Volunteer Coordinator Job Description
A Volunteer Coordinator organises recruitment, training and day-to-day support for volunteers so they can contribute safely and effectively. This template helps you set clear responsibilities, essential criteria and a short advert paragraph to attract suitable candidates for roles in charities, community groups and social enterprises.
What does a Volunteer Coordinator professional do?
Responsible for recruiting, onboarding, scheduling and supporting volunteers and for maintaining accurate volunteer records and safeguarding standards.
Volunteer Coordinator job description template
Use this employer-ready example as a starting point, then replace the placeholders and adjust the content so it accurately reflects your vacancy.
Volunteer Coordinator
About the role
We are seeking a Volunteer Coordinator to recruit, train and support volunteers to deliver [insert charity name]’s services across [insert location]. You will match people to roles, oversee inductions and rotas, keep volunteer records up to date and work with staff to ensure volunteers are safe, valued and effective. This is a [insert hours] role reporting to [insert manager title]; salary: [insert salary].
Key responsibilities
- Design and advertise volunteer roles and person specifications that meet service needs.
- Manage the end-to-end recruitment process: enquiries, interviews, references and onboarding.
- Coordinate inductions, role-specific training and ongoing development for volunteers.
- Produce and maintain accurate volunteer records, rotas and DBS/safeguarding documentation as required.
- Match volunteers’ skills and availability to suitable placements and reassign as needs change.
- Provide day-to-day support, supervision and performance feedback to volunteers.
- Develop and run volunteer recognition and retention activities, such as events or awards.
- Liaise with staff teams to integrate volunteers into projects and resolve operational issues.
Essential skills and experience
- Experience of working with or coordinating volunteers, community groups or related customer-facing roles.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage diverse people.
- Good organisational skills and experience of maintaining clear records and rotas.
- Comfortable using basic IT tools (email, spreadsheets) and volunteer databases or CRM systems.
- Ability to work flexibly, including occasional evenings or weekends if volunteer activities require it.
- Right to work in the UK and willingness to undertake an enhanced DBS check where the role involves regulated activity.
Desirable
- Experience in the charity or public sector and knowledge of voluntary sector networks.
- Formal training or qualification in volunteer management, community development or a related field.
- Experience with volunteer management systems (VMS) or CRM platforms.
- Basic first aid qualification or safeguarding training.
- Ability to travel locally and a valid driving licence if required for placements.
What we offer
- [Insert pension scheme details or employer contribution if applicable]
- Flexible working / part-time hours where possible
- Paid annual leave (details to be provided by employer)
- [Insert training and professional development allowance or opportunities]
- Reimbursement of agreed travel or out-of-pocket expenses
- Access to employee support services or wellbeing provision (if available)
How to apply
Apply with your CV and any additional information requested. Make the interview process, closing date and any assessment stages clear where known.
Use this as a starting point rather than a final advert. The strongest version will reflect the real role, salary, location, systems, responsibilities, benefits and working arrangements.
What is a Volunteer Coordinator role?
A Volunteer Coordinator organises the recruitment, onboarding, training and day-to-day support of volunteers so that community services run reliably and safely. They translate organisational needs into clear volunteer roles, manage rotas and records, and ensure safeguarding, data protection and performance monitoring are in place. The role requires strong interpersonal and administrative skills and regular liaison with staff and community partners.
Core purpose
Recruit, place and support volunteers so they contribute safely and effectively to service delivery.
Typical working pattern
Often part-time or term-time with occasional evening or weekend activity depending on volunteer schedules.
Safeguarding focus
Maintains DBS checks, safeguarding training and incident reporting to protect vulnerable service users and volunteers.
Typical Volunteer Coordinator responsibilities
Responsibilities should reflect the real scope of the vacancy rather than every task someone in this profession might ever complete.
Design
Design and advertise volunteer roles and person specifications that meet service needs.
Manage the end-to-end recruitment process:
Manage the end-to-end recruitment process: enquiries, interviews, references and onboarding.
Coordinate inductions
Coordinate inductions, role-specific training and ongoing development for volunteers.
Produce
Produce and maintain accurate volunteer records, rotas and DBS/safeguarding documentation as required.
Match volunteers’ skills
Match volunteers’ skills and availability to suitable placements and reassign as needs change.
Provide day-to-day support
Provide day-to-day support, supervision and performance feedback to volunteers.
Develop
Develop and run volunteer recognition and retention activities, such as events or awards.
Liaise with staff teams
Liaise with staff teams to integrate volunteers into projects and resolve operational issues.
Volunteer Coordinator skills and experience to look for
Keep the essential list focused on what the person really needs to perform the role. Move useful-but-trainable experience into desirable criteria.
Usually worth prioritising
- Experience of working with or coordinating volunteers, community groups or related customer-facing roles.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage diverse people.
- Good organisational skills and experience of maintaining clear records and rotas.
- Comfortable using basic IT tools (email, spreadsheets) and volunteer databases or CRM systems.
- Ability to work flexibly, including occasional evenings or weekends if volunteer activities require it.
- Right to work in the UK and willingness to undertake an enhanced DBS check where the role involves regulated activity.
Useful where relevant
- Experience in the charity or public sector and knowledge of voluntary sector networks.
- Formal training or qualification in volunteer management, community development or a related field.
- Experience with volunteer management systems (VMS) or CRM platforms.
- Basic first aid qualification or safeguarding training.
- Ability to travel locally and a valid driving licence if required for placements.
See our guide to what to include in a job advert before publishing.
How to write a Volunteer Coordinator job advert
Small role-specific details can make the advert much easier for suitable candidates to assess.
Lead with your mission
Explain the organisation’s purpose and the impact volunteers make — this attracts values-driven candidates.
Be explicit about hours and flexibility
State expected shift patterns, minimum time commitments and any evening/weekend requirements up front.
Detail training and support
Candidates want to know what induction, supervision and development you provide; make this clear to improve retention.
Use clear application steps
List what to send (CV, short statement) and who to contact for questions to reduce unqualified applications.
Volunteer Coordinator salary considerations
Volunteer Coordinator pay varies widely depending on the organisation, location and role scope. Use the points below to set a competitive and defensible salary rather than quoting a single market figure.
depending on experience
- Use a genuine range
- Separate variable pay
- Avoid “competitive” alone
- Match salary to seniority
What Volunteer Coordinator candidates will want to know
Practical details can influence whether a suitable candidate applies, even when the title and salary are attractive.
Will I need an enhanced DBS check?
Be clear whether the role involves regulated activity and whether the employer will request an enhanced DBS check as part of onboarding.
What training and supervision will I receive?
Candidates want details on induction, ongoing training, supervision frequency and access to professional development.
What are the expected hours and flexibility?
State typical shift patterns, minimum weekly commitment and whether hours can be adjusted to fit volunteers’ availability.
Are travel or out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed?
Clarify the organisation’s policy on travel, subsistence and other volunteer expenses to set clear expectations.
Who will I report to and who supports volunteers day-to-day?
Explain the line-management structure and which staff or volunteer leads provide operational support.
Where to post a Volunteer Coordinator job
This role suits local and sector-specific channels: community and charity job boards, regional volunteer centres, university volunteer services and specialist third-sector networks. Combine those with broad UK job boards and targeted social media posts in local community groups to reach both active volunteers and people new to volunteering. For specialist roles (safeguarding, clinical settings), include professional networks and sector mailing lists.
Related charity / non-profit job descriptions
Recruiting for a slightly different role? These templates may be a closer fit.
Volunteer Coordinator job description FAQs
Do volunteers need a contract of employment?
Volunteers are not employees and do not usually have employment contracts. It's best practice to provide a volunteer agreement or role description that sets out expectations, responsibilities and expenses policy.
Is an enhanced DBS check always required?
An enhanced DBS check is only required where the volunteer role involves regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults. Assess roles for safeguarding risk and state any checks clearly in the advert.
How should I measure volunteer programme success?
Track qualitative and quantitative indicators such as volunteer retention rates, hours contributed, service outcomes, volunteer satisfaction surveys and training completion.
Should volunteers be paid?
Volunteers are typically unpaid, but you should reimburse agreed travel and out-of-pocket expenses and consider small recognition payments if funding allows. Check grant terms and organisational policy.
How long does recruitment usually take?
Timelines vary by role complexity and safeguarding checks. Simple community roles can be filled in a few weeks; roles requiring DBS checks, references and training often take longer—plan for at least 4–8 weeks.
Ready to recruit your next Volunteer Coordinator?
Use the advert paragraph and role details above to create a vacancy tailored to your organisation. If you need help distributing the vacancy to charity job boards, local networks and volunteer centres, consider a multi-channel advertising service to reach the right candidates quickly.
