Skip to main content
Create an account for suggestions personalised to you and your organisation
Guides
1 minute read

Volunteer role descriptions

Meeting National Standards and Strategy Seal Meeting National Standards and Strategy What's this?

This guide provides practical advice on creating volunteer role descriptions. It outlines key elements such as responsibilities, expectations, required skills and support, helping ensure clarity for both organisations and volunteers.

The resource supports organisations to design roles that are safe, well structured and aligned with organisational goals, contributing to effective volunteer engagement.

Benefits for volunteer managers

  • define volunteer roles, responsibilities and expectations
  • understand key considerations to include in a volunteer position description
  • improve volunteer retention and recruitment and engagement processes.

How to apply this resource

This guide is most useful when creating or reviewing volunteer role descriptions, improving recruitment practices, or ensuring roles are clearly defined and aligned with organisational needs.

Downloads and sources

More about the author

Contribute to the Gateway

Leave feedback

Was this resource useful?

Make a Suggestion

If you find a great resource that isn't in the directory or want to provide feedback on the Volunteering Gateway, drop us a line!

More like this

Guides

Youth ready assessment & guide

Assessment and guide to help organisations increase participation of independent young volunteers in their teens and twenties.
1 minute read
Volunteering Victoria
Youth or Student
Guides

Volunteer role descriptions

Guide outlining how to create clear and effective volunteer role descriptions.
1 minute read
Volunteer Scotland
General
Guides

Insurance and Liability

A guide to an organisation’s responsibility for volunteer health and safety.
1 minute read
Volunteering Victoria
General
VIKTOR
Tech

VIKTOR

VIKTOR is a volunteer recruitment system designed to run a referral service for volunteers. It allows you to create and advertise volunteer roles, enter volunteers and match them to roles offered by your members.
Volunteer database Recruitment Reporting
FreddyMatch
Tech

FreddyMatch

FreddyMatch is a web-based platform that facilitates and optimises the process of volunteering. We help match organisations and volunteers based on their unique interests, skill sets, location and availability using the “FreddyMatch” algorithm.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Social media Event management
Be Collective
Tech

Be Collective

A volunteer management & community engagement platform. Be Collective is all about empowering volunteering and the organisations supporting volunteering to build stronger, more sustainable networks for doing good.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Social media Event management Donations
on-demand

Certificate IV in Coordination of Volunteer Programs

Nationally recognised qualification for people who manage volunteers. Over a 12-month period, develop leadership and management skills to lead volunteers, or formalise your experience.
Volunteering Queensland
Peak body members: $1950. Standard course fee: $3,500.
scheduled

Becoming an Inclusive Volunteer Involving Organisation

This free inclusion workshop explores how to build inclusive volunteering opportunities for people of all abilities and backgrounds. Learn to identify and reduce barriers, support young people, and create inclusive teams and workplaces.
The Centre for Volunteering
Free
scheduled

3Rs: Recruitment, Retention & Recognition

Participants will use the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement to develop or improve an existing volunteer program so that they can successfully recruit, retain and recognise the important contribution volunteers make.
Volunteering Victoria
Free