Director of Community Building & Belonging (Volunteer)

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability. We deliver consistent, high-quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces. Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well-being, and creative voice within a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility-centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity-protective storytelling, consent-driven engagement, and deep community partnership.

About the Role

MAP is seeking a Director of Community Building & Belonging to design and lead strategies that foster authentic connection and strengthen community across MAP’s ecosystem. This role focuses on building sustainable pathways for:

• Student connection
• Family engagement
• Volunteer belonging
• School and shelter relationships
• Community partnership development
• Cross-site connection and culture-building

The ideal candidate understands that community is intentionally designed, nurtured, and sustained. This is a community leadership and relationship systems role focused on engagement, belonging, and ecosystem-building.

Responsibilities

• Community Engagement Strategy
  • Develop and support organization-wide community engagement strategies
  • Help strengthen connection between MAP participants, families, and partners
  • Build systems that support long-term engagement and relationship continuity
• Relationship-Building Systems
  • Design pathways that strengthen trust and communication across MAP’s ecosystem
  • Help build systems that support ongoing connection and participation
  • Support intentional relationship-building practices across programs and sites
• Family & Youth Connection Pathways
  • Help develop meaningful engagement opportunities for youth and families
  • Support initiatives that foster belonging, participation, and shared community identity
  • Strengthen communication and connection between MAP and participating families
• Belonging & Community Culture Initiatives
  • Develop initiatives that strengthen culture, inclusion, and belonging
  • Help create welcoming and emotionally supportive community experiences
  • Support dignity-centered approaches to engagement and participation
• Cross-Site & Community Programming
  • Help coordinate community-building experiences across schools, shelters, and MAP sites
  • Support events, gatherings, and initiatives that strengthen relationships
  • Encourage collaboration across programs and community spaces
• Listening & Feedback Systems
  • Develop systems that elevate community voice and lived experience
  • Support listening sessions, feedback loops, and engagement practices
  • Help ensure community perspectives inform programming and organizational growth

Why This Role Matters

Many nonprofits provide services. Few intentionally build community ecosystems. MAP believes belonging is not secondary to support—it is part of support itself. This role helps ensure that students, families, volunteers, schools, and partners are not simply connected to services, but connected to one another through trust, participation, and shared community.

Requirements

• Required
  • Strong relationship-building and communication skills
  • Experience in community engagement, organizing, partnerships, or human-centered work
  • Systems-thinking and collaborative mindset
  • Strong organizational and facilitation ability
  • Alignment with MAP’s mission and dignity-centered values
• Preferred
  • Experience working with schools, families, youth programs, or community organizations
  • Background in community development, nonprofit engagement, public programs, or social impact work
  • Experience facilitating community dialogue or belonging initiatives
  • Interest in trauma-informed and relationship-centered approaches

Commitment

• Volunteer leadership role
• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment required
• Remote / hybrid with NYC collaboration as needed

Benefits

• Leadership experience building community systems and engagement strategy
• Opportunity to shape MAP’s culture of belonging and connection
• Collaboration across programs, partnerships, and public engagement teams
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Meaningful experience strengthening human-centered systems of support

This role is limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements.