At the 2022 annual meeting, the AL!VE Board of Directors announced a job-leveling project that will help articulate the career pathways for a volunteer engagement professional.
Part of AL!VE’s mission is to advocate for our field, and there is a lack of data that speaks to the career pathways for a volunteer engagement professional, causing many professionals to leave the field in search of other advancement opportunities. Responding to member needs around advocacy for the role of a volunteer engagement professional, our goal is to create a Career Pathways report that demonstrates the various job levels within our field and the competencies and skills for each level, giving practitioners and employers a roadmap of progression.
In 2023, an extensive survey was conducted with nearly 500 participants. The data has been analyzed and will be presented at the 2024 Points of Light Conference in June of 2024. Preliminary findings were also shared at AL!VE's 2023 Annual Meeting, which you can review here. The findings will also be shared at an AL!VE Academy later in 2024.
AL!VE also intends to use this data as validated evidence for the job of the volunteer engagement professional to be officially recognized by the Department of Labor (DOL) in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
When DOL conducts its next revision to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which we anticipate to be in 2024, AL!VE intends to heavily advocate for the addition of this role with support of our partners, members and this research.
A committee of AL!VE board members and stakeholders assembled for this project and worked with a compensation consultant to create a survey that will solicit information needed from volunteer engagement professionals that currently work in our field. This national survey is designed to reveal the career progression for volunteer engagement professionals, prevailing levels of direct compensation, as well as the benefits associated with work-life balance practices within our field. The survey and results are administered by Creative Management Solutions, Inc. (CMS), a management consulting firm.
The survey is now complete.
Your individual data will remain confidential and will be aggregated by industry, job grouping, and location.
Thank you for your participation, and we look forward to what the results can bring towards advocacy for our field!
Watch this webpage and our member newsletter for updates on this important advocacy project.