Community Engagement Manager

Flatbush Cats is seeking a detail-oriented, resourceful, and strategic individual to oversee all aspects of the organization’s community outreach and engagement operations during a time of significant growth and excitement. This is a full-time role based in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Engaging with our community members is the heart of our mission - and as we are a newer organization, this person will play a critical role in both integrating ourselves, our resources, and our mission in the community we serve as well as building and supporting our volunteer-led programs and processes. This is an exceptional role for a people-loving problem solver with a deep passion for our mission and a robust understanding of the wide spectrum of challenges faced by our neighbors.

Previous animal welfare experience is not required - however, we are looking for prior work experience in project / program management, team development, and community outreach in addition to a proven track record of interacting constructively with diverse constituencies including vulnerable populations.

The Community Engagement Manager will provide critical logistical, administrative, and general operational support to ensure the organization is effectively engaging and developing volunteers and leaders across several programs in conjunction with ensuring that the services we provide are reaching the neighbors that need them while developing robust systems for both measuring our impact in those areas and predicting future needs.

As Flatbush Cats is a relatively new and quickly growing organization, this position requires a high level of adaptability, resourcefulness, and an entrepreneurial spirit. This is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about our mission, and enjoys building new programs, processes and systems from scratch.

The ideal candidate will thrive in a team environment focused on getting things done and supporting others - ready to take initiative, work efficiently, and communicate effectively and proactively with both internal and external stakeholders.

This role offers the opportunity to make a tremendous impact, while helping others do the same. We offer a competitive salary, generous flexible paid time off, holidays, medical, dental, and vision insurance, and 401k contribution.

Responsibilities

As the primary curator of our relationship with the community we serve, the Community Outreach Manager is integral in connecting our neighbors with resources when they need them and providing those that want to help with avenues to meaningfully contribute.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

General

• Promote a culture of inclusivity and belonging that embraces the contributions of all team members and community members.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.
• Collaborate proactively with colleagues to respond to the changing needs of their programs and our community.

Community Engagement (40%)

• Develop and execute culturally competent outreach programs to accompany our best-in class TNR (trap, neuter, return) and rescue operations.
• Create, plan, and execute a system for fielding requests for support that efficiently connects community members with resources and channels them into our volunteer programs.
• Demonstrate, model, and teach active empathy and constructive listening when interacting with a wide range of constituencies.
• Forge partnerships with other organizations in our community to increase our reach and effectiveness.
• Develop robust resources for the referral of community members and clients in need of assistance outside our scope.
• Design, plan, and lead in-person outreach efforts including door-to-door, flyering, community meeting, pet food pantry, and other campaigns.
• Engage with community members to address their needs with in-house or referral resources.
• Collaborate with our non-profit vet team to best assist clients with a wide array of barriers to care in individual cases as well as through comprehensive programs.
• Build a team able to conduct outreach in an effective, competent, and sensitive manner.
• Guide team and community members in challenging situations, including those that involve loss, grief, and interpersonal conflict.
• Plans, organizes, and executes community events to address community concerns and build awareness.
• Create and update training, outreach, and educational curricula and materials.

Volunteer Management (40%)

• Build and refine volunteer management infrastructure including CRM platform maintenance, process / SOP development, and overall volunteer management strategy.
• Develop and oversee all aspects of the volunteer experience: from recruiting and onboarding to training and retention (approximately 250-300 volunteers across multiple programs).
• Remain actively engaged with volunteer teams to identify improvement opportunities and recognize accomplishments.
• Build develop efficient systems and processes for communicating with volunteers and manage ongoing communication.
• Plan and support in-person recruiting and networking events for volunteers.
• Manage screening and hiring for key volunteer roles - interview prospective volunteers and assess their overall value-driven cultural fit and ensure selected candidates are onboarded appropriately.
• Develop and steward relationships with volunteer candidates, including executive-level professionals, under resourced community members, and everyone in between and proactively identify opportunities to strengthen the volunteer experience and take initiative to implement improvements.
• Manage back-end processes to grow, track, and engage our volunteer base
• Broaden and deepen the ways in which community members can participate in moving forward the mission.
• Direct management of volunteers engaged in canvasing, door-to-door, and other in-person outreach efforts.

Reporting and Administration (20%)

• Gather data on our community’s needs and their utilization of our services.
• Measure and report on program and volunteer effectiveness.
• Use program data to predict and plan for future needs.
• Work with our Communications and Development teams to share the impact of our programs with donors and the public at large.
• Identify and proactively address areas for improvement.
• Maintain detailed notes in our database/CRM and process all appropriate documentation.
• Conduct surveys to measure satisfaction and engagement in our volunteer and client populations.

Qualifications - Are You?

• A strong operations leader with exceptional communication skills and a proven history of engaging diverse communities?
• Someone who loves both people and animals, and is deeply committed to our mission?
• Devoted to leading with empathy in all things?
• Extremely organized, able to prioritize and manage your time effectively?
• Comfortable taking on new challenges and building things from scratch?
• Excited about working directly with volunteers and community members onsite in Flatbush, Brooklyn?
• Drawn to roles that include problem-solving and improving processes?
• Enthusiastic about meeting and engaging new people on a regular basis?
• Comfortable leading and engaging a diverse team towards a common goal?
• A proactive and professional teammate?
• Open to embracing change and innovation, always demonstrating a growth mindset?
• Able to collaborate with numerous partners from diverse backgrounds?
• Able to calmly navigate high pressure situations and mitigate conflict?
• Willing to solicit and maintain open, honest, and frequent communications?
• Responsible with sensitive information and able to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality?
• Familiar with setting and meeting goals, and able to use data analysis to identify opportunities?
• Extremely comfortable learning new tools and technologies?

Preferred Skills and Experience

• 2 years direct experience supporting and/or growing teams in a leadership role.
• Experience helping individuals teams develop and thrive in challenging situations.
• Project management.
• Fluent with Google Suite, Slack, MailChimp and CRM systems.
• Spanish fluency preferred.

Reporting Relationships

The Community Engagement Manager reports to the Director of Community Programs, and works very closely with program leads - Veterinary, TNR, and Rescue - to identify and support volunteer staffing needs, outreach needs, and larger organizational goals.

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Flatbush Cats believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success in achieving our Mission and Vision. Our goal is to be a diverse organization that is representative, at all levels, of the community we serve.

We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $52,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Ability to Relocate:

• Brooklyn, NY 11210: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Brooklyn, NY 11210