Guidance

Creating a good volunteer role description

1) Understanding Skilled Volunteering

What is different about skilled volunteering roles? Well, skilled volunteering roles are only suitable for people with a specific skill set or professional background. This narrows the field of potential volunteers a bit, but it also means volunteers are willing to wait for the right role. So, don't be shy about asking for skills you think are rare if that's what you need. It's better to find one volunteer with the right skills than waste time talking to ten volunteers with the wrong skills.

Volunteers register with Reach because they want to find a role which uses their skills. Most are happy to take on a complicated role and to be given responsibility. So give them a chance! Don't simplify the role because you want it to appeal to more people. The chances are it will actually be less attractive to Reach volunteers.

2) Defining your role

This is the most important part of the whole process. We can help you write a fantastic role description, but if the role itself isn't what you need, that won't do you any good. A properly defined skilled volunteering role can transform your organisation so it is really worth taking the time to get it right.

Step 1 – What do you need?

You must need something or you wouldn't be reading this website! So why do you need a skilled volunteer? Perhaps you need to generate more income, replace your current IT system or move into new premises. Whatever the situation, just make sure you know why you need a volunteer and what you hope to accomplish by finding one.

Step 2 – What do you want the volunteer to do?

Now that you know what you need, how do you think the volunteer will help you get it? For example, if you need to generate more income the volunteer may raise your profile, write bid proposals or organise fundraising events.

If you're not sure how Step 1 translates to Step 2, you probably need a strategy. Using income generation as an example, you may need to write a fundraising strategy outlining how much money you need to raise, when you need to raise it, how you plan to go about doing it and how the money will be spent. Sound a bit overwhelming? Well, then maybe what you want the volunteer to do is help you write a strategy!

Step 3 – How will the volunteer work?

It's important to think through how you will support the volunteer in their role. Too often, skilled, enthusiastic volunteers lose interest in an organisation simply because they don't know what to do once they get there. Think about:

Where will the volunteer work? Do they have a desk? A drawer to keep their papers? A phone? A computer? It's fine if you want the volunteer to work from home, hotdesk or bring their own laptop but make sure they know that. Who will manage the volunteer's induction and what will the volunteer need to know? Inductions should cover everything from the work that needs doing to organisation structure and from where the toilet is to whether it's acceptable to eat the communal biscuits. Inductions are normally done by the volunteer's manager.

Who will manage the volunteer? All volunteers need someone in the organisation to regularly answer their questions and make sure they're doing what the organisation needs. This doesn't mean the manager must understand what the volunteer is doing! The manager just needs to check in with the volunteer regularly to make sure the volunteer is producing the agreed work and is happy to be doing so.

How much responsibility will you give the volunteer? Reach volunteers can be eager to take on a great deal of responsibility and it can work extremely well. However, it is unwise to entrust one volunteer with so much responsibility that the entire organisation will collapse without them. Also, do not ask volunteers to manage paid staff! Some volunteers may be happy to do so, but it can cause problems.

What's the time commitment? How many days a week do you want to the volunteer to work? Are there any times they should be in the office or can't be in the office? If it's a short-term project, how long do you think it will take? Be realistic, but if you think an ongoing role will need more than two days a week it's best to think about splitting it up.

Step 4 – Writing your role description

It's a good idea to have a written role description. It will form the basis of your discussions with potential volunteers. It will also help you and the volunteer make sure they are on the right track once they take on the role. This is particularly important in skilled volunteering as the person managing the volunteer may not understand what the volunteer is doing. If you can both refer back to the written role description it will help resolve any confusion that may arise.

A role description can be similar to a job description. It should include the role title, the volunteer's manager, where they will work, their time commitment and what it is they are supposed to be doing and/or the goal of the project.

3) Register your role

Now that you've defined your role, you're ready to register it with Reach to find a volunteer. Your role registration should act as an advert for your role. It does not need to be as detailed as your role description in Step 4 above, but it should give potential volunteers an idea of what the role will be like. If the role is unique to your organisation, you'll need to clearly explain the day-to-day activities.

If the role is fairly standard, like an Events Organiser or a Treasurer, it is very important to tell potential volunteers something about what it's like to be an Events Organiser or Treasurer at your organisation. Volunteers will want to know things such as whether they will be working in a team or if there are any special projects they might be involved with.

For skilled volunteering positions that do not sit on the board of trustees, please download and complete the Core Service Role Registration Form.

For all trustee or board member roles please download the TrusteeWorks Role Registration Form and visit TrusteeWorks for further information on the services we provide.

When you've completed your registration form/s, please email it back to mail@reachskills.org.uk.

You can register as many roles as you like but please note that each role must be on a separate registration form.

Continue to the next page to find out what happens next.