By Sophie Ponting
It’s not every job that offers you the satisfaction of knowing that the hard work you put in every day is making a real difference to those less fortunate than yourself, but that’s the feeling that comes with working for a charity. Whether it’s as a fundraiser, administrator, or even marketing for a charity, the opportunities for work in your particular area of expertise whilst sticking to your moral values are endless.
According to the UK Charity Commission there are 180,000 registered charities in England and Wales alone, and while many of the workers at these charities carry out their duties as volunteers, there are also quite a number of reasonably well paid charity jobs on offer at many of the larger organisations.
Here we’ll take a quick look at some of the pros of working for a charity
- Improve the quality of life of those that need it most
- Contribute something worthwhile to the community
- Tremendous job satisfaction in seeing the results of your work
- Work in a not for profit organisation setting you apart from more money oriented workplaces
- Gain valuable experience as a graduate – pro bono internships are regularly on offer at many charities
Job diversity is also a key factor for many that choose to pursue charity jobs and here are a couple of the areas within your everyday charity with many job opportunities.
Fundraising
The role of fundraiser is one of the most important roles within any charity. They are quite often seen as the public face of the charity and their duties are quite extensive and can cover anything from organising traditional street collections to liaising with major businesses to encourage corporate donations.
Marketing
Marketing is where many businesses fail and charities are no different. Raising public awareness of a charity is key to its survival and a good marketing department is essential. With marketing being such a large component of a successful charity there are many roles available such as campaign managers, press officers, and brand managers, to name but a few.
If a change in career is something you are considering, then taking a step into the world of charity work could be the most rewarding career choice you will ever make. With vacancies that are numerous and varied, and a level of job satisfaction that is second to none, it’s easy to see why working for a charity is not like your average day job.
I’m not so sure that charity is different than other businesses, especially if you look at what charities sell to donors. They sell a sense of “betterment”, “of doing good” or “of making things better” – just like any other aspirational product. I am not passing judgement on this in the least, just trying to raise the point that working in marketing for a charity might not be that much different that working for a company like Nike. The both sell a sense of aspiration.
Whether or not you work for a charity, it’s true that the best jobs are those which make you feel passionate. Business leader Kate Hardcastle runs two charity campaigns and has some good tips for women in business. http://bit.ly/1cRDUVC