Working for a charity

reelcrazy

I currently work for HM Revenue & Customs, in the Charities department and I would like to cross the floor, so to speak and work for a charity. I have so much knowledge about corporation tax and gift aid but all the jobs I see are totally unsuitable.

Any idea people?

LittleVoice

Have you tried the Charity People agency -
https://www.charitypeople.com

Whilst a lot of their jobs are in the London area, they do have national coverage.

There are other agencies which specialise in charity jobs. Do you want me to list more?

Also do you look in The Guardian?

reelcrazy

Haven't tried much really. Been more of a pipe dream so far.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

LittleVoice

You are likely to be more attractive to the charity sector if you have experience with a charity gained as a volunteer. If you are not already involved, try https://www.do-it.org.uk. This will show you the range of opportunities - and you can search based on your post-code.

Look at what your skills are and see how these fit in with the paid jobs available. There are a lot of fund-raising jobs. I suggest you do visit the Charity People website and see what the jobs are. You can click through to get job descriptions and person specifications for most. Unless you see something which seems just right immediately, then just lurk about for a while finding out more about the jobs to get a feel for things.

For now you may just benefit from investigating the volunteering opportunities. (Experience gained as a volunteer with a charity can also help in presenting yourself to commercial organistions.)

GiveItBack

Having said that, I think we'd love a tax expert defecting!

The next thing is though, what exactly do you want to do in the charity. Tax knwoledge is useful up to a point, but whereas you will likely have a huge amount more knowlegde than I do, I don't think that there's much call for a whole lot more than I know. (If you see what I mean)

It really depends on the charity and the role, as we hav a few people that only need real basics of tax knowledge, their other skills are what matter for their role.

A corporate fundraising role seems like the kind you'd be looking at, that or major donors, but again, charities often defer to the donors accountant in their tax advice.

You've got me thinking though! Let me now a bit more about what you're looking for, and what else you can offer, I'll see if I can push some ideas your way.

Otherwise, check out the websitess of charities that you can identify with, and the third sector magazine.

GiB

blockhunter

Some large charities employ gift aid specialists. Contact them directly. As GiB said, third sector and the guardian are good for charity jobs.