Project Specialist

Hours

Part time: 20-25 hours a week
Preferred hours: 9:30 am to 2:30 pm

Location

Needham, MA

Role

Project Specialist

About Hygiene Insecurity

At Hope & Comfort we help people who are struggling with hygiene insecurity, which is the lack of access to products like soap, toothpaste and menstrual products. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) does not cover hygiene products. This hidden crisis impacts health, school attendance and employment. Just as importantly, it also impacts dignity and confidence. In MA, an estimated 2.3+ million people are hygiene insecure.

About Hope & Comfort

We acquire millions of hygiene products annually and distribute those products free of charge to our community distribution partners across the state. The community distribution partners are schools, community colleges, food pantries, homeless shelters and other nonprofit organizations – who then provide the products to people in need in their communities. In 2026 Hope & Comfort will distribute 5 million products across the state. We are the largest known hygiene bank in the US.

The Team

We are a small but mighty team of less than ten people. However, we interact with over a thousand people per year through our community distribution partners across the state, state legislators, corporate volunteers and our donors. We laugh a lot, but we also are serious about the work we do and committed to making a difference in people’s lives. We are looking for someone who will laugh with us and get stuff done. People’s health and wellbeing depend on it.

The Right Person For This Role

The ideal candidate is someone who ‘gets things done’ and is also a strong team player. This person must be highly organized, self-motivated, detail-oriented and utterly reliable. If you are the person in your family / among your friends / at work / at your kids’ school or volunteer org who steps up when something must be done, this is the role for you. You could be re-entering the workforce, starting your career or towards the end of your career. You must be someone who wants to make a difference in others’ lives.

Primary Responsibilities Include

Community Distribution Partner liaison

Onboard new partners by introducing them to our organization, ordering platform and pickup process; as well as answer other questions partners may have.
Act as liaison between existing partners and operations for any partner questions, including but not limited to appointments, reporting and other requests for information
Track and manage partner information and compliance:
Annual agreement
Annual survey
Website recognition
Physical location recognition of Hope & Comfort’s support
Update contact information
Work with marketing to coordinate partner visits and interviews for communication pieces

Lead and support projects

Due to the fast-moving pace of our growth, new projects emerge frequently which offers a variety of work. These projects could be in support of distribution or fundraising.
Some projects will be led by this role; other projects will require support from the person in this role
The person in this role must be able to create and manage plans to drive projects, keep the team aligned and report on progress

Office Management and support

General admin support such as ordering, managing cleaning service supplies, answering phone
Board meeting preparation and support
Manage Hope & Comfort general email accounts and calendars
Meet and manage building service calls and maintenance appointments
Assist in the setup of on-site meetings and/or volunteer events
Other support as necessary

Qualifications For This Role

Experience

Previous project leadership; could be professionally, in a volunteer capacity or personal capacity
Work experience in a team environment

Education

College degree

Qualitative attributes

Creative problem-solving skills
Attention to detail and strong project management skills
Ability and desire to work independently and with a small, fast-paced team
Entrepreneurial mindset
Capable of handling confidential information with discretion
Adaptability

Skills

Excellent written and verbal communications skills
Building and maintaining relationships
Proficiency with CRM and donor management systems
Proficiency with applications for Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint), Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides), and Zoom teleconferencing software
Proficiency with internet

To Apply

Contact Melissa Rutherford (mrutherford@hopeandcomfort.org) and Kerry Carter (kcarter@hopeandcomfort.org) with your resume and a cover letter explaining why you are interested in this role. No AI – we want to work with real people with real personalities.