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Community Engagement Specialist

Permanent, Full-Time
 

Reports to: Programs Manager

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About Howard EcoWorks

Howard EcoWorks is an environmental nonprofit in the greater Baltimore region dedicated to restoring local ecosystems and creating green career pathways. Our mission is to empower communities and diverse workforces to conserve and restore our natural systems for future generations. Our hands-on conservation crews install and maintain rain gardens, conservation landscapes, and stormwater management projects across Howard County and the region, and we train the next generation of green-industry workers while we do it. We are a growing, mission-driven team that cares about both our ecosystems and the people working to restore them.


Our values: Stewardship · Impact · Accountability · Growth · Inclusion · Safety

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About the Role

The Community Engagement Specialist is Howard EcoWorks’ connector to the community, the person who brings volunteers, program participants, and neighbors into our mission. Reporting to the Programs Director, this role leads HEW’s volunteer program and drives the community outreach that fuels recruitment for our volunteer opportunities and green workforce development programs.

 

Working in close coordination with our Communications staff, the Community Engagement Specialist plans and leads volunteer events, develops relationships with community members, leaders, and partner organizations, and represents HEW as a warm, trusted presence in the community. This role also supports the day-to-day execution of HEW’s EcoAmbassadors program, a summer program that engages local high school students in hands-on environmental education and service, helping to build the pipeline of future green workforce development participants. As HEW establishes its new headquarters at Holly Hills, this role additionally helps activate the site as a hub for engagement, welcoming the public, hosting events, and building the local relationships that support HEW’s growth.

 

This is an ideal role for a skilled community organizer and relationship-builder who is energized by connecting people to hands-on environmental work and green career pathways, and who enjoys being out in the community as often as behind a desk.

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Responsibilities and Duties

  • Lead HEW’s volunteer program end to end: recruit, screen, place, orient, schedule, recognize, and retain volunteers

  • Plan and lead volunteer events and signature service days, coordinating logistics, materials, and on-site supervision

  • Coordinate volunteers, interns, and seasonal help supporting events and program activities

  • Maintain volunteer records and track participation, hours, and outcomes

  • Lead community outreach efforts, in coordination with Communications staff, focused on recruiting volunteers and green workforce development program participants

  • Develop and implement outreach and engagement plans that are informed by the history, demographics, and priorities of the communities HEW serves

  • Prepare and distribute outreach materials, table at community events and gatherings, and deliver presentations, workshops, and educational activities

  • Coordinate with Communications staff on messaging, social media content, and promotion of volunteer and program opportunities

  • Support the day-to-day execution of the EcoAmbassadors summer program for high school students, including program logistics, mentorship, and education and service projects, under the direction of the Programs Director, cultivating a pipeline into HEW’s green workforce development programs

  • Develop and sustain relationships with community members, leaders, and local nonprofit and governmental partners that support HEW’s growth and mission

  • Help activate HEW’s Holly Hills headquarters as a community hub, welcoming the public, hosting events, and building local engagement at the site

  • Represent HEW at community events, meetings, and networking opportunities

  • Track recruitment, volunteer, and engagement metrics, and prepare summaries or reports of outreach outcomes as requested

  • Support grant applications and grant reporting related to community engagement and volunteer activities

  • Participate in HEW staff meetings, events, and team-building activities

  • Support a culture that reflects HEW’s values of stewardship, impact, accountability, growth, inclusion, and safety

 

Qualifications:

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as communications, environmental studies, or a related area, or equivalent training and work experience

  • At least 1 year of experience in community outreach, volunteer coordination, communications, or environmental engagement (including internship, volunteer, or paid roles)

  • Excellent communication, organization, and time-management skills, with comfort in public speaking

  • Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities at once

  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team

  • Proficiency with standard office software (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft Office)

  • Valid driver’s license and access to a reliable personal vehicle for travel to events and meetings

  • Availability to work regular evenings and weekends for events and community engagement

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Prefered

  • Experience in grassroots community organizing or engaging historically underserved communities

  • Experience planning and leading volunteer events or managing a volunteer program

  • Knowledge of environmental issues, natural resources, ecology, urban forestry, or green infrastructure

  • Experience with volunteer management software, CRM, or database systems

  • Bilingual (English/Spanish) or other language skills

 

Physical Demands & Work Environment:

  • Performs a combination of office-based work and outdoor event and community engagement in varying weather conditions

  • Positions self to set up and support events and hands-on volunteer activities (e.g., bending, kneeling, crouching)

  • Transports and moves materials and equipment weighing up to 30 lbs. as needed

  • Operates a vehicle for regular travel to community events, partner locations, and meetings

  • Remains in a stationary position and/or moves throughout office, event, and community sites as needed

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Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this role. To request an accommodation, contact the Administrative Services Manager.

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Hours & Schedule:

This is a full-time, exempt position of approximately 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, with a 30-minute unpaid meal period. Core hours are 10:00 AM–2:00 PM, Monday through Friday, during which all Staff are expected to be available; the remainder of the schedule is flexible by agreement with your supervisor. Because this role centers on community events and engagement, regular evening and weekend work is required, and the weekday schedule may shift to accommodate it.

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Compensation & Benefits:

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Salary

$45,000–$52,000/year (commensurate with experience)

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Benefits

  • Health coverage: medical, dental, and vision insurance

  • Employer-provided life and AD&D insurance

  • 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions (after 1 year)

  • Generous paid time off: paid vacation (annual) leave that grows with tenure, paid sick & safe leave, paid holidays, and a floating holiday

  • Additional paid leave for bereavement, jury duty, and voting, plus military and parental leave protections

  • Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

  • Workers’ compensation insurance (no cost to you)

  • Professional development opportunities, including green-industry certifications

  • A clear pathway for advancement within the organization

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Our Commitment to an Equitable, Diverse & Inclusive Workplace:

Howard EcoWorks is committed to building a culturally diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, and strongly encourages applications from candidates from underrepresented communities, including program alumni and those with non-traditional career pathways. We value lived experience alongside formal qualifications.

 

Howard EcoWorks does not discriminate on the basis of race or color (including hair texture and protective hairstyles under the Maryland CROWN Act), religion or creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, occupation, personal appearance, political opinion, source of income, or citizenship or immigration status. Consistent with our workforce-development mission, we also do not discriminate on the basis of socioeconomic status or prior justice involvement. This applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, compensation, job assignment, training, promotion, discipline, and termination.

 

HEW does not ask about criminal history on employment applications or during initial screening. Any criminal-history inquiry occurs no earlier than the first in-person interview, and we conduct an individualized assessment before any adverse decision.

 

This position involves direct contact with minor program participants and is subject to a mandatory background check under Maryland law and HEW policy.

 

Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants and employees with disabilities, for sincerely held religious beliefs, and for pregnancy-related conditions. To request an accommodation during hiring or employment, contact the Administrative Services Manager.

 

Application Process:

  • Apply HERE to MD Corps Service Year Option. When the host site matching process begins, select Howard Ecoworks as your host site partner, and follow the instructions provided.

  • Email the Program Coordinator, Matt Hemler, at mhemler@howardecoworks.org and let him know that you applied.​​​

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