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THIRD FORCE

There is an alternative to working in the public or private sectors – the UK’s vast range of charities and not-for-profit organisations offer real career opportunities for those with the right skills.

The Third Sector consists of charities, voluntary organisations and ‘social enterprises’ which are not part of either the public sector (funded by local and general taxation) or the private sector (where profit is king). Currently there are approximately 870,000 ‘civil society organisations’ in the Britain; these range in scale from small groups running local childcare facilities to organisations with multi-million pound turnovers operating around the world.

Volunteers are, of course, the backbone of many Third Sector operations, particularly with smaller concerns, but this doesn’t mean that charitable organisations can’t offer real career opportunities for those with the kind of practical, technical and managerial skills vital to achieving those organisations’ aims. As Jon Summerson, Talent Manager with the British Red Cross points out: “We have professional people doing professional roles.”

Salaries may be less than in either the public or private sectors – indeed, a recent survey has found that fundraisers’ salaries had fallen significantly in the last year – there are numerous other compensations, not least the goals and work the organisations carry out.

WHAT YOU CAN OFFER

Service leavers’ skills and experience can be invaluable to many third sector organisations, particularly those which work overseas and within ‘insecure’ environments. Catherine Layton, Head of PR Policy at Oxfam, explained: “There are quite a few places where either there’s actual armed conflict going on, or there’s a constant low level of danger which would be too scary for a lot of workers. If somebody’s got experience of working in that kind of atmosphere – and they’re OK with it – then that’s a key thing we would look for in some of our recruitment.”

Jon Summerson, who was in the Army for 11 years, believes the Armed Forces provide a range of valuable life skills. “A number of areas are based around being resilient and robust – just psychologically,” he said. “Then there are communication skills, the way that you engage and interact with other people – being able to balance and use your behavioural style in civilian life.”

Experience in logistics, particularly in environments with ‘difficult’ or fragmented infrastructures can also be attractive to organisations working out in the field. “We have quite a few roles that benefit from knowing what it’s actually like to get stuff from one part of the country to the other,” Catherine Layton added. “The employees we have who are ex-Forces tend to work in logistics; particularly when outside the UK – because people who don’t have that experience can find it a bit overwhelming.”

WHY THE THIRD SECTOR?

Jon Summerson believes that Service leavers certainly should at least consider the Third Sector as a career option, though he accepts that it’s not always easy for some people to successfully balance commercial necessities with such organisations’ charitable purpose.

Not that you necessarily need to leap in from the start; Jon Summerson himself started his civilian career as a training consultant with a private company before starting to work with charitable organisations. Such experience can prove very attractive: “Sometimes what we’re looking for are people with commercial experience they can bring into the organisation,” he explained.

So why the Third Sector? “I could probably earn £10,000 more if I moved into a commercial organisation,” Jon Summeron admitted, “but for me it’s about the whole package. It’s about the values of the organisation, the people who work for it, and its purpose.”

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FOR THE VETERANS

When Roy Sivell was medically discharged from the Army back in 1995, the then-Lance Corporal had never even heard of his current employer, Erskine – the Scottish charity that provides care and employment for veterans of all ages.

“Though medically discharged, I wasn’t a bad case but there were still certain jobs I couldn’t do at the time,” Roy explained. “I couldn’t stand for long periods, I couldn’t climb ladders, because of my knees. The local job centre gave me an advisor who did his best, but at no point was I made aware that Erskine was even around. I ended up being a driving instructor – it took me about a year and a half to qualify – and I did that, full time, until 2006.”

While looking for more secure, regular income, by chance Roy saw a recruitment advertisement from Erskine’s respected furniture business. Having in part left the Army because of limited career prospects, Roy appreciates every opportunity to further himself within Erskine Furniture. “When I joined I was employed as a warehouseman, working in the stores,” he said. “I’m still doing that but Erskine also put me through college to become an apprentice machinist. I attend college one day a week, so they’ve helped me that way.”

It’s equally important, though, that he works for a business that’s about more than just making a profit for shareholders. “Any profit that the factory makes goes to the ex-Servicemen,” he told us. “As far as I’m concerned, if they’re looked after, then they should be looked after as well as they can be.”

MORE: www.erskine.org.uk

THE UK’S THIRD SECTOR

(Figures from National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Office of National Statistics.)

SIZE: In 2006/07, there were 870,000 ‘civil society organisations’ in UK, including general charities, social enterprises and informal community organisations.

MONEY: Total income £116 billion (2006/07), with assets worth £210 billion. The Government contributed £12 billion through contracts (£7.8 billion) and grants (£4.2 billion).

JOBS: In 2007/08, the sector in England employed 540,000 people – the equivalent of 464,000 full time employees. Almost two thirds (305,000) were women.

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RECENTLY ADVERTISED POSITIONS

Third sector vacancies are advertised on organisations’ own websites and through specialist recruitment sites such as Third Sector (http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk). Please note that the following are listed as examples only, and may no longer be current.

Vacancy: Driller Team Leader

Organisation: Oxfam

Location: Abéché, East Chad, West Africa

Salary: £19,625-£25,559

MORE JOBS: www.oxfam.org.uk/jobs

Vacancy: Support Partnerships Manager

Organisation: Cancer Research UK

Location: London, UK

Salary: £33,000-£38,750 (plus benefits)

MORE JOBS: www.cancerresearchuk.org

Vacancy: Direct Marketing Manager – Legacies

Organisation: British Red Cross