“What’s the one thing you wish people knew about your job”

That’s a tough one because volunteer management is probably the most complex job I’ve ever had, and I really don’t know how you begin to describe it, let alone narrow it down to one thing you’d like people to know.

In the end, I’ve plumped for something fairly broad that gives me a bit of leeway (yes that’s cheating, but what of it?) I think the one thing I’d want people to know is that quite a lot of the time it’s like being famous, but without the luxury of the fortune.

Working for a charity means there’s public interest, not only in what you’re doing but how you’re doing it. There are hundreds, thousands or even millions of people out there who are just as passionate – if not more so – about the cause you’re fighting, and they see your organisation as the public vehicle for change. And that makes you fair game to some degree. Or at least I think it brings with it an enhanced level of public accountability for what you’re doing. When you add in a layer of responsibility to a volunteer army there’s an added pressure.

People will (rightly) be quick to tell you when they’ve had a bad experience. In the last few weeks I’ve had messages from volunteers on social media and via email that all boiled down to a sentiment of “do more” or “do better”.

And whilst people should be holding us to account, and we should be doing everything we can to make sure the people who want to help us can do so, the mechanics of how a charity actually works are a mystery to most. I think it’s fair to say nobody who works in volunteering is sat with their feet up or resting on their laurels. It’s more likely that they’re having a swig of lukewarm coffee with a stale sandwich at 3pm for ‘lunch’, or trying not to think about all the time they’re owed that they’ll never get to take.

I’ve had abusive emails when trying to resolve complaints and I’ve been tagged in public messages where people have taken pleasure in hearing about a bad day at work. While I think some of that inevitably comes with the territory, there’s rarely an opportunity to put across context or balance.

I’ve volunteered in a few places (and still do). I think I’ve become more forgiving – or accepting? – about some things, having seen it from both sides of the table. For all the times we try as volunteer managers to get the right information to the right people at the right time, we know it won’t always happen. As volunteer managers, we know that people hate the burden of ‘health and safety gone mad’ and GDPR, and that they definitely don’t volunteer for paperwork. But we still know all those things are important to keep them safe and protected and so we grit our teeth, ask for a form or two, and wait for the backlash.

And whilst it’s short-sighted to equate money with happiness, I’ve always thought that the riches fame can bring probably go some way to offsetting the constant scrutiny that comes from being in the public eye. As volunteer managers, we’re accountable to people who need and rely on us, rather than an adoring fan base, and I think there’s a lot more pressure there then wondering if people will like my new album. (To clarify, I don’t currently have an album coming out myself).

We all want it to be simpler and easier, but we’re often trying to change culture or practice in organisations that have been behind the curve compared to private companies, and don’t have the resources to keep up. It’s also hard for us to talk about that because it feels like we’re making excuses rather than telling the truth. Volunteers and volunteer managers are fighting the same fight – we shouldn’t be fighting each other.

This is the first of our anonymous blogs. The blogs give leaders and managers of volunteering the opportunity to share some of the frustrations and challenges of their role, with the intention of letting readers know they are not alone in facing some of these issues.

If you’d like to write for AVM’s website, drop us a line at [email protected]

The post originally appeared on Mariana’s blog. Read the original article.

For months I’ve been thinking about what I should write about and after International Volunteer Managers Day (@IVMDAY) (5th November) I finally realised that there is a specific topic I want to address.

In the UK, Universities and Student Union’s usually have teams that support the provision of extra-curricular activities to students. Those activities often include volunteering and there are specialised teams within Higher Education Institutions (HEI) who do this.

Like every other volunteer manager out there, we do a variety of ‘jobs’, from coordinating volunteers to marketing, advertising, supporting and advising students and colleagues, policy writing, delivering events etc.

The questions that came into my mind after a conversation with Dave Coles (Volunteer Manager at LSE) as we were preparing a session for the AVM were:

1. Why are we still seen as people who merely copy-paste role descriptions into a platform and promote it to students?
2. Why are we still seen as the Managers who have ‘an easy job’ because we have a ‘pool of available volunteers’ at any time?
3. Why are we still seen as the Managers that couldn’t get a job at a charity and have taken a job at a University instead?

So…. 5 points that might be of interest.

1) We do a bit more than just advertising external volunteering opportunities

True… a part of our roles is to advertise opportunities to our students, but that’s not all that we do. We also organise and deliver opportunities ourselves, we are responsible for vetting every volunteer opportunity that is advertised and provide advice about it, if needed. We write volunteering policies, health and safety policies, risk assessments, safeguarding guidelines, training guides etc. We deliver 1–2–1 sessions to hundreds of students, we deliver inductions and training sessions (which can be bespoke to the different courses) and we also provide support and training sessions to our partner organisations to help them engage with our students. The list goes on….

2) We do have an understanding of the third sector

Volunteer Managers working in HEI do have an understanding of how the third sector works and have an idea of some of the issues that charities face. We work very closely with charities on a daily basis and a lot of us have worked for a charity or a not-for-profit organisation before. Some of us still do!

3) We do not have a ‘pot of volunteers’ ready to go

Nops. Sorry. It’s not a thing.

Students sign-up to our volunteering platforms and decide who they want to volunteer with and why. We don’t get to call them and tell them to go volunteer with someone on a specific day and time.

What we do get to do is tell them about the amazing volunteering opportunities and incredible organisations we partner up with and why we believe they should support them.

4) We do this (our job!) because we’ve chosen to (the majority of us anyway)

I can’t speak for all HE and FE Volunteer Managers/Coordinators out there but I do believe that the majority of us have chosen this job, and it’s not just a temporary role until we get ‘that other job at X organisation’.

This is my case anyway.

I love the sector, I love seeing ‘my’ student volunteers engaging in a variety of activities and I honestly can not think of a better job at this point (maybe panda hugger or goat walker but let’s not go there).

5) We focus on the students and their development, and that’s absolutely amazing

I’ve worked for a charity before and have been a volunteer for a variety of other organisations as well and I really do feel that the challenges and focuses between charities and HEIs can be different. Some organisations have to focus on their specific volunteer numbers targets or their fundraising goals. That’s ok and completely understandable! As for me… I get to focus on people. I get to focus on how I can make students’ lives better by engaging in volunteering! And I absolutely love it.

Maybe other HEI do have to report back and have a ‘minimum’ amount of volunteers involved, or a minimum amount of hours volunteered. That’s not my case, thankfully. Thankfully because it allows me to focus on the things I believe are relevant, like their volunteering experience and the communities they’re getting involved with.

I get to talk to students about my love for volunteering, how it’s changed my life and has helped me become the person I am today. I get to talk about how a lot of what I know today was actually learnt during a volunteering experience, how I met some of my closest friends whilst volunteering and how without realising it I was building up my CV and gaining new skills.

Yes. I love volunteering and I love being a Volunteering Manager at a HEI.

Mariana Rocha is Volunteering and Civic Engagement Manager at University of West London.

This post originally appeared on Mariana’s blog. Read the original article.