Starting a career in the charity sector
Starting a career in the charity sector
"The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work" – Steve Jobs
I was at the supermarket the other day when I ran into a friend of the family. She’d been through a really tough time over the last couple of years and, on top of all that, had recently been told she was at risk of redundancy. ‘I think I’m just going to pack it all in and go and work for a charity,’ she said.
Then, only a few days later, meeting a friend for coffee, she said to me, ‘I’ve had enough of my job. I think I’m going to go and work for a charity.’
I am, as you may be able to tell, a huge advocate for the third sector. I’ve spent most of my career working in and for not-for-profit organisations as both an employee and a consultant, and I find I get quite protective of it when people don’t take the third sector and the people who work in it seriously. But while these two friends weren’t necessarily seeing a charity job as an easy option, I did feel they were not seeing the whole picture of what’s happening right now in the sector.
So I sent them some resources and links to recruitment websites (see below) but have written out here a more detailed response.
There’s a lot of great writing out there at the moment that captures the current state of the third sector post-pandemic from people who I’m sure understand the economic situation much better than I do, and are perhaps less emotionally attached to the current instability of the small charity sector, so I’ll link to a few thought pieces here rather than attempting to rewrite their more than competent reflections:
But let’s take the topic of delivering public sector services as an example. Many charities deliver public services: think mental health, community healthcare, domestic abuse services, and while they are commissioned by the local authorities or central government to do that, they are significantly underfunded to do it. In fact, I heard Sarah Vibert, the CEO of NCVO put it perfectly recently in an interview - charities are expected to deliver what no public sector organisation would ever be expected to deliver; they are expected to work miracles.
In reality, these miracles occur for two reasons:
Charities are very good at finding money from elsewhere to subsidise poorly paying contracts.
Some of the best, most experienced and highly-skilled people work for charities on a significantly lower salary than they could get elsewhere and they do that deliberately and consciously because they believe in what the sector does so much that they will compromise their own income to deliver a service so above and beyond what it is funded to deliver that it becomes the norm and charities become the victims of their own success because ‘well if they can do it for that why can’t you’ and while public workers strike, charity workers go their entire career without a pay rise or any chance of progression, working extra hours for free and then volunteering for that same cause.
If the charity sector can do magic, it’s not because the people who work in the sector are magicians, it’s because they are saints.
Working for a charity or other not-for-profit organisation is never an easy option because, although dependent somewhat on the size of the organisation and how long it’s been running for, paid roles are always at the mercy of funding. You could argue that no type of employment is stable these days; people don’t have jobs for life like they once did. But even with the best of them, jobs in the charity sector tend to feel more fragile than they feel safe.
The small charity sector is going through a challenging time at the moment and while working in these organisations can be very rewarding, it’s not necessarily for those needing stability in their income and routine.
But, even in these times of increased instability in the job market, that always-present fear that the bottom will drop out and we’ll be made redundant again or (worse?) stay stuck at this level until we roll out of the admin office on our retirement day, it’s also surely the best and most exciting time to be working for a not-for-profit organisation, a time when we actually can and will make a difference just by doing our job well and fighting the good fight; at a time when the very future of our world and future generations depends on the actions we take right now.
You might find the following free online courses useful:
Here are five questions to help guide you a step closer towards your perfect third sector career move:
If you prefer, you can watch/listen to this section here.
Which causes or issues do most want to be part of the solution for?
In the third sector, you feel to be part of something bigger than yourself; all working together for the same cause, with many of your colleagues feeling equally as passionate about it as you do. So you feel like you belong there. You are proud to talk about the work you do.
What skills do you have, that could be put to good use in an organisation set up to do good in the world?
Whatever your skills are, there are many different ways you can choose to use them in the third sector. When you put your skills to work for a cause you believe in; to make a change in the world you want to see, those skills become superpowers. Especially in small not-for-profit organisations, having a range of skills, or being multi-talented is encouraged, and you’re not boxed in to a job title. Most people, regardless of their job role, get involved in many different aspects of the charity’s day-to-day work. No two days are the same.
What do you want to get out of a job? How do you want to feel at the end of each working day?
You’re on the right side of something; you’re taking action rather than just talking about it. You’re doing that rare thing of aligning your values with your work and in doing so earn your living through the real positive impact you make. That can have a really positive effect on your self-confidence and sense of purpose in the world
What type of people would you like to work with and for? How would you like to be inspired and what kind of employee do you want to become?
You will find some of the most passionate, ambitious and optimistic people working at all levels in the third sector. You’ll find a new mentor, a fascinating role model, and friends for life in some of the most interesting workplaces in the world.
What kind of environment do you want to work in, and where?
The third sector was offering flexible contracts, working from home arrangement and hybrid working long before the pandemic brought it to the rest of the working population. Charities and social impact businesses tend to have a progressive view on the importance of a work/life balance and accept that they will get the best out of people when they are allowed to work in ways that work for them.
How to find a job in the third sector
Jobs within the third sector tend to fall into the following categories, with those areas with the highest number of job roles advertised regularly at the top):
Operations & Service Delivery
Fundraising (often also part of Business Development roles)
Admin
Finance
Marketing, PR & Comms
HR
IT
You can also choose to search for a job supporting a cause close to your heart, such as:
Animal welfare
Children & young people
Disability
Education
Environmental
Faith-based organisations
Health & Medical
Housing & Homelessness
International Development
Mental Health
Social welfare
The arts
Salaries tend to be given either as a static figure, or as a range that is dependent on experience. Note that, unlike the private sector, starting salaries in the third sector are rarely negotiable, and unlike the public sector, there is no guarantee of a pay rise every year.
Many small charities will simply ask for a cover letter and a copy of your CV, so make sure it’s kept up-to-date. They may also review your LinkedIn profile and work experience. Larger charities and not-for-profit organisations are more likely to have their own application form and recruitment pack, so read the guidance carefully.
Here’s some helpful advice for applying for jobs in the charity sector.
Best recruitment sites for third sector jobs in the UK:
Then of course there is volunteering, which is a whole topic in itself and one I’ll write separately on soon.
Go out there and do good! See you soon,
Rachel x