Volunteer Manager
Role lens
Volunteer managers work across the non-profit sector to recruit, train, motivate and supervise volunteers. They are in charge of designing volunteer assignments, recruiting volunteers, reviewing the tasks undertaken and impact made, providing feedback and managing their overall performance against the objectives of the organisation. Volunteer coordinators might also manage online volunteering activities, sometimes known as cyber-volunteering or e-volunteering.
Volunteer managers play a crucial role in the non-profit sector, ensuring organizations have the dedicated support they need to achieve their goals. Your days will involve a mix of strategic planning, hands-on recruitment, training, and ongoing support for volunteers. You'll design meaningful volunteer roles, track their impact, and foster a positive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Increasingly, this role also includes managing online volunteer opportunities, connecting with individuals across geographical boundaries.
- • Recruit and onboard volunteers, matching their skills and interests with organizational needs.
- • Develop and implement training programs to equip volunteers with the necessary knowledge and skills.
- • Design and manage volunteer assignments, ensuring they align with organizational objectives.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Administrative and commercial managers — 69 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania.
Longest-running shortage: Luxembourg, 3 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $125,470 2025-05 | +4.2% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +5.4% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Assessed as balanced Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | +22.3% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £54,474 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for volunteer manager
The outlook for volunteer manager reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could volunteer manager change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- observe confidentiality
- relate empathetically
- promote inclusion
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- monitor social impact
Tasks most exposed to automation
- evaluate social work program's impact
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Healthcare & Human Services
A typical day as a volunteer manager
09 09:00 · Morning manage volunteering programmes
10 10:30 · Mid-morning monitor social impact
12 12:00 · Midday animate in the outdoors
14 14:00 · Afternoon evaluate social work program's impact
15 15:30 · Late afternoon manage volunteers
17 17:00 · Wrap-up train volunteers
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
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lead a team
Lead, supervise and motivate a group of people, in order to meet the expected results within a given timeline and with the foreseen resources in mind.
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manage volunteers
Coordinate a staff of volunteers. Manage their tasks, recruitment, programmes and budgets.
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work within communities
Establish social projects aimed at community development and active citizen participation.
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manage volunteering programmes
Manage programmes focused on recruiting, matching and deploying volunteers in different roles and organisations, locally, nationally or internationally.
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advocate for others
Deliver arguments in favour of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy, to benefit another person.
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analyse community needs
Identify and respond to specific social problems in a community, delineating the extent of the problem and outline the level of resources required to address it and identifying the existing community assets and resources that are available to address the problem.
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cooperate with colleagues
Cooperate with colleagues in order to ensure that operations run effectively.
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coordinate events
Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
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train volunteers
Provide volunteers with training related to the functioning of the organisation, training them on task/role-specific topics, and providing them with policies and procedures and other resources that help them make the most of their time and expertise.
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evaluate social work program's impact
Gather data to allow the assessment of the impact of a program on a community.
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promote social change
Promote changes in relationships between individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities by taking into consideration and coping with unpredictable changes, at the micro, macro and mezzo level.
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recruit personnel
Carry out assessment and recruitment of personnel for the production.
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monitor social impact
Monitor the practices of organisations and companies with regard to ethics and impact on the larger community.
data protection
The principles, ethical issues, regulations and protocols of data protection.
labour law
The field of law that is concerned with the regulation of the relationship between employers, employees, trade unions, and the government.
project management
The discipline of project management, the activities which comprise this area and the variables implied in it, such as time, resources, requirements, deadlines, and responding to unexpected events.
validation of learning acquired through volunteering
The processes and procedures relevant for the four stages of validation of skills acquired whilst volunteering: identification, documentation, assessment and certification of non-formal and informal learning.
digital marketing techniques
The marketing techniques used on the web to reach and engage with stakeholders, customers and clients.
humanitarian aid
The tangible, material assistance offered to populations and countries affected by man-made or natural disasters, with a strong focus on the most vulnerable victims. It includes food supplies, medication, shelter, water, education etc. in support of the population affected, with the aim of providing immediate and short-term relief.
- capacity building
- leadership principles
- data analytics
- sustainable development goals
- types of digital badges
Path to become a volunteer manager
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Master's or equivalent level
23 programmes in 13 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 80 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Postgraduate Diploma in Transformative Practices in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Atlantic Technological University · Ireland
Koulutuskeskus Salpaus · Finland
These are 3 of 103.
Sources
- 1. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 2. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 3. Source: Malta Qualifications Registry, Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (qualifications.mfhea.gov.mt).
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does volunteer manager fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What skills are most important for a volunteer manager?
Is this role typically full-time or part-time?
How does the role of a volunteer manager differ from a volunteer coordinator?
Is there a shortage of Volunteer Manager in Europe?
How much does Volunteer Manager pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data