Phoebe’s Safe Haven is a growing 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing safe, accessible, trauma-informed housing and support for women with disabilities who are survivors of domestic violence. As our volunteer teams expand, we need a stronger Human Resources and People Operations foundation to ensure our internal practices are consistent, accessible, and appropriate for a growing nonprofit.
At this stage, several volunteers support recruitment, onboarding, administrative tracking, and documentation, but we do not yet have a coordinated HR policy framework. This creates the potential for inconsistent practices as the organization grows and as more volunteers take on responsibilities across different teams.
We have already begun building organizational systems, including volunteer position descriptions, recruitment processes, onboarding materials, tracking tools, and administrative procedures. We also have a separate Volunteer Onboarding System and SOP project currently underway. However, we now need an experienced HR professional to review our existing practices, identify priority gaps, and help establish the core policies that should guide our volunteer workforce.
For this project, we are specifically seeking support with an HR needs assessment and foundational policies addressing confidentiality, volunteer conduct, nondiscrimination, and disability inclusion and accommodations.
These areas are especially important to Phoebe’s Safe Haven because our mission centers on accessibility, dignity, confidentiality, and trauma-informed support for survivors with disabilities. Establishing these policies now will provide a strong foundation for future HR work, including volunteer lifecycle procedures, performance support, conflict resolution, and offboarding.
Our goal is to create a clear, practical HR foundation that can support current volunteers and grow with the organization over time.
By the end of this project, Phoebe’s Safe Haven would like to have a clear, practical Human Resources and People Operations foundation that supports our current volunteer workforce and prepares the organization for future growth.
The pro bono consultant will review our existing volunteer-management practices, policies, and related materials to identify HR gaps, risks, and priorities. The consultant will then help us establish a focused set of foundational policies appropriate for a growing volunteer-led nonprofit.
Specific deliverables will include:
• An HR and People Operations needs assessment identifying current strengths, priority gaps, areas of risk, and recommended next steps.
• A core volunteer policy framework that provides consistent standards for the organization.
• A confidentiality policy addressing the protection of survivor, volunteer, donor, organizational, and other sensitive information.
• A volunteer code of conduct establishing expectations for ethical, respectful, professional, and mission-aligned behavior.
• A nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policy appropriate for volunteers and future organizational growth.
• A disability inclusion and accommodations policy that reflects our commitment to accessibility and establishes a clear process for requesting and responding to reasonable accommodations.
• Recommendations identifying policies or HR matters that should receive employment-law or other specialized legal review before adoption.
The consultant will also review our current onboarding materials only as needed to ensure alignment with the new policies. A separate Volunteer Onboarding System and SOP project is already underway, so this project will not recreate that work.
Success would mean Phoebe’s Safe Haven has a professionally developed core HR policy foundation, clear priorities for future HR work, and consistent standards that can guide our volunteer workforce as the organization continues to grow.
