Workshop Coordinator (Volunteer Position)

Blind Professionals Network (BPN) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to empowering blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals to achieve professional success. We provide free career development, specialized training, and a vital peer network to break down employment barriers.

Position Summary

The BPN Workshop Coordinator is a strategic and creative volunteer role responsible for the end-to-end planning and execution of BPN’s professional development programming. This individual oversees the flagship Empower To Thrive Workshops and the Professional Empowerment Wednesday series. The Coordinator ensures that all programming is relevant, high-quality, and fully accessible, providing our community with the tools needed to thrive in the modern workforce.

Key Responsibilities

Programming & Content Strategy:

Curriculum Development: In partnership with the Leadership Team, identify emerging career trends and skill gaps within the BVI community to curate an annual workshop calendar.
Series Oversight: Manage the distinct requirements for different tracks, ensuring a balance between foundational soft skills (Empower To Thrive) and technical or industry-specific topics (Professional Empowerment Wednesday).
Scheduling: Maintain the organizational master calendar for all virtual events, ensuring consistent delivery and avoiding conflicts with other BPN initiatives.

Speaker & Presenter Management:

Sourcing: Identify and recruit subject matter experts, industry leaders, and successful BVI professionals to serve as guest speakers and workshop facilitators.
Onboarding: Brief speakers on BPN’s mission, audience demographics, and specific accessibility requirements (e.g., describing visual slides, verbalizing chat comments).
Logistics: Coordinate technical "tech-checks" with speakers prior to live sessions to ensure platform familiarity and audio/video quality.

Marketing & Promotion:

Internal Collaboration: Work closely with the Marketing Team to provide event descriptions, speaker bios, and key learning objectives for social media, newsletters, and the website.
Outreach: Assist in identifying external professional groups or partner organizations where specific workshops can be cross-promoted.

Event Execution & Accessibility:

Platform Management: Serve as the lead moderator or technical host for Zoom/virtual sessions, managing recordings, breakout rooms, and Q&A.
Accessibility Vetting: Review all presenter materials (PowerPoints, PDFs, handouts) in advance to ensure they are fully accessible to screen-reader users.
Material Distribution: Ensure participants receive accessible copies of workshop resources before or immediately after the session.

Evaluation & Reporting:

Feedback Collection: Design and implement "Post-Workshop" surveys to measure participant satisfaction and learning outcomes.
Impact Tracking: Maintain records of attendance numbers and speaker effectiveness to report monthly to the Leadership Team.

Qualifications

Experience: Proven experience in event coordination, corporate training, adult education, or project management.
Technical Proficiency: High level of comfort with virtual meeting platforms (Zoom and Google Meet) and Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Forms).
Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with a professional "public-facing" demeanor for introducing speakers.
Organization: Superior attention to detail and the ability to track multiple moving parts (speaker deadlines, promotional timelines, and scheduling) simultaneously.
Accessibility Knowledge: Strong familiarity with digital accessibility standards and a commitment to ensuring all educational content is inclusive of the BVI community.
Interpersonal Skills: Ability to network with industry professionals and build relationships with potential presenters.
Personal commitment to the mission of BPN and empowering professional success of BVI individuals.

Reporting Structure

This position reports to the Events Manager.

Time Commitment

This is a volunteer position requiring an estimated commitment of 3–5 hours per week. Time is spent on planning meetings, speaker outreach, and the live hosting of workshops (which typically occur on Wednesdays or scheduled evenings).

Application

If you believe this position aligns with your skills, experience and career goals, please follow these steps to begin the application process:

Submit Your Credentials: Send your resume and a letter of interest to Training@BlindProNet.org. In your letter, please detail your relevant professional experience and your specific motivation for joining the Blind Professionals Network Team.
Complete the Application: After submitting your application, finalize your application by completing the BPN Volunteer Application.

Important Note: Completing both of these steps is essential to initiate our onboarding process and helps us ensure a mutually beneficial placement within the organization.