Volunteer mentor to volunteer manager
A volunteer mentor already meets 33% of what the volunteer manager role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.6/ 100
1 How much of what a volunteer manager is expected to do is already part of a volunteer mentor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the volunteer manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A volunteer manager role treats 10 of its required skills as things a volunteer mentor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advocate for others
- brief volunteers
- capacity building
- data protection
- give constructive feedback
- observe confidentiality
What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A volunteer manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a volunteer mentor background worth leading with.
- already held types of digital badges education
- already held capacity building education
- already held validation of learning acquired through volunteering education
- already held sustainable development goals social sciences, journalism and information
- already held brief volunteers management skills
- already held advocate for others communication, collaboration and creativity
All 14 carried skills, including the 10 the volunteer manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage volunteering programmes required
- still to learn manage volunteers required
- still to learn coordinate events required
- still to learn lead a team required
- still to learn perform project management required
- still to learn recruit personnel required
- still to learn work within communities required
- optional, not held plan youth programmes optional
- optional, not held identify sources on potential target communities for art optional
- optional, not held manage online volunteers optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- still to learn animate in the outdoors required
- still to learn train volunteers required
- still to learn analyse community needs required
- still to learn cooperate with colleagues required
- still to learn create social alliances required
- still to learn promote social change required
- optional, not held communicate with elderly groups optional
- still to learn monitor social impact required
- still to learn evaluate social work program's impact required
- optional, not held monitor charity's budget optional
- optional, not held study community as a target community optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- still to learn labour law required
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- optional, not held manage health and safety optional
- still to learn leadership principles required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a volunteer manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage volunteering programmes practise this
- 02 monitor social impact practise this
- 03 animate in the outdoors practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held advocate for others skill
- already held brief volunteers skill
- already held capacity building knowledge
- already held data protection knowledge
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held observe confidentiality skill
- already held relate empathetically skill
- already held show intercultural awareness skill
- already held use communication techniques skill
- already held validation of learning acquired through volunteering knowledge
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held data analytics knowledge
- already held sustainable development goals knowledge
- already held types of digital badges knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held humanitarian aid optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held plan youth programmes optional
- optional, not held communicate with elderly groups optional
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- optional, not held humanitarian aid optional
- optional, not held identify sources on potential target communities for art optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety optional
- optional, not held manage online volunteers optional
- optional, not held monitor charity's budget optional
- optional, not held study community as a target community optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
15 held skills the volunteer manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist clients with personal development skill
- not needed by the target role coach young people skill
- not needed by the target role coaching techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role demonstrate leadership in social service cases skill
- not needed by the target role develop a coaching style skill
- not needed by the target role empower social service users skill
- not needed by the target role empower young people skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate teamwork between students skill
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role maintain professional boundaries in social work skill
- not needed by the target role mentor individuals skill
- not needed by the target role personal reflection techniques based on feedback knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn labour law required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn leadership principles required
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- optional, not held humanitarian aid optional
Common questions about this move
Can a volunteer mentor become a volunteer manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A volunteer mentor already covers 33% of what a volunteer manager is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 10 of which the volunteer manager role treats as required.
What skills does a volunteer mentor need to become a volunteer manager?
19 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage volunteering programmes.
How hard is the move from volunteer mentor to volunteer manager?
Its learning distance is 72.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.