Before writing and advertising your volunteer roles consider the requirements of the role and how you can attract the right people.
It’s important to make sure the right person for the role is chosen regardless of their age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy and family responsibilities.
When promoting your volunteer roles make sure you use language and an approach that reflects this so potential volunteers know they will be treated equally.
- Understand what makes your existing volunteers tick – so you have a better idea of how to attract new volunteers and keep them motivated to keep coming back.
- Review how you advertise and promote volunteering roles – are they engaging, are you advertising in the right place, do you share enough detail about the role, and why someone might want to volunteering with you?
- Review existing volunteer roles – do they need a refresh to include new duties, is the time commitment matched to the type of role, is there opportunity to edit or create roles with more flexibility that can attract different people.
Volunteer Position/Role Descriptions
A Volunteer Role/Position Description outlines the expectations and duties of the volunteer role – it tells people about the role.
When creating role descriptions think about the type of volunteer you need, the skills, qualifications, qualities and experience they need to have and what they will gain.
Once volunteers have been recruited, you can use the role description to assess if all tasks are being done and establish accountability so that performance can be evaluated and constructive feedback given.
Explore further articles on designing volunteer programs and roles, and tips for engaging with different demographics.
Write an engaging volunteer advert
The role advert, is what you publish on your website, volunteer search directories, and share with people – it sells people on why they want to apply for your volunteer role.
The advert is your opportunity to grab a person’s attention, so they learn more about your organisation and the role.
You might include:
- An eye-catching role title that summarises the role into a a couple of words – so it gets someone’s attention as they’re looking through lists of available opportunities.
- You organisation’s mission, passion, and purpose – and how people can make an impact by being a part of your volunteer program.
- Highlight key responsibilities and tasks to give people a clear sense of the role – you can include a link to the formal role description in the advert, or share once they’ve expressed interest.
- Clarity around any time expectations, and location.
- Required skills, experiences or qualities you’re looking for.
- Any required licenses, clearances – and whether you can support.
- Supervision, support, reimbursements, development, and recognition opportunities.
- Importantly, the advert sells why a person would want to volunteer with you. This is your moment to share how your work makes a difference to the community, how volunteers directly contribute, and what a person can expect to get out of volunteering with you.