Exploring Third Sector Internships for a Rewarding Career

1. Working in the third sector – Internships and Employment Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre (www.durham.ac.uk/careers) Career Focus - http://durhamcasnews.wordpress.com

2. Contents • What is the third sector? • Graduate job market • Career opportunities David Henderson – Careers Adviser (d.m.henderson@durham.ac.uk) • Durham graduate’s experience of the third sector Colette Harrison - Volunteer Consortium Coordinator (colette.harrison@ouseburntrust.org.uk) • Internships and work experience...the value of volunteering • Finding employment Tom Davie – Careers Adviser (tom.davie@durham.ac.uk) • Your questions to the panel!

3. Is work experience essential? • Very competitive; workforce strongly represented by graduates • Requirement in some cases • Develop understanding of the sector and career opportunities • Skills development • Access internal job market; particularly valuable in smaller organisations • Voluntary internships ‘can’ lead to short-term employment posts e.g. 50% of Oxfam’s 100 annual unpaid interns offered paid jobs • Networks and contacts But... • Not absolutely essential if you meet the skills and experience requirements of the job, particularly in respect of management and administrative positions • Not unusual for people to transfer into the sector having developed professional experience in private or public sectors

4. Internships • Internships not always consistent: paid or unpaid, long or short-term, level of responsibility • Consider what you want to gain from the experience e.g. broad experience of a voluntary organisation or specific involvement in a project/role (e.g. policy research, marketing, frontline delivery etc) • Type of charity (e.g. development, environment, health, education etc) • Domestic and international opportunities • Many larger charities offer structured internship programmes: • Amnesty • ATD • Christian Aid • Merlin • Oxfam • Opportunities also available in ‘other’ organisations with charitable status e.g. think tanks such as IPPR, Civitas, Chatham House (3 month internship), charitable trusts - Nuffield Foundation, independent research groups - Institute of Employment Studies • Structured experience programmes offered by volunteering charities • CSV (4-12 month projects) www.csv.org.uk • Sabbatical posts with DUCK

5. Internships - International Development Organised programmes • Student Partnerships Worldwide (www.spw.org) • Development in Action (www.developmentinaction.org) • VSO (www.vso.org.uk) • Platform 2 (www.myplatform2.com) • Year out groups (e.g. Frontier) • People and Planet (11 month paid internship; recruitment begins April/May) UK NGOs • Opportunities in the UK but less likely to offer placements overseas • Merlin – 6 month UK internship with ‘option’ of 4 month field placement overseas • Amnesty International – 3 month volunteer placement in London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff International NGOs • Arrange experience directly with NGOs – World Service Enquiry volunteering guide University of Sussex - www.sussex.ac.uk/cdec/int_dev.php University of London - www.careers.lon.ac.uk/output/Page615.asp

6. Internships – where do I look? Advertised opportunities • Organisation websites • Charity jobsites • www.charityjob.co.uk • www.charitypeople.co.uk • http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk • Volunteering databases • www.do-it.org • Sector specific resources • Development (www.oneworld.net, www.idealist.org, www.experience-development.org, www.eldis.org, www.developmentgateway.org, www.wse.org.uk) ) • Environment (www.studentforce.org.uk, www.environmentjob.co.uk, www.greendirectory.net) • Housing and social welfare (www.myhousingcareer.com, www.greatsocialcare.co.uk) • Political & Social Research (www.w4mp.com) Speculative opportunities Utilise charity databases (www.guidestar.org.uk / www.charitiesdirect.com/CharitiesSearch.asp)

7. Barnardo’s internship scheme • 3 month programme • Placements in a number of areas including • Fundraising and Marketing • Volunteer Development • Policy, Parliamentary and Campaigns • Brand and New Media • Programme runs 3 times per year http://www.barnardos.org.uk/get_involved/volunteering.htm

8. Internships at Oxfam • ECB Project Support Intern • Corporate Relationship Assistant • Production Print Assistant • Outreach Support Executive • Information and Communications Assistant • Sponsored Events Marketing Assistant • Oxjam Recruitment Executive • Oxjam Marketing Executive • Oxjam Communications Executive • Internship and Volunteering Advisor • Supply & Logistics Cost Effectiveness Project Assistant • Marketing Intelligence Executive • Assistant Bookshop Manager • Assistant Shop Manager (Enfield)

9. Graduate schemes • Limited but opportunities do exist, particularly as the sector is not easily defined • Opportunities that do exist tend to have a strong management focus • Occasionally organisations will advertise graduate trainee opportunities • Graduate Schemes • Cancer Research UK – opens Nov 2011; 7 positions last year but offered other jobs to exceptional candidates (http://graduates.cancerresearchuk.org). Internship scheme also offered. • NSPCC, Oxfam & Barnardo’s have offered schemes in the past and do recruit graduates into specific posts • Forum for the Future – six placements linked to sustainability; closes Feb 2011 (www.forumforthefuture.org) • Charity Works – placement based programme (www.charity-works.co.uk) • National Skills Academy for Social Care – management scheme in social care sector (www.nsasocialcare.co.uk) • Housing Associations • Great Places Housing Group (www.greatplaces.org.uk) • Look Ahead Housing and Social Care (www.lookahead.org.uk) • Working for a Charity– Foundation course (www.wfac.org.uk) Online course

10. IntoUniversity Graduate Trainee Education Workers The applicant must: • Have completed an undergraduate degree by August 16th 2010 • Have some experience (voluntary or paid) of working with children or young people • Be self-motivated with a positive and enthusiastic personality and able to work well as part of a small team • Be able to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines, prioritise tasks, carry out effective planning, and undertake monitoring and evaluation • Be able to effectively motivate and interact with children and young people • Be able to plan, organise and deliver activities for children and young people (with full support), taking into account their pastoral and academic needs • Be able to acquire and apply knowledge of further and higher education procedures (eg UCAS applications) to help young people make decisions about their futures • Be ambitious to enhance their professional development, and to learn about the charity sector and project delivery • Be able to demonstrate flexibility and commitment to taking a full and active part in the life of IntoUniversity • Have excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to write reports, plan workshops and prepare educational materials • Be highly computer literate and conversant with Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. APPLICATION: By application form only; CVs are not an acceptable alternative. Closing date 22nd March 2010, 9am; selection process March 29th or April 1st 2009. Please do not apply for these posts if you are not available on at least one of these dates. PAY SCALE: £18,000 - £20,000 per annum

11. Finding jobs in the voluntary sector • Volunteering? • Regional networks e.g. Regional Youth Work Unit – offer vacancy emailing service (www.rywu.org.uk) • Fairs and recruitment events e.g. Forum3 (www.forum3.co.uk) • Newsletters • Third sector press e.g. Third Sector magazine (www.thirdsector.co.uk) • Sector specific recruitment consultancies e.g. ProspectUs (www.prospect-us.co.uk), TPP (www.tpp.co.uk), Harris Hill (www.harrishill.co.uk), Morgan Hunt (www.morganhunt.com) • Speculative applications – accessing hidden job market • Target entry level positions – particularly important if you are organisation/sector focused

12. Finding jobs in the voluntary sector – key job resources • Guardian Jobs: http://society.guardian.co.uk/jobs / • Jobs in Charities: http://www.jobsincharities.co.uk/ • Voluntary Sector Jobs: http://www.voluntarysectorjobs.co.uk • Charity Job: http://www.charityjob.co.uk • Charity People: www.charitypeople.co.uk • Charity Sector Jobs: http://www.charitysectorjobs.com • Not for profit Jobs: http://nfpjobs.netxtra.net/current_edition/index.jsp • People Unlimited: http://www.peopleunlimited.co.uk/ • Good Moves: http://www.goodmoves.org.uk/home/home.asp • Working for a Charity: http://www.wfac.org.uk/ • UK Work Force Hub: http://www.ukworkforcehub.org.uk/DisplayPage.asp?pageid=8691 Top Tip! Try a key word search under ‘graduate’

13. Finding jobs in the voluntary sector – specific resources What is your specific interest: cause (e.g. health), role (e.g. support worker), function (e.g. communications), sector (e.g. development) Role: Social/Policy research Professional bodies/representative organisations Social Research Association (www.the-sra.org.uk) Association of Qualitative Research (www.aqr.org.uk) Directories/Resource databases Intute (www.intute.ac.uk) Eldis (www.eldis.org/go/topics) Jobsites www.w4mp.org http://policyjobs.net

14. What are voluntary organisations looking for? • Specific professional/technical skills and experience • Education – relevance of degree/postgraduate study • Commitment to the sector/cause • Volunteering • Internships • Interest in, and understanding of, aims and values of organisation • Focus – not enough just to want to work in this sector

15. Effectively marketing yourself Academic • Subject specific knowledge • Relevance of dissertation • Applied research skills • Critical thinking Other • Relevant experience • Transferable skills (employment, volunteering, extra-curricular activities) • Professional qualifications Tools with which to market yourself: • Strong, focused CV/Cover letter • Effective application forms • Interview technique • Proactive networking

16. Useful resources Do More - http://www.do-more.org.uk Work for a Charity - http://www.wfac.org.uk National Council for Voluntary Organisations - http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/ Volresource - http://www.volresource.org.uk/ Third Sector http://www.thirdsector.co.uk Careers Centre • Careers folders specific to voluntary sector and overseas development • Reference resources e.g. WSE monthly jobs bulletin, Charities Digest, International Development Directory, Guardian Guide to Volunteering