What does a volunteer coordinator do?
A volunteer coordinator recruits, trains, and manages volunteers either within an organization or on behalf of an organization.
Coordinating volunteers requires strong leadership and managerial skills. These skills are pivotal for a volunteer coordinator as they need to keep a team working together based on high spirits rather than pay.
They have to optimally build the capacity of an organization or a program by developing the skills and performance of volunteers. They must also strive to meet the strategic objectives of the organization.
Let us delve into the aspects of volunteer coordinator job description including:
- What are the Volunteer Coordinator Duties?
- What Skills should a Volunteer Coordinator have?
- What Qualifications Do I Need to be a Volunteer Coordinator?
- Sample Volunteer Coordinator Job Description
- Why is a Volunteer Coordinator Important?
Volunteer coordinator as a profession has gained increased recognition in the past years. Although, in smaller organizations, it is often merged with another role.
Volunteer Coordinator Roles & Responsibilities
The objective of a volunteer coordinator is to ensure that the headcount of a project is sufficient to fulfill the mission. Volunteer coordinator duties include recruiting, training, supervising, and evaluating the volunteers while keeping tabs on the overall effectiveness.
Source: Free Vector
Here are some of the responsibilities commonly mentioned in the volunteer coordinator job description:
Recruiting
You will have to research and assess the program/organization needs to prepare policies and job descriptions accordingly.
Establishing a common ground during screening and interviews will be important as it will help you understand whether the candidate is keen to take on the responsibilities or not.
While shortlisting suitable candidates, you must also run thorough background checks to avoid future discrepancies.
Training
The new recruits will be fresh from the oven and will require intense molding and polishing to start working towards the program’s objective.
They must be well-informed about their roles and responsibilities. You can achieve this through orientation programs followed by inductions and training on job-specific topics.
A volunteer coordinator must motivate and accredit volunteers and their work. Also, provide them feedback on their performance. Doing so will help work on their weak points.
Supervision
Monitoring and supervising are two fundamental roles every leader figure needs to fulfill. As volunteer coordinator, supervision will include a variety of tasks like managing events/campaigns, organizing team meetings, and handling any emergencies that may occur.
Being present and supportive of the volunteers is also a very vital part of a coordinator of volunteer services. You can provide significant support and training for volunteers by frequently checking up on them and asking for their feedback.
Reporting
Being in a volunteer coordinator position, you will need to coordinate with senior management on the day-to-day progress of the team and program. In addition to this, managing budget and resources, including the reimbursement of expenses, need to be reported accurately.
Parallel to these responsibilities, you need to write funding bids for foundations and public sectors to raise funds for project sustenance.
Program Evaluation
A volunteer coordinator has to continually assess and evaluate the team’s performance. Based on that, considering the need and resources, you can introduce new or redesigned programs.
The idea is to reach the main goal, and for that, evaluation at all steps is needed.
Also read: How to Present Volunteer Work on Resume?
Skills Required to Become a Volunteer Coordinator
With the roles and responsibilities stated above, it is clear that leadership and managerial skills are of utmost importance to land volunteer coordinator jobs.
A volunteer coordinator must possess strong communication and interpersonal skills to increase their network and deal with a diverse range of people. They must also have the capacity to inspire and motivate others, think creatively, and seize opportunities.
The table below mentions the most common skills required in a volunteer coordinator:
| Skills for People Management | Skills for Program Management |
|---|---|
| Team Management | Evaluation & Assessment |
| Marketing & Communications | Design Improvement |
| Field Training | Risk Management |
| Partnership Development | Data Analysis |
| Personnel Management | Financial Planning |
A volunteer coordinator must be flexible and non-judgmental towards his team and their work. Leaders need to possess the humility to understand what an organization needs for making better decisions.
Qualifications Required to Become a Volunteer Coordinator
The education requirements to become a volunteer coordinator are mostly centric to a bachelor’s degree. Zippia states that 69% of volunteer coordinators hold bachelor’s degrees in business, psychology, or political science.
The top colleges for students to pursue their goal of becoming volunteer coordinators are the University of Phoenix and the University of California.
For competitive industries, such as international development and creative sectors, possessing a related master’s degree is gaining increased importance as the job grows in popularity.
Here is a chart displaying the average volunteer coordinator salary based on a qualification:
Source: Zippia
Also read: Tips on Acing Education Section in a Resume
Sample Volunteer Coordinator Job Description
We are willing to expand our volunteering staff and with that, we require a volunteer coordinator. We will evaluate your candidacy based on your ability to fulfill job requirements with integrity and attention to detail.
Volunteer Coordinator Duties
- Evaluating time to time performance of volunteers
- Planning and organizing events while distributing tasks
- Community outreach and fundraising activities
- Maintaining the volunteer database
- Administering management duties as assigned
Volunteer Coordinator Skill Requirement
- Bachelor's degree in business management, human resources, or a related field
- Experience in volunteering and recruitment
- Practical knowledge of databases
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Excellent organizational and team-building skills
Also read: How to Sell Yourself in an Interview?
Why is a Volunteer Coordinator Important?
Volunteer management is the foundational component for almost all non-profit organizations. The importance and the value they add to an organization has increased the need to recruit, manage, and engage them.
A volunteer coordinator has gained importance because they can single-handedly fulfill these needs of an organization to achieve the objectives of their project with a team of potential candidates.
A volunteer coordinator can reduce administrative time in a variety of ways. They ensure that volunteers work effectively by assigning appropriate tasks based on their talent and training.
They also provide volunteers with a clear description of their duties and responsibilities while providing support and guidance throughout the program.
Key Takeaways
- A volunteer coordinator interviews and hires volunteers and assigns them job responsibilities as per their talent and qualifications.
- A volunteer coordinator is expected to have exceptional management skills to run a team and the project assigned to them.
- A bachelor’s degree is commonly acceptable to land volunteer coordinator jobs. However, a master’s degree can increase your chances of getting paid higher.
- An organization that specializes in volunteer work understands the importance of a volunteer coordinator as they share a lot of administrative workload with the senior management.
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