Project Overview
We need a volunteer who can virtually conduct a comprehensive HR assessment and then deliver concrete recommendations on necessary improvements.
Our nonprofit needs your help to build organizational resiliency by investing in our people. During this project, a volunteer will assess where our organization stands internally, brainstorm how to improve upon weaknesses, and how we can further lean into organizational strengths. Investigating which HR policies should be implemented, researching wellness programs, comparing employee benefits, or conducting an internal engagement survey may all be elements of this work.
We have grown exponentially in a very short amount of time and continue to expand into areas that need our support. Our organization hired its first employee in September of 2021 and since then, we have grown to be a staff of 18. We are a 501C3 nonprofit with a focus on building holistic support systems for those who either time out of, or are ineligible for, federal resettlement services in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas. This includes refugees and SIVs in need of additional assistance beyond their first 90 days, those seeking asylum in our community, and others who come to us asking for safety and find themselves outside a particular program eligibility. Through our programs centered on long-term career pathways, ongoing school assistance and scholarships, health and wellness, and legal assistance, we raise awareness of the strength and resilience of communities across the state, with special attention to rural areas where exploitation and trafficking are all too common.
Currently, our Deputy Director is also our HR Director. We need assistance from expert HR volunteers to ensure that our HR practices are solid, effective, and have potential for high retention rates. Considering the work we do, there is ample reason for burnout and triggering moments.This project will involve the exchange of sensitive internal information. With that in mind, we've done the pre-work internally to ensure leadership and staff buy-in to this work and gather the information that will be handed off to the volunteer. HR handbook, policies, compensation package, internal structure and philosophy. The recommendations shared by our volunteer partner will be incorporated into our operations and people strategy in the coming months.
Nonprofit Overview
PACIFIC REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP (formerly Portland Refugee Support Group) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit focused on re-empowering refugees, asylum seekers, and newcomers to the community through a trauma-informed care, culturally responsive, and human-centered approach.
The story of Pacific Refugee Support Group began in 2016 when a small group of women concerned about the ongoing crisis in Syria began offering support to a refugee family newly arriving in Portland. Today, hundreds of families throughout the Pacific Northwest are offered that same support. The majority of our staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers, are still primarily drawn from the communities in which we work, and are trained in a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and individual centered approach to re-empowering each refugee, asylum seeker, and newly arriving member of our community.