Finding CSR jobs
Opportunities exist within the private, public and voluntary sectors. Many CSR roles may not be titled as such but their job content may reflect CSR activities.
Private sector
Larger companies may have CSR departments or have CSR functions located within other departments.
Opportunities are also opening up in the large accounting and consulting firms, many of which are trying to compete with the niche CSR consulting firms by offering their own CSR client services.
Public sector
CSR career options can be found in both national government agencies and international organisations.
The UK government has put forward its vision for CSR within businesses and government departments. The CR Academy is a resource for organisations of any size and sector wanting to develop their corporate responsibility skills through training, advice and support.
Nonprofits and research
There are a wide variety of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), industry associations, think tanks and academic institutions engaging in learning and/or advocacy within the CSR arena.
Such groups promote and examine the use of CSR concepts within the private and public spheres. For example:
Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition represents over 130 charities and campaigning organisations.
Friends of the Earth highlight the environmental impact of some multinationals and campaign for stronger laws on environmental responsibility.
Amnesty International also campaigns for human rights and organisational responsibility in this area.
Job search strategies
Many direct CSR roles require specialist knowledge and business experience and therefore may not be open to those on graduate programmes or just starting out with a company.
You may have to take a longer term strategy and build up your skills and experience in relevant areas first. However, there are jobs out there so here are a few tips:
- Look through the job profiles in the CSR folder in the 'Getting started' section of the Careers Service
- Consider joining a CSR network
- Think hard about organisations you admire and research their values and culture. What is their stance on CSR? Is it embedded in their core values? Do they have opportunities for getting involved with CSR activities?
- Some consultancies have CSR departments and take on people in this area. For environmental consultancies with a CSR interest check the Environmental Data Services (ENDS) directory.
- Join CSR networks such as ‘CSR chicks’ or ‘CSR blokes’ - these are two yahoo groups for people interested in CSR. Job opportunities are often posted on the list
- Get some CSR experience by securing an internship, work placement or by volunteering to assist an organisation with their CSR project.
- Keep up to date with CSR developments. Monitor CSR websites and newspaper articles.
- Consider further study. Some consultancies for example, prefer graduates with business or NGO experience and/or a Masters level qualification in a CSR related area.
- Monitor online job listings or register with a recruitment agency that handles CSR vacancies see CSR resources
- Look on SAGE, the Careers Service vacancies website. We advertise many jobs that can be considered "CSR jobs" but they may not have "CSR" in the job title. Think about searching on SAGE for jobs in the related career areas detailed in this section.
- There are sample adverts (including some from SAGE) in the CSR folder in the 'Getting started' section of the Careers Service.
This article was published on Aug 13, 2010