SUPPORT WRV
Project Leader: Guiding Successful Volunteer Restoration Projects
Project Leaders play a vital role in advancing Wildlands Restoration Volunteers’ mission by providing vision, coordination, and logistical oversight for volunteer restoration projects. As a Project Leader, you help foster teamwork, ensure volunteer experiences are excellent, and support the impact of hands-on ecological stewardship throughout Colorado.
Project Leaders work closely with WRV staff and trained volunteer leaders to plan, implement, and wrap up projects — bringing people together to care for the land in meaningful, organized ways. WRV
What Is a Project Leader?
A Project Leader (PL) takes responsibility for project planning, oversight, and execution for WRV volunteer projects. PLs lead and facilitate a team of trained volunteer leaders to ensure that every project runs smoothly and that volunteers have a great experience in the field. This role is central to the successful completion of work and to nurturing a strong community of land stewards.
How Project Leaders Make an Impact
Project Leaders bring vision and logistical management to their project teams. They coordinate planning meetings, organize communications among team members, and work with agency partners and staff to develop logistics plans. By helping plan, implement, and debrief projects, Project Leaders strengthen WRV’s capacity to deliver impactful restoration outcomes while creating positive volunteer experiences.
Responsibilities and Collaboration
A Project Leader serves as a primary liaison between the project team and the WRV Staff Liaison (WSL), communicates with agency contacts, recruits additional team members as needed, and coordinates educational and social activities associated with the project. They document volunteer hours, help manage logistics on the project day, and support the team in reflecting on lessons learned afterwards.
Background, Training, and Preparation
Effective Project Leaders bring strong organizational, communication, and planning skills. Many come to this role after gaining experience as certified WRV volunteer leaders, such as crew leaders or tool managers. WRV encourages prospective Project Leaders to participate in multiple projects and complete relevant leadership trainings — including ecological restoration and project leadership sessions — to build confidence and capability.
Commitment and Involvement
Project Leaders typically facilitate several project team meetings, attend site visits, and support crew orientation — arriving before volunteers on project day and staying through project completion. Leaders may also mentor new Project Leaders and participate in broader WRV planning discussions, helping sustain the culture of excellence and community that makes WRV projects so meaningful.
PROJECT LEADER
Description
The project leader (PL) takes responsibility for project planning, oversight and execution. The PL leads and facilitates a team of skilled volunteer leaders to ensure successful project completion and an excellent volunteer experience.
Objectives
The PL contributes vision and logistical management to the Project Team. PLs see the “big picture” of project needs and, through effective communication, facilitation, coordination, delegation, and proactive planning ensure the project team completes all steps necessary to plan, implement and document a successful project. The PL has a special interest in ensuring the members of their team and all volunteers attending the project have a great volunteer experience.
Responsibilities
- Serve as primary liaison between project team and WRV staff lead (WSL).
- Obtain and compile all project documentation from previous or similar projects.
- Facilitate communication among project team members (technical advisor(s), tool manager(s), crew leaders, cooks, etc.), schedule and facilitate planning meetings as needed, and build team spirit.
- Act as liaison with agency contact (AC) regarding project logistics, and coordinate with AC and TA to create a logistics plan and schedule.
- Recruit additional team members as necessary, with support from WSL.
- With technical advisor, determine number of volunteers needed to accomplish project and communicate that to the WSL, who oversees recruitment.
- Prepare project information notes and any other communication for distribution to volunteers by WSL.
- Coordinate educational talks, social gatherings, or other enrichment activities to be held on project day/weekend, as appropriate.
- Oversee project day logistics to ensure successful work and positive volunteer experience.
- Document hours of all project team volunteers and record in WRV database.
- Schedule and facilitate project debrief discussion, and provide project and completed documentation to WSL.
Background and qualifications
PLs should have strong organizational, planning, and communication skills. Experience planning some type of project or event required. Previous experience as a certified WRV crew leader and tool manager preferred.
Training and preparation
Prospective PLs should attend several WRV projects before taking a leadership role, and will preferably have experience as a crew leader on a project similar to the one s/he is interested in leading. Ideally, PLs will complete the COTI/WRV Ecological Restoration Crew Leadership training and the WRV Project Leadership training prior to leading a project. WRV offers additional training opportunities in project management, group facilitation, and other topics.
Time and place
PLs facilitate one – three project team meetings prior to the project; attend one or more site visits; participate in the crew leader orientation, and conduct a debrief meeting after the project is complete. The PL arrives at the project site before volunteers and can expect to leave after all volunteers have departed.
Commitment
Lead, or mentor a new PL on at least one project per year. May contribute to training and mentoring new PLs. May attend WRV organizational planning meetings.
Oversight
PLs work with the technical advisor, WRV Staff, crew leaders, project support/cooks, tool managers, land management agency staff, and volunteers. The WSL and PL work together to oversee the project.
Measures of success
- Clearly documented communication approach
- Successfully completed work on project day
- Project volunteers welcomed, included, and encouraged to participate in other projects
- Project team members feel successful
- “Lessons learned” passed on to future project team
- PL enjoyed themselves and want to be a PL again