Company Description:
Seaside Sustainability is a nationally recognized, award-winning 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to environmental conservation, education, and community engagement. The organization’s mission is to protect and restore oceans by raising awareness of environmental issues, promoting sustainable practices, and inspiring advocacy and hands-on action. Collaborating with schools, municipalities, technology companies, and individuals, Seaside Sustainability aims to secure the health of aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The organization is also a leader in environmental and STEM education, offering project-based learning, meaningful internships, and volunteer opportunities for all ages. Students and participants gain practical experience and leadership skills to contribute to the stewardship of our planet.
Position Description:
The Volunteers' Coordination Team is responsible for the management of all current and incoming volunteers, including the end-to-end recruitment cycle and program management process. Volunteer Coordinators are essential to our operation of Seaside Sustainability, and are imperative to the establishment and success of the volunteer program.
As a Department Manager at Seaside Sustainability, you will be a key leader, responsible for overseeing your assigned sub-department and driving the successful execution of various projects and initiatives. You will be expected to guide, mentor, and support your team members while ensuring alignment with Seaside Sustainability’s mission and objectives. This role offers an excellent opportunity to develop leadership skills, enhance project management experience, and contribute to meaningful sustainability efforts.
Volunteers’ Coordinator Job Duties and Responsibilities:
• Manage all aspects of the volunteer program experience, including implementation of new organizational processes and policies.
• Develop and update volunteer job descriptions to ensure clarity in roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
• Develop and update volunteer offer letters
• Manage the full talent acquisition cycle—including recruiting, screening, and interviewing—while also facilitating onboarding and offboarding procedures for all volunteers.
• Work closely with the Human Resources team to manage and oversee recruitment for future volunteer sessions
• Collect and analyze feedback from volunteers throughout the program to gauge satisfaction and success
• *Please note that responsibilities may change throughout the duration of the position
Department Manager’s Job Duties and Responsibilities:
• Team Leadership & Management: Lead and manage interns within your sub-department, ensuring clear communication, coordination, and collaboration across all projects.
• Project Oversight: Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of various projects within your sub-department, ensuring they align with the organization’s goals and timelines.
• Training & Development: Provide guidance, mentorship, and support to team members, fostering skill development and encouraging a culture of continuous learning.
• Reporting & Communication: Maintain regular communication with the department’s Fellows and Advisors, providing timely updates on project progress, challenges, and achievements.
• Strategic Planning: Collaborate with other departments to develop strategies, set goals, and identify opportunities for growth and improvement within your subdepartment
• Problem-Solving & Decision-Making: Address any challenges that arise within your sub-department, ensuring effective and timely solutions while maintaining a positive team environment.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful project outcomes and build collaborative relationships.
Qualifications
• Current enrollment in a relevant undergraduate or graduate program (human resources or business administration)
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail
• Ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and with minimal instruction
• Highly flexible, with the ability to exercise critical thinking while adapting to new situations
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience with enhancing surrounding work ethic and motivation, particularly in a volunteer capacity
• Highly proactive and empathetic, promptly administering to issues before they arise
• Strong initiative for project management and implementation
• Commitment to enhancing the volunteer experience and overall organization of our volunteer program
• Experience with conducting interviews, screening resumes, and evaluating applications is a plus
• Experience with HR policy creation and coordination is an asset.
Duration and Compensation:
• Duration: 5 months (flexible start and end dates).
• Compensation: This is an unpaid internship.
Learning Outcomes:
• Develop practical recruitment, screening, interviewing, onboarding, and offboarding skills.
• Gain insights into the various stages of the employee lifecycle within a professional setting.
• Enhance communication and interpersonal skills through interactions with diverse stakeholders.
• Acquire a comprehensive understanding of HR operations and practices
Equal Opportunity Statement for Employment: Seaside Sustainability Inc. offers internship opportunities to all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. Seaside Sustainability prohibits workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.
“Sustainability, Education, Action”
What is Seaside: Seaside Sustainability is a nationally recognized, award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to community engagement, public education, and environmental conservation. Seaside aims to be a leader in environmental and STEM educational programs and recognition initiatives. We help by promoting public awareness about the importance of environmental health, providing resources to develop problem-solving skills, and chances to get engaged as part of a community to take action. We organize our works and initiatives around these areas: plastic mitigation, marine citizen science, sustainability education, and solar energy in the community.
Why Intern at Seaside: Seaside’s internship program is hands-down one of the best in the area! With its roots firmly seated in education and hands-on learning, there is no doubt that that is why we have more than 50 interns at any given point throughout the year. Our programs and initiatives encourage members of the community, young and old, to build and nurture a relationship with local land and seascapes. An internship at Seaside allows you to explore a myriad of internship opportunities, relevant to almost any future interest. Join Seaside Sustainability for any season, or during breaks in your school schedule. We are looking for part-time interns in high school, college, and beyond to work on a diverse and challenging array of projects and initiatives. We are accepting applications for unpaid internships, with hours available any day of the week and practically any time of day: weekdays, weekends, and evenings included. We prefer to have our local interns work in person at the office in Gloucester, and we also invite interns from all over the United States and internationally to apply. Seaside Sustainability provides interns with real and meaningful work, and internships are available in any season with flexible time schedules.
Mission: Advocate, educate, and deliver tangible solutions to advance environmental stewardship.
Vision Statement: Seaside’s programs and initiatives encourage members of the community, of all ages, to build and nurture a relationship with local land and seascapes. We believe that environmental challenges can be overcome by instilling ethical and social responsibility into our existence. And we address these challenges by illuminating the heavy costs of environmental degradation by providing resources to develop skills, solutions, and community involvement.
What Interns Do at Seaside Sustainability: Our interns are not limited to just one role; we encourage each intern to take advantage of the opportunity to explore a variety of roles and responsibilities. Our interns are never bored as they’re always given real and meaningful work that is essential to the day-to-day operation of the company. As an intern with Seaside Sustainability, you will be asked to perform a myriad of tasks, most of which can also be found at https://www.seasidesustainability.org/intern-details.
Course Credit: Students may receive course credit for this internship. Staff will work with the intern’s school/advisor on achieving desired learning outcomes and completing all necessary paperwork.
Check with your school's Internship Coordinator BEFORE accepting the hiring offer to determine if this position satisfies the criteria for receiving academic credit.
Requirements: Seaside Sustainability requires interns to work at least 15 hours per week.
Make Sure To Follow Seaside on Social Media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seasusinc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasusinc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/seasusinc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDqPZWdPIQG37aaSC7NShOg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seaside-sustainability-inc/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lfTZpbv0ELrkU2po8SRfo
And remember to check out our partner organization National STEM Honor Society www.nstem.org for another great internship opportunity!
