Charity fundraiser : Employers and vacancy sources

The expansion of the voluntary sector in recent years has resulted in increased opportunities for graduates. Typically employment would be in a charity, although the size, structure and purpose of charities vary tremendously. Other organisations that may employ fundraisers include:

• hospitals;
• educational establishments;
• arts organisations;
• churches;
• political parties;
• other local, national and international fundraising agencies.

The main characteristic of these organisations is that they are cause-led, established to achieve a specific aim, rather than to make a profit.

Nationally, the voluntary sector had 634,000 paid workers as of 2006 and an additional workforce of 11.6 million volunteers offering their services at least once a month. The total income of all registered charities is estimated to be over £33billion. This income is not evenly distributed, with a minority of larger charities generating a large proportion of the income. The majority of charities (87%) are small and have incomes below £100,000. These smaller organisations struggle to keep pace and incomes vary year on year, posing a big challenge to fundraisers. Charitable giving has been affected by the recession, with individual donations falling by 11% in the year to February 2009.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Third Sector  for UK vacancies.
• nfpjob  
• TBI Jobs    
• Jobs in Charities  for UK vacancies.
• Guardian Jobs  on Mondays for marketing, fundraising and PR and Wednesdays for public sector jobs and general vacancies.
• Independent Jobs  on Thursdays for general vacancies.
• CharityJOB  for UK vacancies.
• Goodmoves  for vacancies in England, Scotland and Wales.
• CommunityNI  for vacancies in Northern Ireland.
• Individual charities’ websites - use directories such as Charity Choice  to find contact details.
• Local press and on general vacancy websites.

Recruitment consultancies specialising in the not-for-profit sector are an important source of job vacancies. UK-wide agencies include:

• Morgan Hunt  
• Execucare  
• People Unlimited  

Regional agencies include:

• Kage Partnership  for London
• Cuthbert Recruitment  for Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Volunteering vacancies are increasingly advertised on regional job vacancy websites. When looking for volunteering opportunities, try:

• Volunteering England  - offers guidance on how to find voluntary work, both locally and nationally;
• YouthNet  - a database with details of almost half a million opportunities;
• Do-it  - for UK-wide vacancies;
• Volunteer Scotland  - for regional vacancies in Scotland;
• Volunteering Wales  for opportunities in Wales;
• Volunteer Now  for openings in Northern Ireland.

You can also make a speculative application for voluntary work to individual charities.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.