What activities do volunteer coordinators do?
Some of the tasks a volunteer coordinator will do include:
- Come up with policies and procedures for research and writing;
- Dealing directly with the relevant departments inside the organizations or externally to organize volunteers;
- To investigate how internal departments or other organisations function, develop partnerships and to assess the volunteer needs;
- Promote volunteering (internal and external), through recruiting and strategies and promotional activities;
- Train the recruited volunteers;
- Monitoring, supporting, encouraging and recognising the work of the volunteers;
- Nominate volunteers for awards;
- To attend meetings;
- Budget and the management of resources, including the reimbursement of costs;
- Keeping up-to-date on volunteer service and make the necessary changes to adapt to changes in related legislation and policies;
- Maintain databases and various other admin tasks.
Are there entry requirements?
It is possible to apply to this kind of role without a degree and highlight relevant work experience but as competition is becoming more and more fierce, qualifications such as a degree or HND in subject like operational research, HRM, social support, community development, youth social work would increase your chances greatly. Even having a masters with the competition today, is becoming more common.
It is important to be able to show previous work experience such as, volunteering for your local charity at college where you can highlight communication skills, flexibility, passion for charity and all of the relevant skills required.
What key skills are required to be a volunteer coordinator?
Key skills include:
- Charitable commitment;
- Organisational skills;
- Management and leadership skills;
- Communication;
- Entrepreneurial attitude to raise funds;
- Positive attitude and drive;
- Good interpersonal skills;
- Ability to influence others and motivate;
- Empathy to your group of volunteers;
- IT and administration skills;
- Flexibility.
What am I likely to earn?
Starting salaries are around £15,000. With experience, it may be around £21,000-£38,000. Higher are more likely if you are planning to work in a larger charity, or the private sector or one of the less popular industry sectors. Salaries are also dependent on the individuals experience and what event they are running the volunteering for. Working in the charity industry means that a lot of individuals are not massively motivated by money so it is likely that they will not compare to an equivalent role in the private sector.
What are the working hours like?
It depends on what the event is. The role could be primarily office based and similar hours to a normal office based working week of around 35-40 hours. However, if the role requires a more hands on approach, it is likely that you will be working late and over the weekend.
There are part time and full time roles available as well as short term contracts. It just depends on who the role is for.
What career progression is there?
After years of experience you can move onto being a volunteer manager and after many more years of management experience, you could look to becoming a director.
If you are working for a larger charity there are opportunities to progress your career internally however, for the smaller charities, there is a very limited ability to progress. A lot of individuals will move between organisations to gain new skills and experience. It is also possible to transfer your skills to a different but similar kind of role in another company. With a lot more companies getting involved in charity work, there are opportunities arising to work either in or alongside organisations on project based contracts.
What training would I receive as a volunteer coordinator?
Most training is done on the job.
It is possible to find professional qualifications from, for example, Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM) and Volunteering England. However, there are other training providers who offer short courses to help develop your skills. Working for a Charity can actually help those with no experience of already working in such a role.
Where do I find volunteer coordinator roles?
Simply click on this link to find the volunteer coordinator roles in your location.
Search for volunteer coordinator roles here.
Get volunteer coordinator jobs sent to your inbox right here.
Browse through other charity jobs here.
Find out information about other charity jobs here.
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