The job and what it involves
Charity workers work alongside aid organisations committed to social welfare, improving quality of life and working to reduce poverty. As a charity worker you may be involved in the fundraising side of the business and may have to organise events and projects aimed at raising money and collecting donations. You could also work within specific projects and manage the coordination of the charity’s finances and work to make the organisation more cost-effective.
The main areas of work
You could work in a High Street charity store, collecting donations, raising awareness of fundraising events and the charities cause. You may travel in your work, especially if the charity operates overseas, and the job may involve working in different locations. Alternately, you could work in a financial or planning office and coordinate the organisation and spending plans of the organisation. You could work in the marketing section of the company. This could mean that you co-ordinate poster and TV advertisements as well as leaflets and branding.
Qualities required
A commitment to and support for a charity’s cause is vital for this career. Skills of organisation, practicality and time management are important when co-ordinating projects. Desirable attributes include creativity and innovation. Communication skills are particularly important as you will spend a lot of time working with people. Good IT skills would also be useful.
Qualifications
Requirements will vary depending on the line of charity work which you decide to take. For social care jobs a degree in social care is necessary. If you wish to work in the financial sector of charity work then a degree in maths or accounting is important. The required qualifications vary largely depending on the specific job you are interested in.
Route to success
Starting out by volunteering for a charity is a good start to get some experience and show your enthusiasm and commitment to potential employers. Voluntary work could be on the shop floor in high-street charity stores, this could involve clothing stores or you could volunteer for call in charities such as The Samaritans which involves volunteering in a call centre.
Salary
Due to the varying nature of the career, there is a great variety in salary, depending on the sector you enter. As a fundraising assistant you can expect to start at £16,000 and as a fundraising manager at £33,000. Being the director of a small or medium organisation you could earn around £45,000. If you become the managing director of a large charity the salary could reach £150,000. According to a survey of chief executives, charity workers on average were paid 20 per cent less than CEOs of businesses of the same size. As with most careers, salaries will increase with experience and time spent in the profession.
Star Player
Jasmine Whitbread, the chief executive of Save the Children, graduated from the University of Bristol in 1986 with a degree in English. She then completed the Executive program at the Bradford School of Business in California. She became the managing director of a Thomson Financial Business and then spent six years working as Oxfam’s regional director in West Africa and then as the International Director responsible for Oxfam’s worldwide program. In 2005 Jasmine was appointed chief executive of Save the Children UK and was made CEO in March 2010. Her salary was £128,000 last year but she says that she didn’t choose her career for the money, but because of her passion to help children. Save the Children have worked with big names – such as the supermarket giant Tesco which is committed to donating a school skirt or trousers to schoolchildren in Kenya whenever a customer buys a pair of school trousers from their store.
Useful links
For more information about a career in the charity sector look at http://www.charityjob.co.uk/seekers/charitywork.aspx
To organise voluntary work you could contact www.savethechildren.org.uk or www.oxfam.org.uk
Tags: careers, charity, Jasmine Whitbread, job profile, student, Students, Women in the Third Sector
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