Community Engagement Specialist – Gainesville in Gainesville, Florida at Gift of Life Marrow Registry Inc

Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a nonprofit organization dedicated to curing blood cancer and other life-threatening diseases through cellular therapy. Every day, our work gives patients a second chance at life by ensuring that a donor match can be found for any patient, anywhere, at any time. We do this by educating communities, inspiring action, and empowering people to say “yes” to saving a life.

If you are energized by people, motivated by purpose, and driven by measurable results, this role offers the opportunity to make a direct impact throughout the Greater Gainesville community.

The Community Engagement Specialist – Greater Gainesville is a field-based, results-driven position responsible for expanding Gift of Life Marrow Registry’s presence, community engagement, and donor recruitment performance throughout the Greater Gainesville area.

This individual will take ownership of developing a strong and sustainable territory by identifying opportunities, building relationships, securing partnerships, executing donor recruitment events, and inspiring individuals to join Gift of Life’s registry.

The Community Engagement Specialist will spend significant time in the community developing relationships with colleges and universities, businesses, community organizations, athletic organizations, event organizers, and other partners that provide opportunities to educate and engage individuals about joining Gift of Life’s registry.

Success in this position requires more than strong community engagement skills. The ideal candidate is a proactive relationship builder who thrives in a performance-based environment, understands how to develop a territory, actively seeks new opportunities, and is motivated by achieving and exceeding measurable recruitment goals.

• Develop and execute a comprehensive donor recruitment strategy for the Greater Gainesville territory focused on achieving established recruitment goals.

• Identify, prospect, and cultivate new recruitment opportunities across colleges and universities, businesses, community organizations, special events, civic groups, athletic organizations, and other high-potential audiences.

• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective partners, events, and recruitment opportunities throughout the territory.

• Proactively conduct outreach through phone calls, email, in-person meetings, networking, referrals, and community engagement to generate new opportunities.

• Evaluate potential opportunities based on audience demographics, anticipated participation, recruitment potential, and expected return on time and resources.

• Establish a consistent Gift of Life presence within priority communities and organizations throughout Greater Gainesville.

• Build authentic, long-term relationships with university administrators, student leaders, business leaders, community organizations, event organizers, and other influential partners.

• Represent Gift of Life at community events, networking opportunities, conferences, meetings, college campuses, corporate events, and other gatherings throughout the region.

• Develop partnerships that create recurring rather than solely one-time recruitment opportunities.

• Identify community champions who can expand Gift of Life’s reach through their organizations, networks, and influence.

• Serve as a visible and knowledgeable representative of Gift of Life throughout the Greater Gainesville community.

• Plan, coordinate, and lead high-impact donor recruitment drives, presentations, tabling events, and community activations.

• Engage prospective registry members directly and communicate Gift of Life’s mission in a compelling, accurate, and approachable manner.

• Create engaging recruitment experiences designed to turn awareness and interest into completed registry registrations.

• Adapt recruitment approaches to effectively engage Gainesville’s diverse communities and audiences.

• Recruit, train, motivate, and support volunteers, student ambassadors, organizational partners, and other individuals assisting with recruitment efforts.

• Ensure recruitment events are professionally executed and consistent with Gift of Life standards and procedures.

• Achieve established individual donor recruitment goals and other key performance indicators for the Greater Gainesville territory.

• Maintain consistent focus on measurable outcomes, including registry registrations, recruitment event performance, new partnerships, pipeline development, and conversion of opportunities into completed recruitment activities.

• Monitor individual and territory performance regularly and adjust outreach strategies based on results.

• Analyze event and partnership performance to identify the activities, audiences, and relationships generating the greatest recruitment impact.

• Maintain a healthy pipeline of future recruitment opportunities sufficient to support short- and long-term goals.

• Demonstrate personal accountability for results and proactively develop solutions when performance is below target.

• Provide regular updates on territory activity, pipeline development, recruitment results, challenges, and upcoming opportunities.

• Deliver engaging presentations and trainings that clearly communicate Gift of Life’s mission, impact, and the importance of joining the marrow and stem cell registry.

• Communicate effectively with audiences ranging from individual community members to student organizations, corporate leaders, and large groups.

• Use storytelling, donor and recipient impact, and mission-focused messaging to inspire action.

• Represent Gift of Life professionally and enthusiastically at all times.

• Accurately track outreach activity, partnership development, recruitment metrics, event outcomes, and other required performance data.

• Maintain accurate records of prospective and active partners and ensure appropriate and timely follow-up.

• Ensure proper documentation, timely processing of swab kits, and adherence to Gift of Life policies and organizational protocols.

• Collaborate with Recruitment leadership and internal teams including Marketing and Operations to maximize recruitment opportunities and support regional campaigns.

• Use performance data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement within the territory.

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• 3–5 years of professional experience in donor recruitment, community engagement, field marketing, business development, sales, territory management, university engagement, or a related field.

• Demonstrated experience working toward and achieving measurable goals, quotas, recruitment targets, sales objectives, or other performance-based outcomes.

• Proven ability to independently identify prospects, initiate relationships, and develop opportunities from initial outreach through execution.

• Strong relationship-building and networking skills with the ability to develop credibility across a wide range of organizations and communities.

• Excellent public speaking, presentation, interpersonal, and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational and territory-management skills with demonstrated ability to manage multiple opportunities simultaneously.

• Comfortable using CRM systems, Microsoft 365, and other technology to manage activity, relationships, and performance.

• Ability to interpret performance data and adjust strategy based on results.

• Strong knowledge of the Greater Gainesville community, higher-education landscape, institutions, organizations, and/or business environment is highly preferred.

• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout the Greater Gainesville area.

• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation for regular travel throughout the assigned territory.

• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as required by community events and recruitment opportunities.

• Results-driven: Motivated by measurable goals and takes personal ownership of achieving them.

• Proactive: Creates opportunities rather than waiting for them to be provided.

• Competitive and mission-driven: Enjoys pursuing ambitious goals while understanding that every registration represents the possibility of saving a life.

• Relationship-focused: Builds genuine partnerships that generate sustained engagement and long-term recruitment opportunities.

• Resourceful: Finds creative ways to gain access to organizations, audiences, and communities.

• Persistent: Comfortable navigating rejection, following up consistently, and continuing to pursue high-value opportunities.

• Strategic: Prioritizes activities based on their potential impact instead of simply staying busy.

• Independent: Effectively manages a geographic territory and daily schedule while maintaining accountability to organizational goals.

• High-energy and outgoing: Comfortable initiating conversations and engaging new people in a wide variety of environments.

• Adaptable: Able to shift between a college campus, corporate meeting, community festival, networking event, and donor recruitment drive.

• Collaborative: Works effectively with colleagues and internal departments while maintaining ownership of individual territory performance.

• Mission-driven: Understands that strong performance directly increases the number of patients who may have an opportunity to find their lifesaving donor.

• Purpose-driven work with direct, measurable, life-saving impact.

• Ownership of a strategically important community engagement and recruitment territory.

• A supportive, collaborative, and passionate team culture.

• Opportunities for professional development, leadership growth, and career advancement.

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.

Because here, results have a human impact.

Every relationship you develop, partnership you secure, event you execute, and individual you inspire to join the registry increases the possibility that a patient searching for a lifesaving match will find one.

As the Community Engagement Specialist for Greater Gainesville, you will have the opportunity to build Gift of Life’s presence and strengthen community relationships throughout the region while seeing the measurable impact of your work.

If you are motivated by ambitious goals, energized by people, and ready to take ownership of a territory where your performance can directly help save lives, we’d love to meet you.