Building a Competency Framework for Health Volunteer Managers

Should the same level of governance that’s applied to staff in a health service – or any setting, for that matter – be applied to volunteers? Kerryn Mitchell of the Leaders of Health Volunteer Engagement (LOHVE) Network set out to answer this question shortly after she helped establish LOHVE in 2011. The LOHVE Network, which now includes some 170 volunteer engagement professionals from across Australia, New Zealand and the USA, has always been committed to the professionalization of volunteer leadership in healthcare settings. In this Engage feature, Mitchell explains why she now thinks the same level of governance should definitely be applied to staff and volunteers alike. And she describes how she built a competency framework for health volunteer managers working across health care settings in Victoria, Australia.