What are the Top Skills Charities Need?

If you look at a selection of charity sector job ads, you’ll find the same top skills charities need keep coming up. The great news is that these are fully transferable skills that can be gained in any role or sector:

• Good communicator
• Proactive
• Innovative
• Creative
• Team player
• Flexible
• Motivated

It’s no coincidence that many of these are not job-specific skills. That’s because a special kind of person flourishes in the charity sector. That’s what makes it such a rewarding, inspiring and fulfilling career choice.

So, beyond the specific requirements of a role, what are the more general skills needed for charity work and why do you need them?

Good communicator

Good communicators are warm, empathetic people who can engage with others and express themselves clearly, in person or in writing.

In many roles in the sector, these skills have specific importance. Fundraising roles require people who can communicate the message, persuade potential donors, think on their feet and adapt their approach to suit a range of situations and personalities. They also need to come over as sincere and committed—and that’s generally something that can’t be faked.

In helpline roles or in jobs where you’re working directly with the public, good communication means being able to empathise, to speak clearly and calmly in sometimes difficult and emotionally-charged situations. This could be on the phone or in person.  It could also be in writing when providing follow-up support or information by email or letter.

Written communication is one of the most important skills  for charity jobs.  It’s essential that all written comms—whether internal or external—express thoughts clearly and in a tone of voice that’s appropriate to the charity.

An extension of this is that most charities will require that you can communicate confidently in the digital space. Social media is an important tool for charities and it’s something everyone needs to understand and be comfortable with. You also need to appreciate how easy it is to post something (either from the charity or on your own personal profile) that could be contentious or damage the charity in some way.

Charities flourish with a diverse workforce and that includes different personality types. Extroverts and introverts are needed in equal measure. But whichever you are, empathy for others coupled with a willingness to communicate is the lifeblood of a successful charity.

Dedication/commitment to the cause/motivation/the desire to make a difference

If you choose to work for a charity, it’s expected that you will take an active interest in the cause. This gives charities the edge over other organisations and makes the sector a unique working environment. It’s not necessarily included in the job ad or description, but reading up on the charity and understanding what it does and why, is pretty much a minimum requirement for all candidates.

In nearly all cases, you’ll find that the people who make a name for themselves have become motivated by the cause in their day-to-day life. You’ll move to the top of the pile if your CV and application show evidence that you’re the kind of person who tries to make a difference. This could be through volunteering, helping in the community, being politically active or campaigning. It doesn’t matter if it’s not allied to the charity, it matters more that it shows you put your own time and effort into things you feel passionately about.

Flexibility

Historically, one of the things attracting people to this sector is a belief that charities offer more flexible working opportunities.  Also, that there are more part-time jobs.

It’s certainly true that, even before Covid-19 started a remote-working revolution, flexible working was standard fare in charities. There’s an understanding that employees have caring responsibilities and so it’s sensible that there’s a mix of flexible working that includes working from home. And, as many corporate organisations have begun to creep back into the office in the wake of the pandemic, most charities are still offering much more flexibility, in terms of both work location and hours, as one of their employee benefits.

The flipside to this is that you’re expected to be flexible too. It’s not always a 9-5 job and at particularly busy times—the run-up to fundraising events or at year-end, for example—you’ll need a flexible approach. That might mean staying late or helping at weekends, now and then. It can also mean a willingness to occasionally give your own time to help at a fundraiser, or even take part in an event (this is usually rewarded with time off in lieu).

Also, no one likes a ‘jobs-worth’ and you may need to help another team – even if it’s not officially your role. That’s why ‘flexible’ crops up in so many ads.

Creative or Innovative

Creativity or innovation is one of the key skills needed to work in non-profits that can mean different things to different people. But in this context, it’s about ideas generation. When faced with a problem, or with something huge to achieve on a shoestring budget, it’s the original and disruptive ideas that save the day. The ideas that at first seem risky, but frequently provide the break-through moments.

For example, Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life had humble beginnings almost 30 years ago in 1994. It’s now a huge national event raising £500 million each year that’s so good, it’s been copied far and wide. Similarly, the Ice Bucket Challenge was an unlikely fundraising idea, but its success at both raising money and raising awareness, has been a global phenomenon.

Sometimes it’s the simplest ideas that can make the biggest impact, like Movember where men grow moustaches in the month of November to support men’s health causes. And during the pandemic, there wasn’t a person who hadn’t heard of Captain Tom Moore who managed to raise a staggering £38.9 million for the NHS for walking 100 laps of his garden.

It’s not only fundraising ideas. In every part of a charity (yes, even Accounts and IT), they’re after people who can come up with ideas to make things work better, to do things better, or save money. Charities often don’t have extra money to hand over to agencies or external management consultancies. Instead, they depend on their staff being creative and innovative types who will find new ways to solve problems, or improve the way things are done.

Team-working/good team-player

Good teamwork and people skills are key skills for charity work that are critical to success. It’s the ability to get on with colleagues, work well in a team and interact with people right across the organisation.

The charity sector encourages diversity. That means that communicating naturally and easily with all ages, cultures, sexes and with people with disabilities is one of the most key skills for charity workers.

All sorts of people work in charities for all sorts of reasons. Through dedication or personal connection to the cause, many will be happy to work for a long time in the same role and aren’t looking to change or move elsewhere. There’s still absolutely a place for that kind of commitment and that kind of person in some roles.  So that means it’s important that however innovative and ambitious you are, you can pitch in with existing teams and develop successful working relations with all sorts of people.

Have you got the top skills charities need? Browse opportunities in the sector.

This post was originally published in 2018 and has been fully updated to ensure relevance and to reflect the current job seeker experience.