Cultural attraction volunteer coordinator job description
A volunteer coordinator recruits, screens, trains and schedules the docents and volunteers who help a nonprofit or public attraction run, from tour guides to garden crews. They fill shifts, log hours, thank people, and make sure every volunteer post is one the wage laws allow.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, museums, zoos and gardens · BLS, May 2025
Our Volunteer Coordinator recruits, trains, and schedules the volunteers and docents who help us run. You screen applicants, run training classes, fill shifts, track hours, and thank people for their time. You also keep volunteer work separate from paid jobs and keep every volunteer who works with children screened.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Recruit volunteers, docents, teen volunteers, and corporate groups for the roles staff request.
Screen applicants, check references, and run background checks for volunteers who work with children, as your policy and state law require.
Run orientation and docent training with the Education Manager and the Curator.
Schedule volunteers for shifts, events, and programs, and fill gaps on short notice.
Track volunteer hours and training records in [your volunteer system].
Plan recognition events and a regular volunteer newsletter.
Address volunteer conduct issues fairly, and end a volunteer's service when policy requires it.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Answer volunteer questions and update the week's schedule.
Check in volunteers, hand out badges, and confirm each one's post.
Meet with staff about upcoming volunteer needs.
Review new applications and set up interviews.
Enter volunteer hours and training completions.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Active volunteers: [your target].
Volunteer hours logged: [your target].
Volunteer retention: [your target].
Volunteer shifts filled: [your target].
Volunteers screened before their first shift: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[2+] years in volunteer management, recruiting, or program coordination.
Organized scheduling across many people and shifts.
Warm, clear communication with volunteers of all backgrounds.
Experience with a volunteer or scheduling database.
Passes the background check your policy requires for a role that oversees work with children.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience at a nonprofit, attraction, or school.
Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA).
Experience running a teen volunteer program.
7. Physical Requirements
Office work plus walking the site to check on volunteers.
Set up rooms for trainings and events, lifting up to [25] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Full-time. Some weekends for volunteer shifts, trainings, and events.
Evening trainings and recognition events.
Busiest before the spring and summer seasons.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new volunteer coordinator gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What makes a volunteer program at an attraction different
Most coordinators fill shifts. Here volunteers lead tours, talk with guests beside animals and art, and some work with children, so the rules matter as much as the schedule.
Each staff request gets a yes or a no
Departments ask for volunteers all the time, and the coordinator decides which requests fit. A good post adds to what paid staff do, such as an extra greeter on a holiday weekend or a weeding crew. Labor Department guidance describes nonprofit volunteers as people who don't displace paid workers or do work regular employees would otherwise do. So a request to cover an open paid shift goes back to the manager who asked. Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet 14A, non-profit organizations and the FLSA.
City and county sites use a public-agency test
When a city or county runs the zoo, garden or historic site, federal rules for public agencies apply. A volunteer gives time for civic or charitable reasons, with no promise or hope of pay. The time must be given freely, with no pressure from an employer, spoken or implied. So don't lean on city staff to help out at a weekend event. Hours given under pressure don't count as volunteer time. Source: 29 CFR 553.101: Volunteers for public agencies (Cornell LII).
Screening for work with children follows state law
Docents lead school groups and teens help at summer camps, so screening matters. Some states make it law. Pennsylvania requires clearances from adult volunteers in a program who are responsible for children or have direct contact with them. A person who picks volunteers commits a misdemeanor by approving one on purpose without them. Check your state's rule and your insurer's. If a screening company runs the check, use the written notice and consent federal law requires for job applicants. Log every check date. Source: 23 Pa.C.S. 6344.2: Volunteers having contact with children.
Docents study before they guide
A docent class can run for weeks, taught by curators and educators, and docents keep learning as exhibits change. The coordinator sets the class schedule, tracks who has passed each tour, and sends updates when an animal moves or a gallery is rehung. To most guests a docent speaks for the site, so what docents say has to be right.
Volunteer counts go on the Form 990
A nonprofit's Form 990 asks how many people volunteered during the year, board members included. The IRS allows a reasonable estimate only when the count isn't kept in the books or reported elsewhere, such as in an annual report or grant proposal. Clean records of each volunteer's hours, posts and training give one number for all three and show funders what the program is worth. Source: IRS: Instructions for Form 990.
How much cultural attraction volunteer coordinators make
The closest BLS group for cultural attraction volunteer coordinators is human resources specialists. Human resources specialists who work for museums, zoos, gardens, and historic sites earned a median of $62,850 a year ($30.22 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $75,940 median for human resources specialists in all industries. About 1,160 of the 912,430 human resources specialists in that survey work for museums, zoos and gardens.
Pay is usually by the hour or a salary at the lower end of the office scale. BLS has no code for volunteer coordinators; the figures shown are for human resources specialists, the closest match for recruiting and screening work, and coordinator pay at attractions may start below them.
Museums, zoos and gardens
$62,850$62,850 median Middle half $49,990–$79,120 10th–90th $43,080–$99,200
All industries
$75,940$75,940 median Middle half $58,610–$99,380 10th–90th $47,180–$128,720
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Museums, zoos and gardens
$43,080
$49,990
$62,850
$79,120
$99,200
All industries
$47,180
$58,610
$75,940
$99,380
$128,720
BLS groups museums, zoos, botanical gardens and historic sites together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Scheduling many people across shifts, events and programs without gaps
Warm, clear communication with volunteers of all backgrounds
Fair, steady handling of conduct problems, up to ending a volunteer's service
Careful records of hours, training and screening
Recruiting from schools, companies, clubs and the neighborhood
Comfort leading orientations and trainings in front of a group
Teach these on the job
Your volunteer database and check-in process
Which posts volunteers may fill, and which stay paid
Your screening policy and your state's rules for work with children
Docent course content, with the Education Manager and Curator
Your recognition traditions and the volunteer newsletter
Programs run on volunteer software such as VolunteerHub, Better Impact or Galaxy Digital, or the volunteer tools in a donor database, along with a background check service and a badge printer. Find out which systems candidates have used to post shifts and log hours.
Cultural attraction volunteer coordinator interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Pull these from the volunteer system monthly. Agree on each target with the departments that rely on volunteers, since they know their own peak days.
Active volunteers
Volunteers who worked at least one shift in the last quarter, not everyone still on the roster. Break it out by post, such as docents, gardens, events and teens.
Volunteer hours logged
Total hours from check-in records each month, by department and post. Spot-check sign-in sheets against the schedule so missed check-outs don't pad the count.
Volunteer retention
Volunteers active a year ago who are still active now, divided by everyone active a year ago. Ask the people who leave why, with a short note or call.
Volunteer shifts filled
Shifts with a volunteer checked in, divided by shifts departments asked for. Track no-shows and last-minute gaps separately so you know which posts need a backup list.
Volunteers screened before their first shift
New volunteers whose references and required checks were complete before day one, divided by all new volunteers. Audit a sample of files each quarter against your policy.
Can we give volunteers perks like parking or meals?
Small thank-yous are common, but keep them small. At a public site, federal rules let volunteers get expenses, reasonable benefits and a nominal fee. The fee can't be tied to how much they do, and the total can't add up to pay. At a private nonprofit, the Labor Department's test is that volunteers serve without expecting or getting pay.
How much does a cultural attraction volunteer coordinator make?
Human resources specialists who work for museums, zoos, gardens, and historic sites earned a median of $62,850 a year ($30.22 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $49,990 and $79,120 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How is a volunteer coordinator different from a docent coordinator?
A docent coordinator runs the guides who give tours, with deep content training. A volunteer coordinator runs everyone: docents plus event helpers, garden crews, greeters and teen volunteers. Mid-size sites often hand one person both roles, with the curator and education staff owning what the tours say.
Does a volunteer coordinator need a certification?
No. The Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) credential is voluntary. The Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration grants it after an application and an exam. The template lists it as a plus. A record of recruiting, scheduling and keeping volunteers tells you more.
How do we end a volunteer's service fairly?
Use the same steps every time. Volunteers sign a conduct policy at orientation. Most problems get a talk, then a written warning. Safety issues, such as mistreating an animal or a child, mean removal that day. Write down each step, bring in the Education Manager, and collect the badge and turn off system access before they leave.
Where should the volunteer program sit?
Many attractions put it under education, since docents and program helpers make up much of the corps. Others place it with guest services or HR. Wherever it sits, the coordinator needs a direct line to HR for screening and wage-law questions, and a seat at planning meetings so volunteer needs surface early.
