FINDING A PAID POSITION

The voluntary sector is not short of opportunities for the paid worker. A rough estimate would put the figure of paid positions at somewhere over half a million. Add to this the fact that there are many young, mobile people working in the sector and that quite a few jobs are project based (lasting for only the life of the project) and you will get some sense of the number of jobs available at any one time.

There is paid work to be done at all levels, dealing with all kinds of issues (from fighting racism in football to promoting leisure and education for the elderly). Also it is possible to work almost anywhere in the country (or even the world). Just as with voluntary work it would be surprising if you were unable to find something you are interested in.

Looking for a job

When you are looking for a job you need to be focused – which is about knowing what you want to do and why, and using every resource available to you. Use the agencies, resources and ideas discussed in Chapter 5, but bear in mind that (apart from networking – which is productive if unpredictable) there are basically three ways of finding paid work:

• 1.trawling through job pages
• 2.registering with recruitment agencies
• 3.making speculative applications.

Trawling through job pages

Paid jobs in the voluntary sector are advertised in the media just like other jobs, though it’s useful to know where to start.

As far as newspapers are concerned, your local one is always worth looking at. Even the national voluntary sector organisations advertise jobs locally if they have a local office.

The best national newspaper for voluntary sector careers is The Guardian where jobs in this sector are advertised every Wednesday. The Observer has some voluntary sector appointments on the Work pages of its Business section.

If you are looking for overseas work you will find jobs advertised in all these publications though if you have a Teletext service or access to the Internet, it is worth checking on the jobs pages or searching the websites of individual organisations.

Registering with recruitment agencies

It is always worth trying places like the Job Centre or high street recruitment consultants, though there are a few dedicated voluntary sector recruitment agencies (see Chapter 3). There are also recruitment ‘agencies’, such as monster, on the Internet. These are places where you can search through masses of jobs by type, region, sector, pay level and so on until you find what you want. You can also post your CV on some of these sites so that employers can look for you.

Making speculative applications

It is always worth considering making a speculative application, particularly if your field of knowledge and experience is very specialised, very sought after or both. Generally voluntary sector organisations have stringent equal opportunities policies, which mean speculative applications aren’t favoured. However, it’s always possible you will be put on file, or better still a mailing list, and asked to make an application when a job does come up.

Speculative applications can work well if you are applying to work overseas. Organisations like VSO, for example, have ‘registers’ of people wanting to work in developing countries. The disadvantage of such an approach is that it can be months before anything suitable comes up.

If you do take this approach either find out (by phoning) to whom applications should be addressed, or address your application to the personnel manager. That way it will get to the right person even if the organisation is too small to have a personnel manager. Don’t write to the Director or the Chair because your application may end up being sidelined or delayed by internal channels.

Knowing when to look for jobs

As far as local papers are concerned, you need to find out when the best day for jobs is. Most papers have certain days when there will be more of one type of advertisement than another (for example, houses on Saturday, cars on Friday, jobs on Thursday). For The Guardian the best day is Wednesday, followed by Monday and Saturday; The Observer, of course, is on Sunday.

For other sources such as agencies, Teletext and the Internet it’s probably worth registering where you can and checking to see if there’s any progress on a regular basis.

As far as seasons of the year go, you may have noticed that there are fewer jobs (whatever the sector) advertised in the papers in December, January, July and August. This is simply because these are not cost-effective times to advertise. Potential applicants are too busy doing other things – preparing for Christmas, settling back to work, going on holiday, changing their car – and organisations find selections more difficult to organise because of internal pressures of staff taking time off for holidays. So, there won’t be as many jobs advertised at these times of the year. But it’s still important to keep looking because it could be then that you find a job – and if there aren’t as many people looking there could be less competition.

Working overseas

Finding paid work overseas (at a rate equivalent to UK pay) is more difficult than finding it in the UK. Firstly, there are far fewer opportunities – a lot of organisations that work in developing countries now employ local people to run their overseas offices. Secondly, the person specification will usually require that you have previous overseas work experience (usually gained as a volunteer) of around two years. See Chapter 8 for more information on working abroad.

EXPLORING WHAT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE

Sampling a few areas

To get an idea of the range of jobs available in the voluntary sector take a look at the lists in Chapters 1 and 2. Also, look through the jobs pages of The Guardian on any Wednesday.

If you feel you don’t have any ‘specialist’ skills, remember that whatever work an organisation does – whether it’s replanting woodland areas or building accommodation for the disabled – it will need an office of some sort to run the ‘business’ side of things. So, even if you are a committed conservationist, but without practical conservation skills, you may find the right role for you in the office of a conservation organisation.

However, if you have specific skills (and voluntary experience) your chances of finding the job you want at the level you want will be much improved.

You can sample work experience in the voluntary sector by doing the Foundation Course run by Working for a Charity. This consists of seven full-day workshops spread over several weeks and a supervised work placement in a voluntary sector organisation for a minimum of 20 days. On the application form you can specify the type of work you are best suited to do and the type of organisation you would like to work for. Placements can often be arranged in your own area.

UNDERSTANDING JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

When you receive information about a job from a voluntary sector organisation there should be at least a job description. Sometimes there will also be a person specification telling you what qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities are needed to do the job. Understanding these documents will help you make a decision about whether to apply and will also help you to make a better application.

Decoding job descriptions

Every job description is different, so decoding it is really a matter of asking some questions and thinking about the implications of the answers.

• How is it presented?
• How many duties and responsibilities are there on it?
• Does it tell you if there is any supervisory responsibility?
• Does it tell you the purpose of the post?
• Does it make clear any special conditions?

Presentation

A well laid-out job description with clear headings and decent-sized type is your first indication that the organisation has put some thought into the recruitment process. A poorly laid-out description doesn’t necessarily indicate the contrary, but it should put you on the lookout for other indicators (poor telephone manner when you ring, your interview running unreasonably late or over time).

Length

A good job description will be no more than two or three pages long, though physical length is relative to the presentation. The real issue is how many duties and responsibilities are on the description, and how much detail there is on each item. A job description is really a template – it should allow for the fact that no two people can do the same job in exactly the same way. An overly detailed job description might indicate a heavily bureaucratic organisation or that there is more than one job to be done.

On the other hand, a job description with only one or two duties on it might tell you that the organisation either doesn’t really need this post, or hasn’t considered how it fits in with the rest of the organisation.

Supervision

A good job description will indicate whom you will answer to and who will answer to you. If you have to answer equally to several people you could find yourself in some delicate situations in which you will need to develop some excellent diplomatic skills. If a job description does not indicate supervision you will need to find this out.

Purpose

This is a general statement about why the post is necessary. Again, it should be brief and with not too many points. A good job description will have between one and four purposes and you should be able to see a common thread running through them. If there are lots of purposes and they seem at odds with each other, you need to question how many jobs the organisation is really asking you to do.

Special conditions

This is a general area where you should find information about any travel, unsocial hours, significant pressures and other conditions of the work. If there is no information about these kinds of issues it doesn’t mean they aren’t present in the job, so you need to be ready to ask about them at interview.

Decoding person specifications

A person specification tells you what skills, qualifications and experience you should have to do the job. A really good person specification will tell you at what stage the recruitment team will be looking for them – on your application form, during interview, or during assessment exercises.

Again, presentation is important because this is a document that should be easy to read and understand. At the very least it should split the requirements into ‘essential’ and ‘desirable’ categories.

If something appears under the heading of ‘essential’ this means that it is no use applying for that job unless you have that particular skill, experience or qualification. Even if there are ten essentials and you have nine of them you may be wasting your time by applying. However, if you have all of the essentials and none of the desirables, it could still be worth sending in your application. Things under ‘desirable’ are those that an organisation believes will enhance a person’s ability to do a job, rather than being vital.

See Figure 11 for an example of a person specification.

UNDERSTANDING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

You may be sent information about terms and conditions with information about the job you are applying for. In the voluntary sector generally there is a concern for equal opportunities so, unlike the private sector, individual negotiation around such matters is unlikely.

Pay

It should be clear when you will be paid, what salary scale you will be on and when increments will be due. It should also be clear whether you will be paid or get time-off-in-lieu (TOIL) for any overtime. Many voluntary sector organisations do not pay for overtime, but instead operate a TOIL system. It should be clear how this works.

Holidays

Holidays in the voluntary sector vary. Some are very good and offer 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays. Some organisations offer fewer days, but follow the public sector practice of giving two days leave for most of the bank holidays.

Maternity/paternity leave

Maternity leave is usually well provided for in the voluntary sector, but paternity leave is something that is not generally provided. If there is no information on this in the terms and conditions make sure you clarify the situation before accepting a job.

Relocation

It is unlikely that a small, local organisation would be in a position to offer relocation expenses. The relocation packages offered by larger organisations are generally for senior posts. Whatever the case, don’t expect the same level of compensation as you would receive in the private sector.

Criminal records

If you are applying for a job working with vulnerable groups of people such as children, women or the elderly, the employing organisation may check to see whether you have a criminal record. This is to protect the people that the organisation supports. Further information about what you have to declare and what the organisation is allowed to check out for itself can be obtained from NACRO (National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders).

Confidentiality

There may be a clause in your contract about confidentiality, especially with organisations such as rape crisis centres or refuges. Breaking confidentiality in such cases can merit instant dismissal because of the potentially terrible impact it can have on other people’s lives, and because it can bring the organisation into disrepute.

Pensions

The voluntary sector is generally quite good at looking after its staff and pension cover may be provided on a contributory or non-contributory basis.

Smoking

Like everywhere else, many voluntary sector organisations now have no-smoking policies. This could mean that smoking is not allowed in the offices or public areas in an organisation’s building. It could mean that smoking is not allowed anywhere on the organisation’s property, including its land and vehicles (if it has any).

ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL REWARDS

Whatever the financial rewards of the kinds of job you are interested in, you need to measure them against your expectations, not just of money, but of your lifestyle.

Working in the UK

There are a lot of professional staff in the voluntary sector and their pay is at professional levels. However, it’s important not to expect the same as you would get in the private sector.

Average salaries for chief executives of charities with annual incomes of around £3–10 million are around £46,000. The average for chief executives of commercial companies with the same turnover is almost twice as much (£80,000).

One of the best-paid areas in the voluntary sector is fundraising. Good fundraisers are highly sought after and well rewarded. The fundraising director of a £10–25 million charity can expect to earn around £40,000.

At the lower end (clerical assistant, receptionist, secretarial, and assistant officer type positions) jobs are quite well paid. They may be comparable with the private sector. For example, it’s not unusual for secretaries to earn between £8,000 and £14,000.

But whatever the level you work at in the voluntary sector, there is an absence of the perks that you might find in commercial companies. For example, there are few jobs for which a company car is provided, and private health care insurance is unusual, as are bonuses and productivity incentives.

Working overseas

If you are working in a developing country with one of the ‘volunteer’ sending organisations (ICD, Skillshare International, VSO, etc.) you will receive a ‘local’ salary or allowance and it will seem very small from a UK perspective. Around £400 a month is not unusual. However, if you consider that this may be untaxed (or low-taxed), that at least a flight each way will be provided (and maybe a holiday flight in the middle of your contract), that your National Insurance will be paid, medical insurance provided, and rent-free accommodation and furnishings thrown in, it will enable you to live comfortably, although perhaps less so if you travel with your family.

If you are working as the direct employee of a UK organisation your salary could well be anywhere upwards of £14,000 and you could be getting all the other benefits that have just been mentioned. On the other hand, you may have to pay for your own accommodation, National Insurance and so on, and your salary may be taxed as soon as you return to the UK.

EXPLORING PROMOTION PROSPECTS AND JOB SECURITY

Job security and promotion prospects in the voluntary sector are to some extent dependent on the size of the organisation, the nature of its work, and whether its cause is ‘fashionable’. And, of course, how ambitious you are.

Again, it is a matter of thinking about your long-term career plans. If you want to work your way up in the voluntary sector it will demand a great deal of energy, flexibility and mobility (you may have to move to another location to get the results you want).

Job titles can be a hindrance where there is no equivalent from one organisation to another or in the private sector. A title such as Project Officer is more likely to be understood across sectors than Placement Officer or Field Co-ordinator, for example.

In small organisations straightforward promotions are not always possible so if you are regraded (i.e. put on a higher salary scale) it’s a good opportunity to see if you can have your job title changed so that you can put this down on your CV as a promotion.

In order to get a promotion you may need particular experience, such as working in direct contact with a particular section of society (the homeless, drug users, prostitutes, for example). One of the best ways of getting this experience is by volunteering.

CASE STUDIES

John Tallins, ecologist, woodland conservation charity

‘I think of myself as a scientist, first and foremost. But I’m lucky because my laboratory is outside. I plan surveys, organise volunteers to do them, do some of my own small-scale surveys, and analyse results. If we need any laboratory work doing I contract it out. The reports I write can have a big impact on the local area so I feel quite a bit of pressure to get things right. The money isn’t brilliant and there are no perks apart from working outdoors a lot of the time. Having said that, last year I got to visit a project in India that’s been a real success to see if there was anything we could learn from them.’

Francis Canon, manager, environmental charity

‘I manage the communications services within the organisation. That means I’m responsible for looking at everything from how we do business with the Post Office to how our computers are networked. A project I’m working on now is to try to reduce the amount of paper we use in our offices – it makes sense for an organisation like us. It means getting people together to find out what and how they want to communicate and seeing how much we can do by computers or by changing the way we run our meetings and so on. I also manage two assistants and a large budget so I draw on a lot of skills in this job.’

Sarah Fielden, information officer, local drugs project

‘I first got involved with the project as a volunteer. A friend overdosed on drugs and I just wanted to do something useful. I was managing a high street fashion store at the time and I just found the volunteer work was getting more interesting and I thought the stuff they were dealing with was fascinating. When this job came up I applied and got it. We’re only a small organisation so I feel involved in everything. My own job is fairly broad anyway – I put together funding applications, write news releases, work on publicity campaigns and even visit local schools doing educational work. I’d like to go more into fundraising, but I’ll have to move on to a bigger organisation to specialise.’

CHECKLIST

• What different ways are there of finding work?
• What questions should you consider when looking at a job description?
• What’s the value of a person specification?
• What are the terms and conditions like, the salaries and the long-term prospects?

USEFUL RESOURCES

Useful addresses