Candidate Priorities: Candidates in the community space, including NGOs, continue to seek purpose-driven roles and organisations aligned with their values. When considering a change, they look for organisations that offer demonstratable community impact, professional development, external clinical supervision, and wellbeing initiatives to prevent burnout.
Employer Expectations: Employers are looking for highly skilled candidates that have had access to professional development such as training in evidence-based practice strategies and techniques. Many organisations are looking for talent who already bring with them the tools and strategies to manage their workload, wellbeing, and emotional resilience and have demonstrated tenures within organisations where they have been able to make a difference; not just moving roles every 6 months.
Emerging Role Trends: We have seen an increase in NGOs introducing specialist roles (e.g. mental health, allied health) into their organisation, rather than outsourced or referral model where they have been challenged by availability of external providers. The increased funding available, and client demand, has supported this need. NGOs are increasingly competing with the private sector or government and may benefit from considering part-time roles or entry pathways for new graduates to attract a broader talent pool.
Legislative & Funding Changes: New legislation and longer funding cycles will drive demand for more sustainable, long-term recruitment strategies, as opposed to fixed-term contracts which has previously been a traditional employment model in the sector. These changes also highlight the need for ongoing professional development opportunities, to support retention, and forward-thinking workforce planning to meet the demands of the sector.
Board & Governance Changes: Volunteer committees or boards that govern NGOs continue to evolve and attract a diverse range of highly skilled professionals in addition to sector expertise. This has supported the strengthening of strategic planning and reviewing organisational structures, rather than NGOs operating only with a short-term, day-to-day view. The focus on improving governance has also led to the introduction of roles within NGOs to support risk management, best practice governance principles and company secretariat in order to support long term sustainability of NGOs, particularly those relying heavily on government funding.
Looking Ahead: The broader community sector, along with NGOs, is expected to focus on long-term, quality hires as funding cycles extend. There’s a growing awareness of the value of outsourcing recruitment to save time and focus on client outcomes, both with front line operational roles, as well as corporate service positions to support the organisation in important areas of finance, HR, risk, governance and administration. We will continue to see an increase in specialist positions and innovation to meet client needs, despite funding challenges.