Charity, education & membership bodies salaries and market trends

What key trends have you witnessed  in 2017?

2017 was a strong year for EMR in the charity, education and membership sectors. The UK continues to see record levels of students enter higher education, even as tuition fees have increased. Apprenticeships took centre stage with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and whilst this didn’t dent university applications, there is heightened competition for student attraction. In the charity sector, government funding continues to fall, whereas public contributions and fundraising have risen. All of these factors have created a much more complex and competitive environment, so the need for marketing has never been higher.

There has been an increase in the number of candidates outside of the charity sector wishing to transfer their skills to give something back and be involved in a meaningful cause. Employers were more open to screening a more varied pool of candidates, so we saw more fluidity throughout this market.

Over the last year we saw an increase in insight and events roles across all sectors. Organisations are trying to understand their customers’ motivations and engage with them directly, in a bid to foster stronger long-term relationships and loyalty.

Universities and colleges were keen to hire candidates with strong web development and digital experience  due to the increasing access to online courses and teaching forums.

What key trends do you expect to see over the next 12 months?

The higher education sector will continue to see a push in apprenticeships and many will look towards the large graduate recruiters to see how this will affect university applications. Budget limitations within the education market are also likely to continue in 2018, whilst the investment in digital training and digital marketing channels for schools, universities and colleges will increase. We predict there will be a high demand for creative and innovative candidates who can execute email marketing campaigns to support student attraction, as well as website development and content editors who can produce across websites, brochures, email and blog posts.

Institutions are increasingly focusing on customer experience and data analysis in order to aid product development and improve brand loyalty. Due to this, there will be demand for digital marketing experts, especially with analytics, e-mail, social and CRM skills. 

What methods are companies using to attract and retain the top talent?

Organisations in this space don’t tend to compete at the top of salary brackets and they understand the need to invest in employee satisfaction as a whole. There has been an increase in flexible working hours and remote working options. A broader range of benefits on top of salaries and bonuses such as quarterly rewards and team incentives, including vouchers and weekend trips, have also retained strong candidates. In addition, companies are recognising the importance of using internal and external training in  order to ensure marketers are continually learning and developing skills.

Do you anticipate any changes to permanent salaries and bonuses over  the next 12 months?

We expect salaries to remain flat year-on-year, although the strongest candidates with in-demand skills such as data, digital and analytics will be able to stretch salary bandings.

Contract roles & day rates

In the consumer space, we saw a demand for short-term campaign and CRM professionals, as clients focus on consumer relationships and loyalty. Day rates for these roles vary depending on budgets and contract length, with campaign and brand managers earning between £250 and £350 per day. ‘Head of’ and Director level consumer specialists were being paid £450+ per day.

Contracting day rates typically mirror permanent  salaries in the charity interim space. This means that fewer candidates opt to become interim specialists at the middle-management and junior end of the market, so it can be challenging to find candidates for £150-£250 per day.