About Mass Audubon  

Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the protection of birds, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on the greatest challenges facing the environment today: the loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and climate change. With the help of our 160,000 members and supporters, we protect wildlife, conserve and restore resilient land, advocate for impactful environmental policies, offer nationally recognized education programs for adults and children, and provide endless opportunities to experience the outdoors at our wildlife sanctuaries. Explore, find inspiration, and take action at massaudubon.org.  

About this position 

Mass Audubon is committed to creating a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just organization and to providing greater access to nature for everyone, which is why we created the Environmental Fellowship Program for Early Careers (EFP). Now entering its fifth year, the EFP is a unique program that increases pathways for a diversity of early career professionals into environmental professions. Each 14-month fellowship is hosted within one of five departments/teams: Land Conservation, Conservation Science, Nature in the City, Wildlife Sanctuaries & Education, or Diversity & Inclusion. Our fellows will tackle some of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time while working with a passionate and dedicated team of professionals.  This is an opportunity designed for recent graduates or those beginning their careers with up to one year of professional experience. In addition to professional experience, the fellows are given opportunities for networking, mentoring, and skill development within a supportive cohort model. To learn more about the program, please register for an Information Session which will take place on Wednesday, January 28th at 6PM EST and Monday, February 9th at 6PM EST. 

Mass Audubon operates under a strategic plan known as the Action Agenda, a five-year plan to address the rapid loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and the threat of climate change. Increasing volunteerism is a key strategy in achieving our goal to engage people in nature-based experiences at our wildlife sanctuaries. The Sanctuary Engagement Fellow – a hybrid role based at the Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary in Mattapan (Boston), Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont, and Mass Audubon Headquarters in Lincoln – will be part of the Statewide Volunteer Program Team, and will focus on community outreach, leading volunteer projects, and documenting best practices around volunteer engagement. Working with colleagues across departments, they will support existing volunteer projects while also leading volunteer workdays for new and existing community partner organizations. The goal of the Fellow’s work will be to expand Mass Audubon’s capacity to engage a broader diversity of volunteers and promote volunteerism as an entry point to involvement in the organization’s work of protecting the nature of Massachusetts.

Responsibilities 

• Organize and lead volunteer groups at the Boston Nature Center and Habitat Education Center in removing invasive species, maintaining trails, planting native species, gardening, and other tasks designed in collaboration with each location’s Property Manager and/or Operations Manager 
• Participate in existing volunteer workdays with individuals and groups to build relationships and get to know Mass Audubon’s volunteer program 
• Inventory existing and priority community partnerships at the Boston Nature Center and Habitat Education Center through interviews with educators, managers, directors, volunteers and other wildlife sanctuary staff 
• Outreach to prospective and current community partners local to each sanctuary to build relationships, arrange volunteer workdays, and promote avenues for involvement with Mass Audubon, with a focus on engaging currently underrepresented communities in our volunteer cohort (e.g. BIPOC, LGBTQ+, youth) 
• Develop a toolkit of volunteer engagement resources, materials, and best practices for Mass Audubon staff across the state 
• Assist with creating a statewide volunteer engagement survey of current volunteers and reporting on the results 
• Support the design and delivery of a volunteer supervisor training for Mass Audubon staff rooted in the results of the volunteer engagement survey and identified needs of the volunteer program 
• Travel to other wildlife sanctuaries across the state to participate in meetings or volunteer events

Qualifications
At Mass Audubon, our highest priority is finding the best candidate for the job. Research has shown that people of color and women are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t believe they meet every one of the qualifications described in a job description. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of our described qualifications or you have a less traditional background. We are looking for applicants with the following qualifications:

Must Haves: 

• Must have obtained a Bachelor’s degree by the start of the fellowship. Degrees or coursework especially suitable for this work include: Biology, Ecology, Environmental Studies, Environmental Planning, Wildlife Management, Ornithology, or a related field.
• Organized, especially with email and calendars
• Communicative, both written and orally, with the ability to work positively and collaboratively with many different types of people, including internal and external partners and stakeholders
• Experiencing in leading groups to complete volunteer tasks
• Experience with community outreach and engagement
• Experience in facilitating meetings (of all sizes)
• Enthusiastic about working outdoors in a range of weather conditions
• Self-directed and a strong self-advocate
• Interested in contributing to many facets of Mass Audubon’s statewide volunteer program
• Valid driver’s license, and willingness to travel throughout the state 
• Ability to commute to Lincoln, Belmont, and Boston

Nice to Haves: 

• Interest in developing entry level career skills
• Experience in teaching informally on environmental and ecological topics such as invasive and native species, biodiversity, land conservation, and/or climate change
• Experience in design and/or facilitation of trainings
• Experience in outdoor work, such as gardening, landscaping, field work/research, and/or habitat restoration
• Experience in CRM databases such as Salesforce