E-tutors are essential for most Virtual Exchange (VE) settings, becoming increasingly popular in Higher Education (HE). They mainly support the virtual learning processes of students and are deemed necessary for the learner's acceptance of e-learning. A categorisation of existing e-tutor qualification programs, an overview of typical tasks, essential competencies and a clear competency profile are missing. Therefore, this paper focuses on identifying existing qualification programs for e-tutors and the required competencies to accompany students in modern learning arrangements. The qualitative data is collected, analysed and systematised to answer the research questions through a systematic literature review. The results include a systematisation of e-tutor qualification programs, the identification of nine essential e-tutor competencies and the definition of a task-based competency profile of an e-tutor in HE. These findings help course instructors improve their VE courses and deploy and qualify e-tutors appropriately.