Nonprofit Jobs for Retirees

2. Volunteer manager

The nitty-gritty: Your first line of duty is recruiting qualified volunteers via meetings with local interest groups and businesses to drum up awareness in the nonprofit's cause, and hopefully flush out helping hands. Then you interview volunteers to find out where they can best help out. Once they're on board, you direct training, coordinate schedules, supervise and retain them. Keeping busy professionals who are willing to donate their time coming back to perform sometimes-routine tasks requires some finesse. You may need to jump into the fray from time to time if volunteers don't show up or a deadline is crashing. If the volunteers are providing their support overseas, you'll be in charge of making sure all have the proper visas, passports and shots. In the end, it's up to you to know –– who's on first.
The hours: Part-time and full-time positions are typically available. Flexible schedules for weekends and evening work may be necessary to align with peak volunteer times.
Median pay: An hourly wage for a part-time manager may range from $20 to $25 an hour. The average salary for a director of volunteer services can range from $55,000 to $60,000, but salaries vary greatly because of organization, location, your experience and benefits offered.
Qualifications: A personal history of volunteerism goes without saying. Public speaking chops are paramount. A track record of delegating and monitoring many activities at the same time will get you noticed. And those "rah, rah" motivational skills will open doors for you. It's vital to have the know-how to bring people together from all sorts of backgrounds to work together for a cause, not a paycheck. If you have a background in social services, it helps, but proven leadership and managerial skills in previous positions trumps. Many colleges and universities offer classes in volunteer management as part of their graduate programs in public administration or nonprofit management. One credential available for volunteer managers is "Certified Volunteer Administration." The certification is backed by supporters such as The United Way Worldwide, Idealist.org and VolunteerMatch.org.

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