Help Wanted!

We are growing our team of volunteer leaders and now have several Chapter Chair positions open for the following committees – Conservation, Political, Outings, and Membership.  If you are an active Sierra Club member and are looking to make a big difference in the success of the Connecticut chapter, please email connecticut.chapter@sierraclub.org and let us know your future leadership position interests.

 

 

Conservation Chair

Purpose of Position: To provide leadership, direction, and a long-range vision of the Club’s conservation strategy and priorities; to motivate and direct the Conservation Committee; and to appropriately delegate conservation activities.

 

Job Responsibilities: Leadership, Direction, and Guidance on Conservation Issues.

•     Provide chapter leaders with a long-range vision of what the Club’s conservation strategy and priorities should be over the next two to five years.

•     Identify conservation issues needing attention and worthy of chapter consideration.

•     Assist chapter leaders to develop conservation priorities.

•     Design plans and strategies for current conservation campaigns.

•     Report regularly on conservation committee activities to the chapter/group chair, executive committee, and other committees. Motivation, Direction, and Coordination of the Chapter/Group Conservation Committee.

•     Oversee conservation committee activities to ensure that all needed tasks are accomplished.

•     Direct and assist the committee to set goals and carry out objectives. - Coordinate main functions and campaigns of the committee.

 

Delegation of Conservation-related Activities.

•     Identify, recruit and challenge volunteer leaders.

•     Identify individual members’ abilities and interests and assign tasks appropriately. • Train and assign volunteers to carry out conservation activities. - Follow up assignments to be sure they are carried out.

•     Thank volunteers and provide other rewards (social activities, public recognition) to ensure repeat performances.

•     Prevent duplication of work by linking key individuals with one another.

•     Challenge and encourage members to use their talents and skills to the maximum.

  

Political Chair

Purpose of Position: To preserve the environment through grassroots, bipartisan, political action, to elect environmentally supportive candidates, to advance the Sierra Club’s legislative program, and to influence the behavior of public officials.

 

Job Responsibilities:

•      The political committee chair organizes a chapter political committee which is responsible for identifying and supporting candidates for public office who are expected to best represent the goals of the Sierra Club on environmental issues and legislation. The chair is responsible for ensuring compliance with Sierra Club electoral policy and compliance with state and federal election laws.

•      The committee assembles information on candidates through review of legislative records, questionnaires, interviews, past Sierra Club contact, assessment of the campaign, and information of members. The committee makes recommendations and may serve as one of the official voting bodies of the chapter required to review and vote on proposed endorsements or other political action short of endorsement.

•      The chair and committee are responsible for preparing materials on federal candidates and recommending endorsements of other activity to the chapter executive committee.

•      The chair and committee are responsible for preparing materials on state level endorsements, presenting them to the chapter executive committee for approval. The chair is responsible for ensuring that group political committee chairs and volunteer members receive information on compliance with election laws.

•      The committee sets priorities for chapter effort on endorsed campaigns and assists in training volunteers to participate effectively and coordinate with campaigns, and in all aspects of political action such as fund raising, door-to-door, press releases, and so forth.

•      The chair serves as liaison to regional and national offices and to group political chairs.

 

 

Outings Chair

Purpose of Position: The Group Outings Chair provides leadership, direction, and oversight to the group outing program. The Group Outings Chair works to make outdoor activities an integrated and vital element of group efforts.

 

 

Job Responsibilities

•      Maintains current Sierra Club membership.

•      Is familiar with the Outings Leader Training - Basic (OLT 101) and all Club policies and procedures.

•      Ensures group outings are run in accordance with Club policies and guidelines.

•      Manages and minimizes the risk of group outings.

•      Maintains training and first aid certification requirements for outings leaders and ensures that all active leaders have met these requirements.

•      Maintains communication with the Chapter Outings Chair.

•      Maintains the outings approval process.

•      Coordinates scheduling, planning, and publication requirements of group outings as required by local chapter and national policies.

•      Works with leaders to integrate conservation issues into the outings program whenever possible.

•      Maintains records as required by the chapter and/or national staff.

•      Establishes at least a nominal budget for postage, phone calls, etc.

 

 

Membership Chair

Purpose of Position: Welcomes new members and volunteers and ensures that they are engaged in a way that is satisfying, achieves the chapter/group's goals, and furthers the Club's mission. The Membership Chair should be someone who enjoys meeting people and going to social events. The Chair works with all sections of the Chapter/Group to help provide people necessary to achieve the Chapter/Group’s goals. The Chair ensures that people are engaged in a way that is satisfying and furthers the Chapter/Group’s mission.

 

Job Responsibilities:

 

•      Creates a monthly planning calendar for member engagement activities working with the Chapter/Group Chair and ExCom.

•      Recruits 1-5 people to work on the Member Engagement Team (“Team”). Familiarizes each team member on their activities and delegates authority to each to perform their functions.

•      Administration (or delegate to Administrator on Team): Be the contact for member inquiries and responses; order all membership materials from National through Campfire; receives the monthly Chapter/Group change reports and sends welcome letters to new members; identifies and personally contacts select volunteers by phone; tracks attendance at new member events and at monthly “activity” or “program” meetings.

•      Recruits new members and volunteers (or delegate to Recruiter on Team): recruits new members and volunteers through Chapter/Group newsletter, on the web using LinkShare, tabling events, outings, etc.; send out, or places in newsletter, volunteer survey and forward volunteer information on to the various sections in Chapter/Group; makes presentations at Chapter/Group meetings asking for volunteers.

•      Member Engagement activities (or delegate to Events Coordinator on Team): Finds someone to create one or more monthly “activities” or “programs” that revolve around an issue of interest to them or the Chapter/Group.(ex. Like travelogue, a book club, restaurant club, etc.) Tracks the progress of these member engagement activities. Hold a new member welcome party each quarter.

•      Publicity/Recruitment activities (or delegate to Publicity on Team): places invitations to member engagement activities in Chapter/Group newsletter and website; puts posters up in local outdoor and other appropriate stores to announce events; puts article in newsletter about member/volunteer events/parties; puts photos/article in local newspaper for larger events for the public; arranges for someone to do a summer series of tabling events; puts scheduled events in the local community calendar of events or pitch to local media for larger public events.

•      Volunteer Coordination (need to delegate to Volunteer Coordinator on Team): Involve wider number of members and community support for the 1-2 new “activities” or programs created in #5 above. Keeps records of who came to volunteer and engagement events; manage correspondence and schedule; creates volunteer awards and recognition program. Creates a program for the retention and upgrade of volunteer commitment.

•      Develops and maintains historical data and procedures for member engagement programs for future planning and future member engagement chairs.

•      Before leaving office, train your replacement and pass along all plans, results, and materials to your replacement.