Hi Troy, 

I am currently one of two people filling that role at Kickstand Community Bikes in Vancouver, BC ('Program Coordinator' is the job title we use, and a few of my predecessors are on this list as well!). My colleague and both work 15 hours a week.  Here's a link to our job description.  

I was an internal applicant (had been volunteering for some time), so I had some idea of what the job entailed.  My counterpart was not, but had worked with many other DIY community spaces, and has done great job at jumping in and sussing out priorities.  I imagine his experiences in these other organization prepared him, to some extent, for the 'your job is to do everything'-ness of our shop.  Further, we've had predecessors who've done an excellent job of 'defining' the role, and served as resources for training and institutional memory.  It has been an evolution, but I think right now we have a fairly good balance that keeps the spirit and form of a volunteer organization, without burning out our volunteers on thankless tasks (banking, etc.).  

One difference between my position and the one that I think you're hiring for, is that I am not paid to work in the shop.  When I'm on shift, I'm still a volunteer.  While this does mean that we still have to close occasionally, having coordinators to send schedule reminders, run regular volunteer orientations, train keyholders, and notify the public when we're closed has definitely helped our shop's accessibility.  As it stands, we're overflowing with keen folks.  500 volunteer hours in January alone!  And lots of new volunteers taking on big projects (like building a custom POS system for us! Grant writing!)

As for the seasonal limit, I think listing a contract (i.e. 6 months) with the possibility of extension is completely acceptable. We've traditionally limited our Program Coordinator position to 1 year to prevent them (us) from becoming the de facto bosses by virtue of too much institutional memory in one person.  

Alysia

Kickstand Community Bikes
Entrance on the north side of the building.
Hours of Operation
M • W • F: 5pm to 9pm
Sunday: 1pm to 5pm
WGQT Night: 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8:30pm




On Thu, Feb 7, 2019 at 12:56 PM breathingplanet <breathingplanet@gmail.com> wrote:
hi ThinkTankers,

after 17 years of hardcore 100% volunteer powered ebbs and flows, Troy Bike Rescue is poised to take a risk and hire one seasonal staff person (called shop manager at this point, but it could change) to help us increase consistency and accessibility of our workshop space.  for us board members and for me as founder and forever volunteer, it feels a little like stepping off a cliff, but the current board is badass and motivated and feeling ready, and I am getting behind it.

Because there is a lot to talk about here, I am writing with the specific purpose of soliciting feedback about writing a job description for said position.  and I know the think tank will provide.  i love and am perpetually amazed at the dialog and community demonstrated on this list.

Things we are thinking about:
how can we attract someone with the perfect blend of people and bike skills with a bunch of words in email or facebook or indeed or wherever?

is making a seasonal 'limit' a bad idea?  it limits our financial risk, but will also limit the pool of potential applicants.

how can we make a comprehensive and accurate list of job descriptions without overwhelming a potential applicant or basicall saying "your job is to do everything!"?

and etc. etc.

If you have a job description handy that has been successful, maybe you want to paste it into this thread.  if you have feedback that doesnt stray too far from some of the questions above, that will be helpful too!

Thanks!!
Andrew - Troy Bike Rescue
Troy, NY

ps.  we are coming to bikebike NE and two youthshop coordinators are headed to youthbike summit!  see yinz there.



--
Andrew Lynn
Certified Arborist
Magai Arboriculture
518-573-7947


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