2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Nonprofit Talent Trends: Q4 Insights & 2023 Overview

Our final quarterly analysis of Nonprofit Talent Trends for the year has shown a significant increase in activity, versus the same period last year. The number of roles we recorded as being advertised jumped from 193 to 254, an increase of 61, or 31.6%. It is interesting to note that the number of organisations who were seeking talent increased from 151 to 180. Therefore, it is clear multiple roles were available in a number of nonprofits.

Q4 2023 2into3 Nonprofit Talent Trends

 

Activity by Subsector

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q4 2023          Nonprofit Talent Trends Q4 2023

 

Where data was available, Social Services roles accounted for 34% of all roles advertised, followed by Local Development & Housing (17%) and Health (16.0%). The remaining 33% of roles came from all the other 9 subsectors.

Year-on-year, where data was available, activity within each subsector fluctuated:

  • There were decreases in roles seen in 5 areas (Education & Research, Arts, Culture & Media, Professional & Vocational, Environment, Recreation & Sport)
  • Increases in role numbers were observed in the other 7 (Social Services, Local Development & Housing, Health, International, Advocacy Law & Politics, Philanthropy & Voluntarism, Religion).

Some of these were quite large in percentage terms (e.g., 900% for Religion) but these were often from low bases.

 

Activity by Role Type

Q4 2023 Nonprofit Talent Trends Activity by Role Type

The increase in roles advertised was not quite universal across all role types, with two areas (Service Delivery & Operations Management and Administration, Strategy & Governance) seeing a decrease. All other areas saw an upward trend, some quite substantially, such as CEO/Executive Director roles up by 121%, and HR positions by a massive 525%, albeit from a low base.

 

Annual Breakdown: 2023 Activity Vs. Prior Years

Looking at the whole of 2023, there was small drop in the number of roles advertised versus 2022 – down 3%, from 1,004 to 971. However, this still shows a relatively high level of activity versus the dark days of lockdown in 2020 and a sustained high volume for the years since the pandemic was at its height.

 

Number of Roles Advertised by Quarter

Subsector Breakdown

Where data was available, there were some fluctuations for the full year 2022 versus 2023:

Number of Organisations Advertising by Subsector

By Organisation, there were decreases in activity for 7 subsectors, most notably Arts, Culture and Media (-33.3%) and Environment (-25%), with big increases observed in Philanthropy & Voluntarism (+45.5%) and International (+22.6%). The biggest increase was for roles where the subsector was unknown, highlighting the significant shift towards anonymous job advertisements over past year.

When looking at the number of actual roles, rather than organisations, there are some additional variations worth noting:

Number of Roles Advertised by Subsector

Decreases were seen in 6 subsectors, with increases in another 5; one sector (Philanthropy & Voluntarism was flat).

Advocacy, Law & Politics (+30.4%) saw the biggest increase, followed closely by Religion (+26.7%) while the biggest drops were observed in Arts, Culture & Media (-39.3%), Professional & Vocational (-32.1%) and Environment (-28.6%).

 

Activity by Role Type

For the full year, 2023 saw some significant changes in the types of roles being advertised in the sector.

Roles Advertised by Position Type

Only Fundraising & Business Development roles remained virtually unchanged in terms of activity levels (+1.2%), with Administration, Strategy and Governance showing a drop of 11.8%. All other main role types saw significant shifts in numbers. HR roles rose by 127%, Finance by 78.7% and CEO/Executive Director roles by 50%. By contrast, significant drops were seen in the number of roles for Communications & Marketing (-30.6%), and Service Delivery & Operational Management (-24.8%).

 

Multi-Year Assessment

As an interesting snapshot, the final chart below shows the number of roles advertised, by type from 2019 to 2023. A consistency is seen across the five years, in terms of share of the total sector activity, with the greatest variations apparent in the level of Service Delivery & Operational Management roles and, to a lesser extent, Finance positions.

Roles Advertised by Position Type

Summary

The one very obvious observation here is that activity has jumped significantly when you compare the last three months of 2022 to 2023, with almost a third more roles being advertised during the comparable period. This points to a very active sector with a strong demand for talent, something we in 2into3 are seeing for quite a while now, as the market remains tight and active jobseekers remain thin on the ground.

That said, activity for the year as a whole remained fairly flat, so the movement would appear to be very much towards the back end of the year. In terms of types or role, there seems to be a lot of fluctuation and no real pattern to discern and for the subsector activity, the biggest take away would appear to be the continuing rise in the number of organisations choosing to advertise their positions anonymously.

Away from the data, our own qualitative take from the trenches here in 2into3 is that the market remains challenging, with the number of active jobseekers remaining stubbornly low.

This is probably due to a number of factors:

  • People who made career moves post-COVID not currently seeking another move.
  • Those who achieved a good work-life balance by securing favourable hybrid working arrangements reluctant to give these up.
  • Continuing economic uncertainty causing people to pause before moving to a new role.

 

Get in Touch

If you are currently seeking senior talent for your organisation, and require assistance, please contact our Director of Talent Management, fergal.osullivan@2into3.com. For previous examples of our work, click here, or for more information, visit our webpage.

Inclusive disability policies 2into3

Is Ireland Failing its Disabled Workforce? 4 Tips for Inclusive Recruitment

In recent years, there have been many positive developments towards increased recruitment inclusivity in Ireland. According to the 2022 Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy, “Everyone is entitled to enjoy a prejudice–free working environment that rejects any form of discrimination”. Despite this policy, there is evident disability discrimination in hiring. According to The European Commission Country Report for Ireland 2022, Ireland has one of the highest disability unemployment rates in Europe. The EU’s average employment rate for people with disabilities hovers around 51%. However, in Ireland, it is only 32.6%.

Despite these legislative efforts, putting such policies into practice still remains a challenge. Shockingly, the minimum employment target for people with disabilities in the public sector is a mere 3%. With no mandatory quota system, it’s up to individual employers to take the lead. Some companies step up disability inclusion policies voluntarily, but the lack of a standardised approach might be a factor in Ireland’s high disability unemployment rates.

Recruitment processes become arenas for these inequalities. Discrimination, whether blatant or subtle, continues to hinder the professional journeys of those with disabilities. Barriers stretch beyond the workplace, including public perception, rigid work conditions, inaccessible hiring processes, and physical environments.

4 tips for inclusive recruitment:

Employers can dismantle these barriers by embracing inclusive hiring. Prioritising inclusive processes can make a huge impact, such as:

  1. Creating accessible workplaces
  2. Offering reasonable accommodations
  3. Disability equality training to workplace
  4. Upgrades and investment in assistive technologies like screen-reading software, closed captioning, and voice recognition.

To make hiring more inclusive, consider remote interviews, alternative response formats, sharing questions in advance, live transcription for captions, and providing more time to process questions. For further information on disability inclusion, visit Disability Federation of Ireland’s website here. For more information on their recent blog, “‘New evidence of “ableism’ – prejudice and discrimination faced by people with disability according to ESRI report”, click here.

 

As Ireland’s economy continues to grow, we need to ensure that our workplace is taking every step to ensure disability inclusivity is a priority. Not only is it important for businesses that could be benefiting from a diverse workforce, but it also matters to society as a whole, as we strive for a collective commitment to equal opportunities. As Ireland tackles the challenge of reducing unemployment among individuals with disabilities, a joint effort is crucial. From policymakers creating solid legislation to businesses fostering inclusive workplaces, breaking down barriers requires society’s commitment to providing equal opportunities for all.

 

Get in Touch

If your organisation is seeking assistance in inclusive hiring, contact our Director of Talent Management, Fergal O’Sullivan. 2into3 are an equal opportunities employer who believe that diversity is a strength in the workplace. We therefore welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, belief, religion or sexual orientation. At 2into3, we endeavour to make all reasonable accommodations to facilitate the participation of candidates with disabilities in the recruitment process.

 

Importance of long term recruitment

The Long-term Importance Of Successful Recruitment For Social Impact Organisations

Many nonprofits are founded on a modest number of team members. As these organisations grow and develop, the success of their organisation lies in the hands of these talented individuals steering the mission forward. As we ease into 2024, here are some reminders of the long-term importance of successful recruitment for social impact organisations.

 

Cultivating a Vision-Driven Culture

A strong mission and vision are the main driving forces behind any social impact organisation. Therefore, aligning individual talent with the broader organisational vision is what fosters a culture of purpose. Through intentional talent management, social impact organisations can create teams where each member’s strengths contribute strategically to the overarching goals of the organisation. By recruiting staff that are genuinely passionate about the organisation’s mission can in time, lead to lower long-term staff turnover rates.

 

Efficiency and New Technology

Throughout 2023, we saw a rise in the use of AI across all parts of the sector (see previous post). Technology is constantly developing, which affects how social impact organisations work, communicate and solve issues. By recruiting the right people who are invested in learning new technologies and ways of working, it benefits the entire organisation’s efficiency, leaving more time for social impact organisations to achieve their mission.

 

Creating Future Leaders

Effective talent management means looking at long-term value. When visualising your organisation’s future, it’s important to consider what type of people you would like to lead your organisation in 5, 10, even 20 years’ time. Therefore, it is important to invest in recruiting future leaders, including college graduates, junior staff, and individuals with serious future potential. If you focus on recruiting talent with potential and invest time into developing their skills, you are building future leaders who will sustain the sector in years to come.

 

Fostering Sustainable Impact in 2023: Our Approach

Talent Management is not just about filling roles; it’s about sowing the seeds for lasting change within your nonprofit. By valuing the unique talents of individuals within your organisation, your organisation can collectively contribute to a more sustainable sector for all.

At 2into3, our dedicated Talent Management Services team has a proven track record of assisting social impact organisations in building high-performing teams that supports your organisation’s goals. Whether you require assistance recruiting at senior-level, or you’re considering investing in future talent at graduate level, we can assist you.

To explore how 2into3 can support your organisation’s talent management journey, contact Fergal O’Sullivan, Director of Talent Management, or visit our website here.

2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Nonprofit Talent Trends – Q3 2023

The latest snapshot of senior recruitment activity in the Irish nonprofit sector shows a stabilisation in activity year on year. 2into3’s tracking of roles advertised found there were 253 senior posts advertised in Q3 of 2023, a reduction of 6.9% from the 272 roles advertised in the same period last year.

In terms of the number of organisations that were seeking to fill these roles, the change was similar, at 181 versus 193 in Q3 2022 (down 6.2%). That said, there is an increasing trend appearing in recent months for organisations to advertise roles anonymously, with 31 of the 253 in this review deliberately not identifying the organisation.

 

Organisational Breakdown

Q3 2023 2into3recruitment monitor

Where information was known about the organisations, the subsector breakdown was as follows:

Two subsectors – Social Services (49) and Local Development & Housing (34) – accounted for 55% of all roles advertised, with the remaining 10 subsectors accounting for the other 45%. Within that group, Health was the largest with 26 roles.

 

Roles by Subsector

Looking at the number of roles by subsector (again, where we were able to identify this from the advertisements), there were increases and decreases across the subsectors, although with the increase in anonymous advertisements, these figures do come with something of a health warning.

There were increases in the number of roles in the Local Development & Housing and International subsectors, while all others saw a drop in the level of activity, apart from Environment & Recreation & Sport, which were unchanged.

Organisational Income

Where income data was available (for 143 organisations), the usual even split was observed. 40 had income over €10M, 43 had income below €1M and the balance sat between these two.

Role Types

Looking at the types of roles being advertised, 40.7% of those we tracked were in the Service Delivery & Operational Management category, with the next largest area being Finance (18% of all recorded activity) and Fundraising & Business Development (14%). Year-on-year, there were increases in the number of roles in CEO/Executive Director, Finance and Human Resources, with all other role types seeing a decrease or standing still.

 

Observations

At a macro level, the post-COVID return to stability in the market that we have observed in Q1 and Q2 this year is very much confirmed with a year-on-year of almost identical activity for July – September.

That said, there are some variations to be observed when you break the information we tracked into subsectors and role types. For example, even though the number of Service Delivery & Operational Management roles fell from 145 to 103 between 2022 and 2023, this subsector still accounted for 40.7% of all roles advertised.

The number of Finance roles that were advertised jumped significantly (17 to 46), while the previously active Fundraising & Business Development roles were static, dropping from 39 to 35.

As mentioned above, there seems to be a significant trend emerging with organisations not disclosing their identity when advertising senior positions. From our own perspective, this would appear counterproductive, as nonprofit roles often attract candidates who can identify strongly with their mission, vison, and values. If this is hidden, then you miss that cohort, and may indeed receive enquiries and applications from those who would not be a match for your work.

We continue to track recruitment advertising for the sector and look forward to completing both a Q4 analysis and a full year assessment to share in early 2024.

 

Contact Us

If your organisation is interested in expanding your team, visit our website for more information, or get in touch with our Director of Talent Management, Fergal O’Sullivan on +353-86-180-6051.

2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Nonprofit Talent Trends – Q2 2023

The latest snapshot of senior recruitment activity in the Irish nonprofit sector shows a significant slowdown in the number of roles advertised, indicating that the backlog from the pandemic has been cleared. 

Q2 2023 nonprofit 2into3 recruitment trend monitor

There was a total of 219 senior roles identified by 2into3’s analysis of the market for Q2 of 2023, down from 270 from the same period last year, a 19% drop. These roles were advertised by 168 nonprofit organisations, down from 186 in 2022, a drop of 10%. 

 

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q2 2023  

 

Social Services organisations, at 30%, represented the largest subsector in terms of activity, followed by Health (17%) and Local Development & Housing (16%). The remaining 37% of the roles were between 9 other subsectors.

Roles by Subsector

There were some significant shifts recorded in the number of roles advertised in the different subsectors, with Social Services, Local Development & Housing, and Health all showing significant fall-off. Large percentage increases were recorded in a number of areas, but these were mostly coming from a very low base, although International and Advocacy, Law & Politics roles did see a good upward movement.

It is interesting to note the reduction in Local Development & Housing roles, after a sustained period of growth and with such demand for their services. The same could also be said for the Health subsector, although that could possibly be explained as a post-COVID settling down.

Nonprofit Talent Trends q2 2023

Nonprofit Talent Trends q2 2023

Income Breakdown

As is often the case when we gather this data, there was a fairly even split in terms of the size of organisations recruiting senior roles. Where income data was available, 25% of organisations had income of over €10M per annum, while 26% had income below the €1M level.

Role Functions

When looking at the types of roles being advertised, there was a certain level of consistency versus Q2 2022 in percentage terms, with a few exceptions.

Q2 2023 Nonprofit Talent Trends

Summary / Observations

So, what does April, May and June tell us about nonprofit recruitment in 2023? As mentioned above, it does look like pandemic-related activity has finally worked its way through the data and activity is returning to the levels seen before mid-2020.

We are still seeing a lot of the market activity being driven by a small number of subsectors, but this is relatively normal and to be expected. What does look interesting and will be worth tracking in the second half of the year is whether the downward movement for large subsectors such as housing and health is maintained, or if other areas show any significant movement.

For more information on our previous Nonprofit Talent Trends, visit here, or contact our Director of Talent Management, Fergal O’Sullivan.

Exit Interview Feedback follow up

How To Use Exit Interviews To Improve Your Organisation

In our previous article, we discussed, ‘The Importance of Open Feedback in Exit Interviews’ for an honest and direct review of your organisation. When a resignation is amicable and your employee is simply moving on, feedback helps address any ongoing issues which could cause further resignations if left unresolved. Therefore, exit interviews should not be viewed as a ‘tick-boxing exercise’, but a useful learning tool.

If you have recently completed an exit interview, how can you use this information to improve your organisation?

 

1. Reflect on Previous Employee’s Role

Rather than moving right back into recruitment mode, look at the role the candidate filled, and ask the following questions:

  • Is this an opportunity to recruit from within and retain an existing employee?
  • Is there a change that could and should be made to the role, working arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment based on what the feedback was?
  • Will the vacancy, and possible internal promotion, show staff there is a career path within the workplace?

It’s important to consider what talent you currently have within your organisation and how to utilise those resources. You should review the previous employee’s role and evaluate if their exact position is what you now require, or if it needs updating.

 

 

2. Evaluate Negative Feedback

If there was an open environment during the exit interview, then there may be negative feedback to consider. It is important to reflect on any negative feedback with an open mindset and avoid becoming defensive.

Here are some useful questions to reflect upon:

  • If there was an issue raised with workplace culture, how can we improve this?
  • If there was an issue with a specific individual, how do we address this in an appropriate manner?
  • Do we need to reassess the structure of our organisation?
  • Do we need to improve the overall communication within our organisation?
  • Should we conduct an anonymous survey with our current employees? Are there repetitive concerns?
  • Acknowledging the feedback provided, how can we ensure our organisation has a positive working environment?

 

3. Implement the feedback positively

Follow up the exit interview with an opportunity to bring your team together, and suggest positive changes to implement, even if you didn’t receive any negative feedback. Perhaps your current employees can highlight what the organisation does well, what makes them happy at work, and potential areas for development. This should be a positive experience and used as a team-building exercise to ensure staff turnover remains low, and any issues are addressed.

 

Conclusion

Exit interviews can help employers stop the tide of mass resignations, by providing an opportunity to learn from experience.  Where employees are simply moving on and departing on good terms, this is the perfect chance to receive invaluable feedback from inside your organisation.

This golden opportunity should always be seized and utilised fully. Any manager or director afraid of what they may hear in this interview can expect further retention issues, and could fall victim to a continued cycle of resignations.

If an employee in your organisation has recently resigned and you are seeking new talent, contact Fergal O’Sullivan, Director of Talent Management at 2into3 for assistance.

Co- Author: Kevin Callan, LL.B BL is Chief HR Officer with HR Duo

2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Nonprofit Talent Trends: Q1 2023

The latest data from 2into3’s Nonprofit Talent Trends shows a slight drop in both the number of organisations and the number of roles being advertised in the first three months of the year. A 9% drop was noted for both: 245 roles (down from 269) and 176 organisations (down from 193) year-on-year. 

Q1 2023 Nonprofit Talent Trends

Subsector Activity 

Activity across the different subsectors was varied, with increased activity seen in the following areas: 

  • Education & Research, up 33% from 9 to 12. 
  • International, up 47% from 15 to 22. 
  • Philanthropy & Voluntarism, up 33% from 6 to 8. 
  • Advocacy, Law & Politics, up 45% from 11 to 16. 

Decreased activity was noted in the following subsectors: 

  • Local Development & Housing, down 37% from 43 to 27. 
  • Social Services, down 7% from 83 to 77. 
  • Health, down 27%, from 63 to 46. 
  • Environment, down 71% from 7 to 2. 
  • Professional & Vocational, down 18%, from 11 to 9. 
  • Arts, Culture & Media down 22%, from 9 to 7. 

Two subsectors, Recreation & Sport and Religion, saw no change, with 2 and 4 roles respectively. 

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q1 2023

Social Services and Health led the way in terms of who is recruiting, making up just over half of all active organisations. Advocacy, Law & Politics and Local Development & Housing organisation accounted for 10% each. 

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q1 2023

Organisational Size 

Organisational size, based on annual income (where data was available) was evenly spread; 31% of recruiting organisations had annual income of less than €1 million, while 38% had annual income of over €10M, with 31% in between these two figures. 

 

Role Types 

Service Delivery & Operational Management accounted for 43% of all roles advertised, followed by Fundraising & Business Development with 22%.  

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q1 2023

 Year-on-year, there were significant falls in the number of Service Delivery & Operational Management roles (down 41), as well as Communications & Marketing (down 16), while Finance and Fundraising and Business Development positions both increased by 12 versus 2022. 

The share of jobs by role type has seen some changes, with Finance roles accounting for 12% of those recorded, versus just 6% last year and HR accounting for 5%, up from a 1% share in 2022.  

Communications & Marketing roles, however, dropped for 10% of all recorded in 2022 to just 4% this year. 

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q1 2023

 

Observations 

Looking at the data, it is clear that, even with the overall reduction in roles advertised, the market for talent remains strong, and ahead of where it stood pre-pandemic.  

Activity levels vary across the different subsectors, however, so there is no single trend that can be identified for the whole sector, with 4 areas increasing and 6 others decreasing. 

Likewise, the types of roles do not show any consistent movement in a particular direction, so it will be interesting to see how the remainder of 2023 works out.  

 

If our own experience in 2into3 is any indicator, the challenging and competitive market for talent shows no sign of easing, with the number of active jobseekers still below levels seen before COVID. This means a lot more work is required by those hiring to find the best candidates, even to make them aware of the opportunity.  

 

Contact Us

If you have any queries around these findings, or would like to find out more, contact our Director of Talent Management Services, Fergal O’Sullivan.

Team Meeting image

The Importance of Open Feedback in Exit Interviews

Most employment terms will have a clause that sets out how a resignation can be dealt with. This will most likely include an exit interview or meeting. This is not a tick-boxing exercise. Some organisations see probation reviews and exit interviews as an administrative exercise, or a time waster. However, they are some of the most important meetings where people can be open, honest and direct. Therefore, creating a space that accepts open feedback in exit interviews is extremely important.

With exit interviews, the person is not worried about saying the wrong thing, hampering a pay increase or promotion. Therefore, you are more likely to get the truth, warts and all.

The person sitting across from the manager who has chosen to leave will never be more willing to be honest about their reason for leaving. If there is something to be said that’s negative, you should want to know about it, so that you can take action.

Top 5 Issues Raised in 2022 Exit Interviews:

 

  1. Work Life Balance
  2. Pay and conditions
  3. Issues with duties and responsibilities
  4. Career change
  5. Feeling unsupported with personal issues / wellbeing issues

 

When we look at these five top most common reasons given for resigning, there are some that may be out of an organisation’s control. For example, if the person wishes to change career, or wants a substantial increase in salary, this may simply be impossible to address. When this is clear, the employee can be asked for feedback on everything else they experienced in the workplace. These questions are your chance to address matters about the workplace and the feedback can be priceless.

However, for issues that can be addressed by the organisation, it is extremely important to ask further questions. Issues around workplace culture, managerial styles, being unsupported, overworked, or unappreciated, are issues that can be addressed within any organisation’s capacity. Getting to the cause and solution of these issues are extremely important for an organisation’s longevity.

 

Employer Sample Questions to Use in Exit Interviews:

 

  1. Out of ten, how would you rate us as a place to work?
  2. Why did we lose marks?
  3. Have you found that the role and responsibilities allowed you to learn and grow?
  4. Looking back on your time with us, is there anything that would have worked better for us to have supported you in your role?
  5. What did you enjoy about being here?
  6. What did you not enjoy?
  7. Would you recommend us to anyone to join as a member of the team?
  8. If not, could you provide feedback?
  9. Would you return if your new role does not live up to expectations?

 

In reality, when the exit is amicable and the person is simply moving on, feedback helps address any ongoing issues which could cause further resignations if left unresolved. Last year, HR Duo tracked issues which arise in these settings, and some side issues that showed up through this questioning included:

 

  • The impact of a work colleague abusing sick leave, and the pressure that this placed on others covering the absence.
  • Roles and responsibilities not being clear, leading to blurred boundaries and overlapping of work.
  • Feelings of unfair and inconsistent treatment where requests for remote working were refused and granted to others.
  • Out of hours contact on an ongoing basis.
  • Dissatisfaction with canteen and other facilities.
  • Unrealistic targets and feelings of pressure on a person or team.

 

If something is raised in the meeting, such as a grievance or bullying concern, this can be addressed by the employer during the meeting. An employee can be assured they do not need to resign, that there are ways for the organisation to deal with such issues.

 

Author: Kevin Callan LL.B BL is Chief HR Officer with our partners, HR Duo. He practised as an employment law and industrial relations specialist barrister for twelve years before taking up internal positions in HR.

Contact Us

If your organisation has experienced recent resignation and are seeking new talent, contact our Head of Recruitment, Fergal O’Sullivan or visit here for more information.

 

2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Nonprofit Talent Trends: Q4 2022

Q4 2022 2into3 Nonprofit Talent Trends

The impact of COVID-19 on senior nonprofit recruitment seems to be working its way through the system, based on 2into3’s latest snapshot of roles being advertised. The final quarter of 2022 saw a decline of 29% in the number of roles advertised, falling from 271 in Q4 2021 to 193 in Q4 2022. This three-month period saw what appears to have been a backlog of roles advertised in both 2020 and 2021 but has now fallen back to a level closer to the pre-pandemic level of activity.  

 

Q4 2022 Nonprofit Talent Trends

 

The number of organisations advertising these senior vacancies also fell at a similar rate (down 23% versus the same period in the previous year: 197 versus 151). 

 

Subsectors 

Q4 2022 Nonprofit Talent Trends

Looking at the different subsectors, where such information was available (some roles are advertised anonymously), there were some significant shifts in activity levels, most notably in Health, which saw a 41% drop in roles (from 46 in Q4 2021 to 27 in Q4 2022). As with the overall trend, this could be the spike of health-related roles during the pandemic working through the data. 

Other subsectors saw larger percentage drops, but these were from a much smaller base (e.g., Philanthropy & Voluntarism dropping from 16 to 6 (down 63%) or Professional & Vocational roles halving, from 16 to 8 over the same period. 

Some subsector showed little or no changes, including Religion, Recreation & Sport and Arts, Culture & Media. This latter subsector was one of only three that showing an increase in the number or roles advertised (Education & Research and Environment being the other two). 

 

Functions 

 It is also worth noting the role types that were in demand in Q4 2022, and some of the shifts that took place versus the same period in 2021. 

Q4 2022 Nonprofit Talent Trends

 

For most of the core role types that we track, while the totals were lower, the percentage of overall roles was reasonably consistent. The main exception to this would be CEO / Executive Director roles which fell from 12% of positions advertised to 7% year-on-year. 

 Overall, Service Delivery & Operational Management roles remained the largest type advertised, representing 53% of all roles in 2022 versus 52% in 2021. 

 

Summary 

What does this latest set of figures tell us about recruitment for senior roles in the nonprofit sector? It would appear that COVID-related peaks and troughs are reduced, or completely gone at this point, although the data for the first quarter of 2023 will be interesting. 

Anecdotally, our own experience in 2into3 was a brief quiet period in the final quarter of 2022, relative to the last 2-3 years, but this has been replaced by a sudden burst of activity in the immediate period post-Christmas. Whether this was related to budgets, new plans for the new year, or other factors, is hard to define, but if this initial trend continues, and our tracking of advertised roles is certainly showing an increased level of activity, we may well see another increase for Q1 2023. 

The recruitment market remains tight and active jobseekers remain thin on the ground, so targeting potential candidates is a large part of our work right now, as it has been for a while now.  If you are experiencing your own challenges in recruiting for senior level roles in your organisation and would like to discuss further, you can contact Fergal O’Sullivan, Head of Recruitment Practice in 2into3 at (01) 574-0026. 

nonprofit talent trends 2022 q3

Nonprofit Talent Trends Q3 2022

The latest instalment of the 2into3 Nonprofit Talent Trends report shows a continued increase in the level of senior recruitment within the sector. 

 For the third quarter of 2022, we recorded a total of 272 management roles advertised, an increase of 45 or 20% on the same period last year. These roles were with 193 different organisations, up 27 or 16% on 2021. This activity was spread across all main subsectors, with some significant shifts in some areas.  

 

Nonprofit Talent Trends q3 2022

Analysis by Subsector

4 sectors saw a drop in the number of roles advertised, including Health (37 down from 41), Education & Research (13, down from 19) and Arts Culture & Media (8, down from 11). 

In contrast, 7 sectors had an increased number of vacancies advertised, with Social Services the most active, with 92 roles, up from 68 in 2021. Philanthropy & Voluntarism was considerably more active as well, with 16 roles advertised this year versus 7 last year. Roles in the Religion subsector grew significantly, albeit from a relatively low base, from 3 to 8 year-on-year.  

It is also interesting to note the shift in role types over the course of the last year as well. CEO and Executive Director level roles went from representing 8.5% of all advertised to 4.8%, while Fundraising & Business Development dropped from 20.3% to 14.3%. Service Delivery & Operational Management positions remained fairly steady (53% versus 52%) but increased in number from 118 to 145. 

 Admin, Strategy and Governance more than doubled their share of roles, from 4% to 7.4% albeit from a low base, while most other role types remained relatively static in their share of advertised activity. 

 

So, overall, we continue to see an active and growing level of advertised recruitment activity for senior roles, at least from this snapshot, with the post-COVID recovery showing little sign of abating. 

We are however seeing some differences appear within the different subsectors, with the urgency of Health roles during the pandemic working their way out of the system, for example. On the other hand, Social Services needs are still high in the current economic climate, as evidenced by the volume of roles being advertised. 

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From our own anecdotal experience in 2into3, the demand for talent remains high and we would expect this to continue into Q4, if the first few weeks are anything to go by.  We continue to receive requests for support from organisations who have been unsuccessful in attracting qualified candidates via their own internal recruitment efforts, a sign possibly that a more targeted approach using larger databases and networks is needed. 

The 2into3 Recruitment Team are available to discuss this report and the current recruitment market in the context of your own requirements. Please contact Fergal O’Sullivan at fergal.osullivan@2into3.com or on (086) 180-6051.