How does your salary compare?
Harris Hill has published its salary survey for roles throughout the UK charity and not-for-profit sectors
Charity recruitment specialist, Harris Hill, has published its 12th annual salary survey, offering jobseekers, professionals and employers a comprehensive review of remuneration for roles throughout the UK’s charity and not-for-profit sectors.
How are developments within and outside the sector affecting salaries? Who are the most sought-after candidates? And which skills are likely to be in highest demand over the year ahead?
Harris Hill’s figures are drawn from the actual salaries of more than 3,000 roles with over 700 organisations, worked on with thousands of candidates during 2016-17. All of this has contributed to the extensive report, which covers jobs in fundraising, finance & HR, marketing, data, operations and support functions.
Whether you’re looking to benchmark your salary, budget for recruitment plans or simply get some detailed insight into the shape of the sector in 2017, the guide includes a detailed analysis of salary trends from the company’s specialist recruiters in each field.
View or download your copy here
Fundraising roles
According to the report, the most noticeable salary increases in fundraising have been in major donor fundraising - an area that requires specific qualities, skills and experience that are in short supply.
Aled Morris, CEO at Harris Hill, comments: “If you have a strong track record of forging strong relationships with major donors you can expect excellent career prospects as many top charities are increasing their remuneration packages in a bid to secure elusive candidates.”
Demand for talent is also outpacing supply in the world of fundraising events, which inevitably means increased competition for existing candidates and an upward pressure on salaries.
Aled Morris, CEO, Harris Hill
Finance & HR roles
Charities large and small continue to seek top quality finance professionals to maintain high standards of governance. Whether qualified or non-qualified, permanent or temporary, from junior assistants to director level, opportunities for skilled candidates are easily found.
While finance skills are among the more transferable between sectors, many organisations are still reluctant to consider applicants without significant and recent charity sector experience, restricting the options to a limited pool of candidates, the best of whom will often have a number of competing offers.
View or download your copy here
Marketing & digital roles
It’s been another strong year of opportunities for marketing and communications professionals across the charity sector. Not surprising given the key drivers of that demand have remained consistent too: increased competition for funding, ongoing media scrutiny and a shortage of skills in key areas.
Harris Hill saw 35% increase in requests for digital staff, on top of a similar increase in the previous year. However, progress and expansion is often being held back by the difficulty of attracting staff with the necessary skills.
There has also been increased activity within policy and research over the past year, which is perhaps not surprising given the fast-changing political climate.
Data, operations and support roles
With the newly launched Fundraising Preference Service, soon to be followed by new EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, getting the people and processes in place to meet the required standards of data handling is one of the biggest challenges facing many charities at present. To achieve it, large numbers of new staff with data management, analysis and compliance skills will be needed across the sector, and that’s been demonstrated by considerable growth in the number of such vacancies both this year and last, which will no doubt continue as the new regulations take effect.
While the spotlight more commonly shines on developments in fundraising, marketing, data or digital techniques, the calibre and effectiveness of the operations, administrative and support staff involved in delivering them are fundamental to the success of all these initiatives - not to mention the central role they play in improving organisations' efficiency across the board.
That translates into a steady and consistent demand for high quality staff, though only relatively modest salary increases, more noticeable here at senior levels than the most junior positions, where the sheer volume of available potential candidates diminishes any need to raise salaries to fill the roles.
View or download your copy here
Morris concludes: “It’s been a record-breaking year of activity for us in 2016-17, with expansion in fast-growing fields like digital and data, as well as record levels of of demand in many areas of fundraising, marketing and communications. We hope this survey provides useful guidance for employers when it comes to attracting quality candidates and for charity professionals to benchmark their earnings.”