As a VOA Officer, you will have privilege and responsibility of serving the Venturing community. You will work with a team of youth officers and adult advisors to suggest programmatic changes, lead events, and host trainings for the Venturing and Scouting community. As an officer, you have the opportunity to give back to the program and leave a mark on future generations of Venturers.
In order to apply for a position, fill out the Venturing President and Vice President Nomination Form and submit it to Venturing.NationalOfficers@scouting.org. All NVOA members (National Venturing President, National Venturing Vice Presidents) must attend a mandatory orientation (typically over the last weekend in May or first weekend in June).
Effective April 1, 2024, the sixteen National Service Territories (NST) will be replaced with fourteen Council Support Territories (CST). Please reference this spreadsheet with CST by Council to determine your Territory number. Territory officer selections will be conducted in accordance with the new CST structure.
Deadlines
Applications for national and territory level positions must be submitted by email to Venturing.NationalOfficers@scouting.org by 11:59pm CT on the dates listed below.
- National: March 10
- Territory: March 20
Councils have the flexibility to set their own submission deadlines and design their own officer applications. This Sample Application may be used if desired.
Example Applications
Applying to be a VOA officer is an exciting experience! It can also be intimidating if you are unsure of what to do. Below you will find some resources that may be helpful as you work through the process.
While we encourage you to get creative and use your application in a way that best highlights yourself and your unique experiences and abilities, below you can also find some samples of past application. Note that these are meant to be used as inspiration, so do not feel obligated to make yours similar to any of these! Your application should be appropriate for the level of position for which you are applying. Council applications most likely will look very different than national applications, and that is okay!
Position Descriptions
President
- Works with Advisors and Staff Advisors of their own VOA and Venturing Presidents at the tiers above and below them.
- Appoints and supervises Vice Presidents, VOA liaisons, and additional optional VOA youth positions.
- Leads the youth officer selection process and interviews.
- Represents the VOA to Scouting leadership at the same tier.
- Motivates and coordinates the Vice President(s) and any other appointed VOA members in assigned tasks and conducts meetings with them as needed.
- Helps train and mentor presidents in lower tiers.
- Plans and leads regular meetings of the VOA.
- Assists VOA members with the selection of subsidiary youth members.
- Tracks all goals for the VOA and provides regular progress reports to the appropriate committees.
Vice President of Program
- In consultation with the president, appoints and supervises subsidiary youth positions needed to perform the program functions of the VOA.
- Supervises activity chairs and the planning of activities (conferences, outings, summits, and other events).
- Facilitates internal training events of the VOA.
- Manages VOA finances, if required.
- Coordinates and implements innovative ideas for development.
- Performs any other duties as assigned by the President.
Vice President of Communications
- In consultation with the President, appoints and supervises subsidiary youth positions needed to perform the communication functions of the VOA.
- Actively studies and remains aware of the best way to communicate to Venturers on the VOA and in its jurisdiction, understanding that several methods of delivery must be utilized for maximum effectiveness.
- Ensures that the VOA web presence is being maintained, updated, and scaled appropriately for effective publication of information and collection of feedback.
- Periodically publishes a newsletter of past, current, and future events, including articles of noteworthy events and other items of interest to Venturers.
- Maintains groups, pages, blogs, calendars, message boards, etc., on the most relevant social media and social networking sites.
- Submits articles about VOA activities to other Scouting media (e.g., Council or Region newsletter and websites).
- Actively pursues opportunities to increase VOA exposure by submitting articles, comments, photos, and upcoming event announcements, and reports to external publications such as local newspapers and other appropriate venues.
- Develops and maintains the tools to communicate with all relevant parties using a variety of methods such as telephone, text message, email, and postal mail as appropriate.
- Maintains rosters of VOA members and frequently involved persons, including as many forms of readily available communication paths as possible, and identifies preferred methods, making it available to the VOA as needed and appropriate.
- Develops, updates, maintains, and makes readily available marketing strategies, solutions, and materials.
- Actively pursues contact information for people, groups, and businesses of interest to the VOA.
- Performs any other duties as assigned by the President
Vice President of Administration
- In consultation with the President, appoints and supervises subsidiary youth positions needed to perform the administrative functions of the VOA.
- Develops and implements strategies to increase Venturing membership within the territory of the VOA.
- Actively pursues positive relationships with representatives of BSA chartered organizations, religious groups, businesses, community organizations, and other groups of interest to the VOA and Venturing.
- Develops and maintains knowledge of customs, traditions, and relevant facts about BSA chartered organizations, religious groups, businesses, community organizations, and other groups of interest to the VOA and Venturing.
- Promotes and organizes the youth officer selection application processes (at the same tier). They can also assist the President in communicating with the selection committee, organizing the call, etc.
- Promotes and facilitates the selection and presentation of the Venturing Leadership Award and other appropriate Venturing awards at the same tier.
- Maintains records of recognitions, membership, officer selections, and VOA leadership alumni.
- Takes minutes at VOA meetings.
- Performs any other duties as assigned by the President.
