# Charity Careers Scotland to help charities improve staff recruitment

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/03/22/charity-careers-scotland-help-charities-improve-staff-recruitment/
- Published: 2013-03-22T13:46:57+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/charity-careers-scotland-600_0.
gif)

Charities in Scotland have a new online recruitment service available in the form
of Charity Careers Scotland. The site offers charities new tools in promoting their
vacancies to a wider audience, and an advanced method of filtering job applicants
to these vacancies.

The site has been created by Scottish fundraising consultancy and voluntary sector
recruitment specialists **Bruce Tait Associates**. Its development has been supported
by Scottish Enterprise through its Innovation Support Funding. At launch it was 
populated with over 5,000 potential candidates wanting to work for a charity.

**Bruce Tait**, chief executive of Bruce Bruce Tait Associates and former chair 
of the Institute of Fundraising Scotland, believes the new service will play an 
important role in development the Scottish charity employment market.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

## Scottish charity recruitment market challenges

Quoting his agency's [Scottish Charity Workforce Survey 2013](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/news/2013/03/22/82-scottish-charity-workers-have-had-pay-freeze-or-reduction-says-scottish-charity-workforce-survey),
which was announced at this morning's launch, he noted that about half of Scottish
charities say that they have difficulty in filling fundraising roles. Many charities
also reported being inundated with irrelevant job applications.

Tait said that the Scottish charity market faces some unique challenges. "With disparate
regional communities, the market for each role and for employment is often quite
small. Despite funding cuts, the good news is that charities aren’t closing their
doors to new entrants; they are striving to bring in new talent and employment remains
at a healthy level. But, because charities aren’t able to offer competitive salaries,
opportunities for career progression could become limited and stifle the job market".

He added that "too often charities fail to sell  to candidates. By giving charities
the opportunity to better tell their story, we hope to energise the recruitment 
process and enable organisations to attract and motivate top candidates, despite
any salary limitations".

![Poppy Scotland branded recruitment page on Charity Careers Scotland](https://www.
fundraising.co.uk/files/images/charity-careers-scotland-poppy-scotland.jpg)

_Poppy Scotland's branded recruitment page on Charity Careers Scotland_

For example, the site offers charities their own **branded recruitment area** where
they can upload documents, videos, social media links and case studies about the
organisation, its work and the exact requirements of the vacancy. Advisory tools
and salary benchmarking help the charity build a detailed and accurate job description
before going live.

## Recruitment journey tools

Charity Careers Scotland includes a number of online 'recruitment journey' tools
that help to support candidates in identifying the right organisation and role for
them. The service covers the whole breadth of charity jobs in Scotland, not just
fundraising positions.

![Charity Careers Scotland launch infographic](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/
images/CCS_info_final.jpg)

Its ‘Checking Questions’ function allows a charity to set three ‘must have’ questions,
which quickly eliminates inappropriate applications and enables selection filtering
for correct matches and short listing.

Candidates themselves can access tools and advice for creating CVs, application 
guidance and interview tips; learn about the charity sector, search for a specific
charity, cause, or job role, and receive relevant job alerts as new vacancies are
posted.

Tait added: "It is vital that more young people consider careers working for a charity
and the site will be an important gateway to understanding more about charities 
in Scotland and the career opportunities they offer.”

Charity Careers Scotland will be demonstrated at further events in Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Aberdeen and London over the coming months.

[www.charitycareersscotland.co.uk](http://www.charitycareersscotland.co.uk)

 * **[Lothian Buses create pink bus for breast cancer awareness month](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/10/03/lothian-buses-create-pink-bus-breast-cancer-awareness-month/)**(
   3 October 2013)
 * **[Scottish Government opens £1 million community transport fund](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/12/02/scottish-government-opens-1-million-community-transport-fund/)**(
   2 December 2013)
 * **[OSCR advises on fundraising restrictions near 2014 Commonwealth Games](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/01/09/oscr-advises-fundraising-restrictions-near-2014-commonwealth-games/)**(
   9 January 2014)
