Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Non Profits

Fall 2010/Winter 2011 Consultants and Engagement Managers

About Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Non-Profits (Endeavour)

Endeavour provides management consulting to enable non-profit leaders to improve organizational performance and social impact. We are a volunteer organization that serves non-profits that otherwise cannot afford professional consulting. Since 2007, Endeavour has recruited and managed more than 200 volunteers to provide management advice to non-profits helping communities in many areas, such as the arts, children and family services, disabilities, education, environment, healthcare, immigrant services, rural development, skills training, social justice, poverty relief, and youth development. Learn more about Endeavour at www.endeavourvolunteer.ca.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

Endeavour is looking for talented, committed and enthusiastic individuals to contribute to social change by volunteering on our upcoming consulting projects. As a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to work in a consulting team on a six-month project to provide strategic advice to the leadership team of a non-profit to help improve community impact. To learn more about our past projects, view our Project List.

Endeavour’s consulting teams are typically composed of five consultants led by an engagement manager, with mentorship from a project advisor. Our volunteer engagement managers and consultants range from university students to seasoned professionals from various backgrounds and industries. The consultants and engagement managers work directly with the client on a project to help the client achieve its goals.

Equal Responsibilities of Consultants and Engagement Managers:

Attending an orientation, mid-term and final review sessions, debrief sessions during and post-engagement, and three training workshops
Developing a statement of work based on team consultations with your client and project advisor
Researching, collecting, analyzing and synthesizing data
Developing strategic options and recommendations
Attending regular meetings with your team, client and advisor
Making presentations to your client, members of the Advisory Board and Executive Team, and fellow consulting teams
Assisting your team in providing monthly progress reports to the Executive Team
Sharing your experiences and feedback with fellow consulting teams and the Executive Team in review sessions and debriefs

Additional Responsibilities of Senior Consultants & Consultants

The senior consultants and consultants are responsible for streams of project work. In addition to the above responsibilities, the senior consultants and consultants are also responsible for escalating issues to the Executive Team related to the performance of their Engagement Manager. The Executive Team will staff a volunteer as Senior Consultant or Consultant based on the individual’s experience. Only Endeavour volunteers who have previously been staffed on a consulting engagement are eligible for the Senior Consultant role.

Additional Responsibilities of Engagement Manager (EM)

The engagement manager (EM) plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges of our non-profit client during the six-month consulting engagement. The EM is an experienced manager and leader with client experience who has the capability and responsibility for the following five areas, which have equal importance:

1) Project Leadership & Management
The EM manages the entire project life cycle, including: diagnosing the client needs through client consultations; defining the problem statement, scope of work and timeline; structuring and executing the problem solving methodology correctly; leveraging the knowledge and creativity of the senior consultants and consultants to generate solutions; managing the consulting team to meet project milestones; leveraging the expertise of the project advisor for feedback on methodology, research and solutions; submitting detailed monthly progress reports to the Executive Team; and escalating team performance issues to the Executive Team. The EM typically still does hands-on work and analysis, instead of playing a purely managerial role. It is the responsibility of the EM to ensure that the final deliverable is of the highest quality and meets or exceeds the client’s expectations.

2) Client Leadership & Relations
The EM builds and maintains a close working relationship with the non-profit client assigned to his/her consulting team, including: developing a good understanding of the client’s sector and strategic and organizational issues; identifying the root causes of the client’s challenges and long-term solutions to help the client improve their impact and sustainability; and overseeing and managing the relationship with the client, including communicating at least weekly/bi-weekly with the client on the status and progress of the consulting project and scheduling client meetings.

3) Advisor Relations
The EM builds and maintains a close working relationship with the project advisor assigned to his/her consulting team, including: working with the advisor and team to set expectations around meetings and communications; leveraging the expertise of the advisor for feedback on the statement of work, methodology, research, resources, solutions, presentations and final deliverable; and overseeing and managing the relationship with the advisor, including communicating at least weekly/bi-weekly with the advisor on the status and progress of the consulting project and scheduling advisor meetings.

4) Associate Development
The EM motivates, supports and enables his/her associates (both senior consultants and consultants) to become high performers on the consulting engagement by: identifying and leveraging the talents, knowledge and creativity of the senior consultants and consultants on his/her team; designing work streams and matching them to leverage the strengths of the associates; transferring knowledge; providing opportunities for associates to take ownership and leadership; providing feedback to associates to help them develop; and monitoring and managing team performance.

5) Organizational Development & Knowledge Management
The EM plays a leading role on his/her consulting team in helping Endeavour to develop and strengthen our organizational capacity to serve our clients and share knowledge among volunteers in the organization by: ensuring active participation and learning by yourself and all team members in our orientation, training sessions, and mid-term and final reviews; providing feedback and suggestions for improvement to the Executive Team; and sharing the consulting team’s statement of work, presentations and final deliverable with the Executive Team for Endeavour’s Knowledge Centre.

Support & Resources

The following support and resources are available to Endeavour consulting teams:

Orientation & Review Sessions: Projects kick off with an orientation where volunteers are introduced to engagement managers, consultants and advisors in their round, key Endeavour executives, and Endeavour’s volunteer management approach. Consulting teams and advisors come together again for the mid-term and final review sessions where each consulting team presents their work to date and receive feedback from the audience.
Non-Profit Consulting Training: Endeavour volunteers receive training in the essential consulting skills for volunteer engagements with non-profit clients. Three training sessions are held throughout the engagement, led by a seasoned consultant/professor with experience in non-profit/social sector consulting. The sessions also provide volunteers with the opportunity to learn from the challenges and approaches of former volunteers.
Engagement Manager (EM) Support Network: An engagement manager (EM) training session is held prior to general orientation and an EM mailing list provides new EMs with the opportunity to learn and interact with alumni EMs before they begin and as they progress through their engagements. Furthermore, new EMs are assigned a dedicated EM Mentor to whom they can turn for informal advice, feedback, ideas, etc. during the entire duration of the project.
Advice & Mentorship: Each team is paired with an experienced consulting and/or non-profit professional from Endeavour’s Advisory Board who acts as a mentor to the consulting team throughout the consulting engagement.
Subject Matter Experts: Throughout the engagement, consulting teams can contact Endeavour’s Subject Matter Experts for advice and/or resources in specific areas, such as research design, consulting methodologies, and non-profit resources.
Online Knowledge Centre and Project Management Websites: Endeavour volunteers have access to Endeavour’s Knowledge Centre containing work from past Endeavour consulting teams, resources from past training sessions, consulting engagement templates, and external resources recommended by Endeavour advisors and executives. Endeavour’s Director of Knowledge Management will also set up a custom Endeavour project management website for consulting teams that request one.
Knowledge Brokers: Most teams are staffed with a knowledge broker, a former Endeavour volunteer that provides information relevant to your project/client sector and insights from their previous experience with an Endeavour consulting engagement. There are also unstaffed knowledge brokers that can be contacted by teams through the Knowledge Centre. For more information on Endeavour’s knowledge brokering initiative, see the article by Endeavour’s Director of Knowledge Management, “Using Knowledge Brokering in the Non-Profit Sector.”
Ongoing Feedback: In addition to feedback from the project advisor and at review sessions, teams receive feedback from the Executive Team on monthly progress reports and exchange feedback with the Executive Team at the pre-midterm and post-engagement debrief sessions.
Meeting Space: Consulting teams have access to meeting space at City of Toronto buildings (such as Toronto Metro Hall and City Hall), and the Volunteer Toronto boardroom. Teams are required to make booking requests in advance.
Executive Team: Endeavour’s Director of Project Management serves as the main liaison between consulting teams and Endeavour’s Executive Team during the project lifecycle, managing volunteer communications, progress reports, and any issues that might arise. The Executive Team welcomes questions and feedback from volunteers at all times in order to provide the necessary support and to continuously improve.

Benefits

Our volunteer opportunities allow you to enjoy both personal and professional growth. As a volunteer with Endeavour, you will have the opportunity to:

Work with non-profit leaders to improve community impact of their organization
Learn from and network with like-minded individuals and professionals ranging from seasoned consultants to community leaders
Build experience, knowledge and skills in consulting and the non-profit sector
Strengthen your leadership, management, presentation, and client relations skills
Gain exposure to different areas of work and potential career paths
Volunteer on a flexible schedule
Contribute to the growing success of a young non-profit

To learn more about what it’s like to volunteer with Endeavour, check out the following:

Endeavour Annual Report, including volunteer testimonials
Endeavour volunteer blog entries
- Expect the Unexpected with Consulting, by Tanya Rumble, Endeavour Consultant
- A First-Timer’s First Impressions, by Genevieve Sovereign, Endeavour Consultant
Endeavour photos from orientations, training sessions, public workshops and fundraisers

Post-Consulting Engagement

Endeavour is dedicated to providing a high quality experience for both our non-profit clients and volunteers, and will remain in touch with our clients and volunteers to evaluate the impact of the consulting engagement at the 6, 12 and 24 month marks following the formal completion of the consulting engagement. Volunteers will be invited to attend project follow-up meetings, but this is not a requirement of the volunteer consultant and engagement manager roles. High-performing volunteers will have the opportunity to continue volunteering as a consultant/senior consultant/engagement manager/knowledge broker for future projects, and will also receive preferred consideration for any committee and executive openings.

Other Networking & Educational Opportunities

As a volunteer with Endeavour, we encourage you to attend our networking fundraisers and public workshops to learn more, network with people outside Endeavour, and to share your experiences with those interested in joining Endeavour.

Requirements for Engagement Managers & Consultants:

Enthusiasm for working with non-profit organizations
Active participation and commitment for the entire duration of the consulting engagement
Strong leadership, teamwork, communication, interpersonal, presentation, research and analytical skills

Additional Requirements for Engagement Managers:

Experience managing/leading a team
Project management experience
Client experience
At least one year of full-time corporate work experience
Consulting experience preferred
Non-profit experience preferred

Screening Criteria

Applicants will be assessed on the following criteria. Not all of the criteria are required, but candidates with experience and skills in the preferred areas, such as non-profit and consulting, are considered a stronger match.

Criteria	Candidates Should Demonstrate the Following:
Communication	Strong written and verbal communication skills
Team Work	Team work skills and experience through work, volunteer, or extracurricular activities
Non-Profit	Experience in the non-profit sector through work, volunteer, or extracurricular activities
People Leadership	People leadership experience and skills through work, volunteer, or extracurricular activities
Project Management	Project management experience and skills through work, volunteer, or extracurricular activities
Consulting	Consulting skills and experience through work, volunteer or extracurricular activities
Client Service	Client service skills and experience through work, volunteer or extracurricular activities
Overall	Well thought-out and well written responses to application questions

Volunteers are required to be available to attend the following events for Round 7, tentatively scheduled for the following dates:

MONTH 1: September 18 - Engagement Manager Orientation (Engagement Managers only)

MONTH 1: September 26 - Orientation & Training Session I

MONTH 2: October 23 - Training Session II
MONTH 3: November 20 - Midterm Review
MONTH 4: December 11 - Training Session III
MONTH 5: February 5 - Final Review

Time Commitment

Depending on the phase of the 6-month project, volunteers are expected to commit 5-10 hours per week for project work, meetings, events and travel. Volunteers schedule meetings with their team, client and advisor based on the availability of the participants, and make their own travel arrangements to and from meetings and events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before directing your inquiries to recruitment@endeavourvolunteer.ca, please review our answers to frequently asked questions.

Application Instructions

If you have at least one year of experience managing a team and working with clients within a consulting firm or similar business environment, you should apply for the engagement manager role. If you would like to be considered for a consultant role as well, you can also apply for that position and will be considered for both. Only current or past Endeavour volunteers are eligible to be staffed as senior consultants and knowledge brokers. Please include all leadership, volunteer and extracurricular activities in your resume.

Round 7 - Fall 2010/Winter 2011 applications will be accepted until Sunday, July 25, 2010, 11:59PM

CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE NOW (note that application data cannot be saved). Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Successful candidates will be contacted for an interview to take place in the second half of August 2010 in downtown Toronto (tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 21/22). The interview will include behavioural and situational questions, as well as a non-profit business case.

ATTEND JULY 22ND EVENT TO LEARN MORE: Please join us for Endeavour’s Summer Mixer on July 22nd from 7PM to 10PM at SHAMBA Space (48 Yonge Street, Suite 1200, Toronto ON M5E 1G6). This is a great opportunity to learn how social enterprise can help non-profit organizations, to connect with corporate and non-profit professionals who are passionate about making a change in our community, and to learn more about Endeavour from current and past volunteers and clients. Visit www.endeavourvolunteer.ca/networking for details and registration.