Job Profile/description/responsibilities
The work that the volunteer director needs to do will be dependent on the mission statement of the organization. The person who is at the helm of such a post is expected to oversee the working and operations of the organization and support and supervise the staff so that they can work diligently with the true spirit of volunteer work. The size of the organization will decide the level and load of work that one will need to oversee. The director is undoubtedly the leader and they are answerable to the board of directors. There are four main duties that comprise the portfolio of a volunteer director. The main one is to raise funds to make sure that the organization delivers its promises and stays true to its mission statement.
Second important factor is to market and publicize the organization and its purpose. It is important for the director to have a good P.R. project running to have a interaction with the public. The third thing that holds much importance is to manage the funds and to ensure judicious use and supervision of the funds that come from different sources. Covering the areas of insurance, office equipment, utilities and payroll is the fourth duty of the director of a volunteer organization.
Requirements
Academic
The nature and scope of the organization will help in deciding the educational qualifications that will be required to qualify you for the job of a volunteer director. The candidates have to be experts in their own fields and should have some advanced degrees in areas like marketing, education, finance, communications, business administration and arts management.
Skills and experience
One needs to have excellent oral and written skills to be at this post. Apart from this, one needs to have healthy relationships or the ability to develop such a relationship with outside parties like politicians, vendors, patrons and related service organizations along with the public. The director will have to give speeches and should thus know how to address the public and win their confidence. They will have to work with the media and do panel discussions as well.
Solid expertise and working knowledge is necessary for a person who wishes to enter the volunteer organization through the post of a volunteer director. The candidates for this job come from high management posts. People having expertise in marketing and fund management will get jobs in the sector easily.
There are chances that a person starts their career as a volunteer and gives a lot of years to a particular organization. In such cases, there are chances that the person gradually progresses and becomes the director.
Job outlook
One can opt for full time or part time jobs in this sector. You will have to ensure that you set your priorities straight before you join the organization. There are small organizations that also offer jobs on part time basis. You will have to commit a certain number of hours of work per month to such organizations so that their work can go on properly. You will have to perform all the activities that are assigned to the director but on a part time basis. This can be good for people who are inclined toward social service apart from their own jobs.
Concluding paragraph
Any volunteer organization will have quite high expectations from the candidate. You will have to look into the organization to see what work they do. Take up this job only if you are an expert in the subject and can contribute good time to the job without calculating your monetary benefits.
