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Charity and voluntary sector

The charity and voluntary sector (third sector) includes over 169,000 registered charities in the UK, with a combined income in excess of £84 billion. The sector offers a wide range of job opportunities, in large and small organisations. 

You could be directly involved in providing care and support, or working in a business role, fundraising, campaigning or in policy and research.

Find out about the charity and voluntary sector

Key resources

Research the sector and keep up with current issues:

Use of AI in the charity sector

AI adoption rates are increasing, with charities using AI for data analysis, content creation, administration and donor management to increase funding. Charities' concerns about AI include data security, factual accuracy or bias, human rights and environmental concerns. (See Charity Commission blog: Charities and Artificial Intelligence, February 2024; Charities Aid Foundation: What the public think of charities using AI, March 2024; Charity Digital Skills report, published annually; and look for recent articles on this topic.)

 

What skills do I need?

Depending on the role you are considering, specific qualifications may be required (eg finance, HR, IT roles), in addition to knowledge of the sector. Look at job descriptions to see what employers are looking for. You are likely to need:

  • passion and motivation
  • communication and relationship-building skills
  • organisation, planning, time management
  • creativity, adaptability and innovation
  • negotiation - especially for fundraising
  • leadership and management (of paid staff and volunteers)
  • resilience
  • digital literacy and use of AI tools

Can you demonstrate you have these skills, or can you develop them? For more information about professional skills and how to develop them, see the York Strengths Professional Skills page.

Work experience

The chance to do some work shadowing, an internship or volunteering not only shows your commitment to a cause and gives you relevant experience, but can help you test whether it's the right industry for you: 

See Do It to find details of organisations, and contact them directly to see if they have any opportunities. Volunteers are often in the best position to hear about any paid roles that might become available.

Finding jobs

Some graduate schemes in the sector include:

  • Charityworks is the UK's non profit sector's graduate programme which is a paid, 12 month graduate scheme 
  • Sanctuary Group is a housing charity offering tailored graduate development programmes
  • Accelerate, two year programme with Cancer Research UK in research, technology, marketing and engagement, policy and communications

Consider the option of first gaining qualifications/experience/skills in the public or private sector and moving into the voluntary sector later - this is a significant entry route for many.

Vacancies are posted directly on organisations' websites, Handshake, newspapers and through specialist websites including:

The recruitment process is likely to vary depending on the size of the organisation you are applying to. See our pages on the applying for jobs for more information.

Prepare for interviews with Shortlist.Me. Try these practice interviews from employers in the charity sector:

What can I do at York?

There are lots of things you can do to help you learn more about this sector, and get valuable experience to boost your chances of success.    

  • Get involved in volunteering through York Students in Schools or other projects
  • York SU also has volunteering activities for you to take part in including the award-winning Minds in Motion project and charity fundraising
  • Find York graduates working in this sector and start making connections - see the section below for suggestions
  • Find out about developing key skills on the York Strengths Professional Skills page page
  • Look on Handshake for relevant events
  • Find an internship in the sector, or develop relevant skills through a York Internships project, advertised on Handshake
  • Look at the student guide (and free student membership) from the Association for Project Management to acquire additional skills
  • Get your CV ready - use the resources on the CV page to help you draft it, then upload your CV to CareerSet to get instant feedback
  • Listen to our What do you actually do? podcast episode with Cat Schroeter, senior fundraiser at Action for Children, for an insight into fundraising in the charity sector.
More resources: people to follow, podcasts, blogs

Connect with York graduates

Join York for Life to connect with our global network of alumni. Start building your own network - find people from your course, look at different careers, ask questions and request a mentor.

Use LinkedIn to make connections, follow organisations of interest, and find out what York graduates are doing. Find out more about using LinkedIn and networking.

Podcasts

Keep up to date with the sector and learn about the types of jobs available with these podcasts.