Senior Manager of Volunteer and Guest Experience

Overview

The Senior Manager of Volunteer and Guest Experience plays a vital role in creating the best possible experience for the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s 25,000+ annual volunteers and guests who visit for planned events and large meetings. This person will develop and execute strategies to curate impactful experiences for different segments of volunteers (e.g., young professionals, corporate groups, faith-based organizations, families, donors, students) while elevating the experience of every volunteer who gives us the gift of their time.

The position oversees daily volunteer operations, leads a small team, and partners across the organization to ensure volunteerism remains a cornerstone of our impact.

This position requires five days a week on site, typically Tuesday–Saturday, with Sundays and Mondays off.

The Senior Manager reports to the Senior Director of Marketing and Direct Response and collaborates closely with other departments, including warehouse operations & transportation, procurement, community impact, and development. The Senior Manager of Volunteer and Guest Experience has direct reports.

• Ensure the Greater Chicago Food Depository offers the best overall volunteer experience in Chicago and Cook County.
• Build innovative volunteer experiences that include evolutions of traditional food repacks and other creative engagement opportunities (e.g., volunteer experiences for advocates, donor thank‑you sessions, young adult sessions, or sessions with young children).
• Create meaningful relationships with Volunteer Ambassadors and high‑frequency volunteers, including volunteer recognition and gratitude initiatives.
• Develop and execute an annual plan to engage volunteers more deeply in the mission to end hunger, including converting volunteers to advocates and donors.
• Optimize the experience of guests who visit the Food Depository for planned events and large meetings, collaborating with other departments and staff to ensure logistics and spaces are thoughtfully organized for each opportunity.
• Develop and maintain volunteer‑facing communications, orientations, and presentations in partnership with the marketing team, ensuring all materials are accurate, on‑brand, and inspiring.
• Refine processes and ensure volunteer projects efficiently support food distribution in partnership with the warehouse operations & transportation department.
• Identify and carry out opportunities to engage individual, corporate, and foundation donors through impactful volunteer opportunities in partnership with the development department.
• Support the connection of volunteers to community‑based food distributions in partnership with the community impact department.
• Support the Food Depository’s advocacy strategy to build a collective group of voices for policy change in partnership with Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement.
• Optimize volunteer registration and communications through improved systems and software, with an eye toward future innovation.
• Support development and tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure volunteer engagement and program effectiveness.

• 5+ years of management experience in hospitality, customer service, and/or nonprofit volunteer engagement.
• Proven excellence delivering high‑quality customer or volunteer experiences in fast‑paced, high‑traffic environments.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking and presentation development.
• Experience working directly with senior leadership to develop customer engagement strategies.
• Detail oriented, highly organized, and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Demonstrated problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and support several large projects at once.
• Passion for our mission and the people we serve.
• Multilingual skills are a plus.
• A collaborative spirit and enthusiasm for the Food Depository’s values.
• Commitment to working on‑site five days a week, with a regular schedule of Tuesday–Saturday with Sundays and Mondays off.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage
• Employer‑paid life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution
• Generous paid time off
• Parental leave
• On‑site gym
• $3,000 annual employer‑paid Thrive Pass lifestyle and wellness benefit program
• $250 employee referral bonus