Community Coordinator

Kindling Collective is hiring a Community Coordinator to start in January 2027. The person in this role will manage and maintain our community relationships as well as welcome new & existing community members through collaborations, day events, volunteer coordination, and communications. This role could be a great fit for you if: you like meeting people and caring for new and existing relationships, actually like picking up the phone, enjoy writing both cute copy and grounded reflections, love nature, and care deeply about interconnection and outdoor equity. 

Kindling Collective is a queer-centered outdoor gear library and education center located on stolen Wabanaki land in so-called Portland, Maine. Our office and gear library is in the Congress Street Building next to the State Theater. Kindling Collective’s work ebbs and flows with the seasons, and our weekly schedules change based on programmatic demands. We run programming and lend gear throughout the year, but the summer (roughly May-October) is the peak season for everything we do.

Our office environment is high energy and person-centered. We strive for a community-oriented space that values each individual as a whole person with a personal life, dreams, and day-to-day challenges. We care about our community both externally in Maine and beyond and internally with each other as individuals and as a team. We strive to remain true to our organizational values as we operate in the tension of being a fiscally sponsored project of a non-profit under global racialized capitalism. Our work promises to be engaging, dynamic, frustrating, overwhelming, fun, and rewarding. We seek out staff and collaborators who want to contribute their ideas, dreams, and energy to our collective work. We also have a very sweet and silly hypo-allergenic office dog who will want to be your new best friend. 

Nuts and Bolts:

• Salary: $25/hour
• Part time (20 hours/week)
• In-person at the Kindling office in Portland

Essential Functions:

• Community engagement: Build and maintain relationships with local community by:
• Organizing, planning, scheduling, attending, and sometimes leading queer and BIPOC affinity day programs with local organizations and other community partners.
• Running admissions, registration and communications for day programs.
• Coordinating Kindling Collective’s annual outdoor storytelling event (summer).
• Coordinating Kindling Collective’s annual indoor storytelling fundraiser (winter).
• Tabling at partnered events, programs, and conferences.
• Managing volunteers before and during events.
• Social media and communications:
• Write a bi-weekly newsletter
• Create, coordinate, and share content on social media (primarily Instagram); collaborate with in-house graphic designer as necessary
• Office Administration and Program Support
• Serve as the primary point of contact for incoming phone calls and visitors, taking messages and directing to appropriate staff as necessary.
• Receive and respond to general inquiries via email, text, and Instagram direct message.
• Support Kindling programming by running errands, transcribing program feedback, and supporting gear and food packout when necessary.
• Serve as assistant admissions coordinator for multi-day programs.
• Help with coordination and logistics for multi-day programs.

Qualities, Qualifications, and Experience Sought:

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t feel that you meet all the qualifications below. If you are excited about this role, passionate about our work, and interested in growing your skills, we would be happy to hear from you!

An ideal candidate will bring:

• A strong commitment to our values of justice and equity.
• Enthusiasm for reducing barriers to outdoor access for BIPOC and queer people.
• Excitement for and experience with outdoor recreation.
• An ability to serve as an ambassador/public face for Kindling Collective in the community.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• An ability to work independently and as part of a team in a small organization environment.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and multi-tasking skills with attention to detail and deadlines.
• Some weekend availability.
• A valid vehicle driver’s license.

Benefits

• Access to free professional development opportunities and events (e.g. wilderness medicine courses and outdoor adventure programming)
• Discounted access to outdoor gear and apparel
• Occasional free gear
• Paid vacation & sick & mental health leave
• Some free Kindling merch
• The ability to be wacky, weird, and yourself at work

To apply: Please send the following to to info@kindlingcollective.org:

• Your resume
• A description of why you think you’re a good fit and want the job in the form of any of the following:
• A fun cover letter
•  A tight 2-3 minute video 
• An engaging slide deck
• A short writing sample that demonstrates your ability to communicate in an engaging, punchy, and thoughtful manner. This could include social media captions, newsletters/professional emails, creative or descriptive writing, or anything else you think demonstrates your skills. Feel free to take a look at our newsletter archive here.
• Anything else you think will show us you’re the right person for the job!

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until November 30th, or until the right candidate is found. Please email info@kindlingcollective.org with any questions.

Kindling Collective is fiscally sponsored by the Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives, a program of NOPI INC, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation and 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 81-5089505. Learn more at https://thenopi.org.