, casual gatherings, and annual appreciation and recognition events.
• Documents and facilitates all Volunteer relations, complaints and promotes conflict resolution appropriately.
• Interfaces with Volunteers during tour days and events.

Scheduling

• Maintains schedules of Volunteers to support the needs of Lotusland.
• Works to fill last-minute shifts due to sickness or Volunteers on leave, communicates to team members during unexpected closures.
• Manage the dissemination of Volunteer schedules to all relevant employees and coordinate necessary shift changes to achieve optimal efficiency for docents and garden Volunteers.
• Reviews and communicates key internal and external messaging to Volunteers and those which interact with Volunteers; attends monthly administrative team meeting.
• Supports team building among staff and Volunteers.
• Takes responsibility for maintaining a welcoming environment.

Knowledge and Abilities:

• Flexible, energetic, and outcomes-oriented self-starter who brings a creative approach to solving problems.
• Frontline customer service experience preferred. Strong administrative skills required.
• Effective team leadership skills and cross-functional collaborative capacity. Ability to either take direction or work independently as the situation requires.
• Proficiency in organization and time management are vital to this role.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum of high school graduate or equivalent GED, with at least 3-5 years of management of volunteers and/or staff in a nonprofit museum setting.
• Communicate (listening, written and speaking) effectively with visitors, members, and employees of the organization.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite products. Ability to manage complex spreadsheets and learn new computer programs/databases.
• Experience with scheduling software preferred, like Volgistics.
• Must maintain a valid driver's license and be insurable with company auto policy.

Work Environment:

• Lotusland's administrative offices are on a historic 2-story estate in a 37-acre garden.
• Frequent sitting and standing, walking, and bending and climbing stairs with occasional lifting of light loads (25 lbs.)
• Requires working outside at times and the ability to comfortably move around the garden.
• Frequent work on the telephone and computer (repetitive movement - typing)
• Frequent standing, sitting, walking, climbing stairs and bending with occasional lifting of light to moderate loads (25 lbs.)
• Occasional driving of company electric golf carts.

The responsibilities and deliverables listed above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed by the individual in the position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and/or skills. Other tasks will be assigned as needed.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision and life insurance.
• 403(b) Retirement plans.
• Paid vacation and sick leave.
• Paid holidays.

Additional Information

• Employment background/criminal check is required.

Lotusland Core Values:
Accountability:We take ownership of the commitments we make, holding ourselves accountable for our actions and decisions, both to ourselves and those we lead.

Teamwork and Collaboration: Our roles are interdependent, requiring intentional collaboration within teams to consistently achieve our mission.

Communication: Effective communication is crucial for building trust among our staff, board, and the larger community. We strive to share information clearly, consistently, and in a timely manner to foster understanding and commitment across our organization.

Trust:We aim to cultivate mutual respect and open communication throughout the organization. Employees are encouraged to openly share their perspectives and feel secure in taking risks to enhance our effectiveness.

Integrity:Aligned with our guiding principles of honesty, fairness, and decency, we promote a strong ethic of integrity among individuals and leaders.

Lotusland is an equal opportunity employer. We acknowledge that equal employment opportunity for all persons is a fundamental human value. Each employee will be considered based on individual ability and merit, without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sex, or marital status.

To learn more, visit us at www.lotusland.org