Join Our Team
TheTurtleRoom is an organization with volunteer staff stationed all over the United States and internationally. We exist to advance survival of the world's turtles and tortoises through collaborative education, conservation, and research programs. Want to join our team? Start the conversation by telling us about yourself and your love of turtles to see if being a part of the theTurtleRoom team is a fit for you!
If you are interested in any of these positions or have skills that theTurtleRoom could use to help educate about and conserve chelonians, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. To apply for a position, you should also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our executive director.
Expectations of theTurtleRoom Team Members
- Has a passion for the education and conservation of turtles and tortoises.
- Supports theTurtleRoom's mission, vision, belief, and strategy statements.
- Demonstrates commitment to theTurtleRoom's mission and encouragement of others to do the same.
- Shows a desire to grow, develop, and mature both as a person and professionally.
- Displays spirit of cooperation and willingness to serve on a team.
- Conducts oneself with class and professionalism. We have zero tolerance for slander or bullying.
- Has, at minimum, a working knowledge of turtles and/or tortoises and the willingness to continually learn more.
Current Openings
World Turtle News Editor
The World Turtle News (WTN) Editor is responsible for the WTN blog feature and reports to the Executive Director. This individual is responsible for all aspects of WTN including scheduling, format, idea curation, and growth. There is room for growth into greater responsibilities over time. Time required 3-5 hours per week in peak seasons (approximately 30 minutes per day is necessary to process/read/forward stories each day and 30-60 minutes to write a given day's news). All staff positions with theTurtleRoom are currently unpaid, volunteer positions (yes, even our Executive Director). You would be trained by the current WTN Editor who will staying on board in a Contributor role.
If you are interested in this position, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. You can also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our Executive Director.
Responsibilities
Leadership & Management
- Serves as project leader for the WTN blog feature and supervises the team (2-3 individuals) of contributors.
- Engages WTN contributors in regular discussions to develop new ideas for the project.
Resource Development
- Curates ideas to grow and adapt WTN.
- Responsible for scheduling and ensuring the creation of each WTN post. Checks work of contributors and provides quality feedback.
- Responsible for curating stores and writing the WTN blog up to 3 days per week (preferably only 1-2) following the format and protocol s/he has outlined.
- May participate in the development and creation of educational resources under other project leaders.
Qualifications
Required
- Passion for and desire to impact chelonian conservation.
- Desire to grow with theTurtleRoom.
- Speaks and writes English fluently.
- Confident, technically proficient written communication skills.
- Deadline driven.
- Positive, professional personality.
- Able to communicate expectations clearly to subordinates.
- "Obsessive" turtle news consumer.
- Collaboration-minded individual with strong independent work ethic able to make decisions on which stories/articles to post/send to contributors.
- Willingness to create and find new ideas and practices to improve the WTN project.
Preferred
- Strong social media presence.
- Experience with WordPress or similar software.
- Working knowledge of HTML5/CSS.
World Turtle News Contributors
Entry level position. World Turtle News (WTN) Contributors are part of a global team responsible for curating stories and writing the WTN blog 1 to 2 days per week on average (occasionally, a third day may be required to cover for another member of the team). Reports to the WTN Editor and follows the protocol and format chosen by the WTN Editor. Weekly time commitment can vary, but will typically be less than 2 hours per week. All staff positions with theTurtleRoom are currently unpaid, volunteer positions (yes, even our Executive Director).
If you are interested in this position, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. You can also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our Executive Director.
Responsibilities
Resource Development
- Responsible for curating stories and writing the WTN blog up to 3 days per week following the format and protocol outlined by the WTN Editor.
- Participates in brainstorming sessions with WTN Editor and other members of the WTN team on ways to grow and improve the WTN blog feature.
- Will be given the opportunity to show the ability to contribute to other educational resources.
Qualifications
- Passion for and desire to impact chelonian conservation.
- Desire to grow with theTurtleRoom.
- Speaks and writes English fluently.
- Confident written communication skills.
- Collaboration-minded individual with strong independent work ethic able to make decisions on which stories/articles to post.
- An understanding of HTML5/CSS.
- Ability to consistently meet deadlines.
- Willingness to share new ideas and practices to improve the WTN service.
- Experience with WordPress or similar software.
- Working knowledge of HTML5/CSS.
- A "news nerd".
Communications & Fundraising Specialists
We are looking for one or more individuals to fill a collection of public relations, donor relations, and fundraising roles. The specific positions and titles are flexible based on the skills and experience of the individuals hired and will have the opportunity for rapid growth of roles and responsibilities. Each person will be expected to put in a approximately 1-2 hours per week. These individuals will report to the Executive Director and work to ensure messaging is consistent and on point based on the directives set forth by the Executive Director (ED) and Director of Communciations & Development. It is our desire that at least one of these roles would grow to include some in-person responsibilities in our headquarters region. So, we are hoping to find at least 1 high-performing individual who is within driving distance to both Lancaster, PA and Atlantic City, NJ. All staff positions with theTurtleRoom are currently unpaid, volunteer positions (yes, even our Executive Director). However, it is our desire to change this as we grow. So, extreme success, especially in a fundraising role, could enable you to "create your own job" long-term.
If you are interested in this position, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. You can also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our Executive Director.
Responsibilities
The following responsibilities will be divided, in part or whole, between the one or more individuals hired.
Public Relations
- Ensures events, fundraising campaigns, press releases, and other information is disseminated through social media and other channels. This will involve coordinating campaigns/efforts with other organizations from time to time.
- Monitors analytics and effectiveness of social media strategy related to the above item and provides updates to the Director of C&D regarding progress.
- Prepares press releases.
- Writes monthly and quarterly update newsletters to supporters.
- Writes copy for the website.
- Works with media team to source images and video appropriate for each piece of content.
Fundraising & Donor Relations
- Pursue any leads in order to generate donation revenue to support existing program operations and expansion.
- Builds relationships with current and potential donors.
- Plans fundraising events.
Customer Relations
- Handles incoming contacts through both the website and phone lines and either direct them to the appropriate team member or coordinate with the appropriate team member to create the best response.
Qualifications
Required
- Passion for and desire to impact chelonian conservation.
- Desire to grow with theTurtleRoom.
- Speaks and writes English fluently.
- Confident, technically proficient written communication skills.
- Deadline driven.
- Positive, professional personality.
- Comfortable "cold calling" potential donors through various contact methods.
Preferred
- Degree or comparable experience in public relations, media, communications, or a related field.
- Confident, charismatic speaker.
- Strong social media presence.
- Experience with WordPress or similar software.
- Working knowledge of HTML5/CSS.
Staff Writers
We are looking for several individuals interested in writing educational content for theTurtleRoom. Staff Writers are part of a team responsible for creating and authoring educational resources and blog articles. They can be assigned to various educational projects by Education Team Leaders, the Senior Director, and the Executive Director. Weekly time commitment of 1-2 hours per week. Excellent performance can lead to a promotion to Education Team Leader. All staff positions with theTurtleRoom are currently unpaid, volunteer positions (yes, even our Executive Director).
If you are interested in this position, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. You can also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our Executive Director.
Responsibilities
Resource Development
- Creates and authors new educational resources as assigned by team leaders.
- Participates in brainstorming sessions with the Educational Resource Team.
- Responsible for updating and maintaining existing educational resources as assigned by project leaders.
- Works with media team to source images and video appropriate for each piece of content.
- May serve as part of the World Turtle News team.
Qualifications
Required
- Passion for and desire to impact chelonian conservation.
- Desire to grow with theTurtleRoom.
- Speaks and writes English fluently.
- Confident, technically proficient written communication skills.
- Deadline driven.
- Positive, professional personality.
- Willingness to share new ideas to grow the educational resources available from theTurtleRoom.
Preferred
- Experience with WordPress or similar software.
- Working knowledge of HTML5/CSS.
Social Media Specialist, Twitter
We are looking for a motivated individual interested in joining our excellent social media team to focus on improving our stategy and building our following on Twitter.
The ideal candidate will be well-versed in Twitter, experienced in using Twitter, and passionate about connecting through Twitter in a positive manner. Reports to the Executive Director (ED) and Social Media Coordinator (SMC). Will be an online ambassador for theTurtleRoom, responsible for planning the organization's presence on Twitter. All staff positions with theTurtleRoom are currently unpaid, volunteer positions (yes, even our Executive Director).
If you are interested in this position, CLICK HERE to tell us more about yourself and request any additional info. You can also download this application and send a completed copy and a sample of your writing and editing to our Executive Director.
Responsibilities
Communications
Qualifications
Required
Preferred