Volunteer Coordinator

1Day Sooner is looking for a Volunteer Coordinator to join their team.

Overview:

• Full-time position
• Language: English
• Location: Anywhere (Remote)
• Salary: $65,000 – $85,000 USD per year
• Applications closing: until filled

Job Description

1Day Sooner advances trials, technologies, and policies by representing people who participate in medical studies to fight infectious disease. The Volunteer Coordinator will support participants across all phases of study involvement from study ideation, recruitment, enrolment, and long-term follow-up through ongoing engagement and advocacy.

They will develop and execute targeted outreach strategies, maintain volunteer data, collaborate closely with study teams and community organisations, and serve as a strong advocate for participant perspectives.

This position would be part of the Cooperative Participant Organisation (CPO), which provides study support and empowers research participants to be involved at every stage of a study. We have a particular focus on challenge studies, where participants are deliberately infected to study a disease or to test vaccines and treatments.

Responsibilities

As a Volunteer Coordinator at 1Day Sooner you will be responsible for the following:

• Participant Outreach:
  • Develop and implement strategies to invite, train, and retain volunteers for 1Day Sooner’s participant community
  • Develop and implement study and city-specific strategies for reaching existing and potential participants
  • Manage relationships with highly engaged volunteers and past clinical trial participants.
  • Create public-facing materials for potential study participants with the support of scientific staff.
• Engagement and Retention:
  • Foster a positive and supportive volunteer community through regular communication and engagement initiatives, including participant-focused newsletters, social media posts, etc., in collaboration with a full-time communications staff.
  • Address volunteer questions, concerns, and needs promptly and effectively.
  • Support positive participant experience during and following the trial, including informal follow-up and volunteer appreciation events.
• Participant Research:
  • Help conduct volunteer focused research through focus groups, surveys, and informational interviews to understand potential participant motivations and preferences.
  • Work directly with community organizations to do outreach and understand local context for specific diseases and human subject research generally.
• Administrative Coordination:
  • Maintain accurate and confidential records of volunteer data, communications, and participation metrics.
  • Collaborate with study teams to ensure volunteers receive timely information regarding trial opportunities, requirements, and updates.
• Cross-Cultural Communication:
  • Develop materials and communications that are culturally appropriate and accessible for volunteers from diverse backgrounds.
  • Provide insights and support for recruitment and engagement strategies globally. Of particular interest is expanding our reach in South and Southeast Asia and South America.
• Advocacy and Representation:
  • Serve as a liaison between volunteers and study teams, advocating for volunteer needs and ensuring ethical and participant-centred practices.
  • Contribute to advocacy and policy research initiatives that enhance volunteer representation and well-being.
  • Run community advisory boards for specific studies.
  • Interface with media organisations, including matching journalists with trial participants and other volunteers.
  • Travel to and participate in workshops and conferences relevant to research participants, for example, on patient and public involvement

Role Requirements

The ideal candidate will have the following traits and abilities:

• Strong Outreach and Recruitment Skills: Experience creating and running effective participant outreach campaigns. Able to craft engaging materials for prospective participants (with input from scientific and communications staff) and maintain relationships with highly engaged volunteers.
• Community-Focused Mindset: Skilled at fostering ongoing volunteer engagement (newsletters, social media, etc.) and addressing questions/concerns in a timely, empathetic way.
• Basic Research and Listening Skills: Familiarity with running focus groups, surveys, or informational interviews.
• Administrative Prowess: Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable using databases/CRMs.
• Cross-Cultural Communication: Insight into (and excitement for) working with a diverse pool of volunteers worldwide.
• Advocacy and Representation: Able to represent volunteer interests to study teams and policy stakeholders; Passionate about ethical and participant-centered approaches.
• Collaborative, Mission-Driven Outlook: Motivated by 1Day Sooner’s mission, comfortable working closely with scientific staff, comms teams, community organizations, and global networks.
• Willingness to Travel (10-25%): Position may require travel to conferences, study sites, and workshops globally.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to see your application!

How to apply?

To apply for this role, please fill in the application form.

The full hiring process for roles at 1Day Sooner generally involve:

• Submitting a resume and cover letter
• An initial remote interview
• Further remote interviews with additional team members
• Invitation to take a paid-by-hour work trial to simulate the work you would do if hired and/or evaluate certain skills important for success in the role
  • All of our work tests are created “in house” and closely resemble actual work done by staff
• Reference checks
• A final employment offer