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July - September 2025
Non-Profit Recruitment Insights Report
Quarterly report analysing recruitment trends, challenges and improvements within the non-profit sector.
Recruitment insights to support recruiting and retaining talent
Our latest report below analyses data from the non-profit sector for:
- The number of live permanent, temporary and fixed-term contract vacancies
- Availability of hybrid and remote working roles
- Key job discipline hiring, including; fundraising, finance, marcomms, HR & CEO
The data below was obtained between July-September 2025 from non-profit specialist job boards and agencies.
Key non-profit trends this quarter:
- Talent scarcity & candidate expectations - The market remains candidate-driven, but application volumes are down quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. Candidates are increasingly selective, prioritising roles that offer flexibility, and visible organisational values.
- Flexible & hybrid working - Hybrid roles remain dominant (50.4%), with a slight uptick in on-site roles. Full-time roles still account for the majority of live vacancies (72%)
- Entry-level & internal mobility - Entry-level job postings remain at 10% of all live job vacancies within the non-profit sector. With external talent pools shrinking, many non-profits are focusing on upskilling and promoting from within to fill critical gaps.
2025 Q3 live vacancies
Q3 (July-September 2025) continued the trend of a cooling jobs market, with a small reduction compared to Q2 (Apr-June) - presenting a flat job market. Comparing to the same time period in 2024, both the number of vacancies and number of job applications have declined.
The ongoing reduction in vacancies is a long-term trend within the UK market seeing its 38th consecutive quarterly drop, which is also reflected in the non-profit sector, with a 20% year-on-year decline in live jobs. This decline is mirrored across most job functions, with HR, fundraising, finance, and marcomms all seeing double-digit percentage drops in both quarterly and annual comparisons.
Interestingly, comparing July-September 2025 against the same period in 2024, the fact that job numbers have remained consistent could be viewed positively, as in 2024 this period was characterised by month-on-month decline.
Live jobs advertised by job function
*O&SS - This includes roles in administration, PA & executive support, operations, legacy support, membership, programmes, projects, research & policy, data, supporter care.
All major job functions saw declines both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, with HR & finance seeing the biggest seasonal dips in August. There are some small but notable increases in August and September this year, bucking the trend from 2024, which will be interesting to monitor as we move into the final quarter of the year.
Live vacancies by job type
Data tracked here is for live vacancies within the non-profit sector advertised as permanent, temporary and fixed-term contract.
This quarter saw a slight increase to contract roles, by 2%, with the same decline in permanent vacancies, whilst temporary roles remained steady.
8%
average temporary vacancies
24%
average contract vacancies
68%
average permanent vacancies
Flexible working
Hybrid, fully remote & on-site vacancies
Hybrid roles remain dominant (50.4%), with a slight uptick in on-site roles, after a drop earlier in the year.
Organisations are downsizing office footprints, relocating and embracing remote-friendly models to attract talent with in-demand skills. However although location flexibility is clearly being prioritised, the structure of working hours remains largely unchanged. The static proportion of part-time roles suggests that many organisations have yet to fully explore flexible job design as a tool for inclusion.
189
Average number of live entry-level vacancies
Entry level roles
On average 10% of live vacancies were advertised as entry-level between July-September 2025 within the non-profit sector.
This has remained at this level consistently since last year. It may reflect reduced organisational headcount and limited capacity to train and support junior staff. With many teams stretched, hiring decisions are increasingly focused on immediate skill needs. Additionally, the growing influence of AI and automation on administrative and support functions may be reshaping the scope of entry-level roles.
This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for organisations. Investing in entry-level talent is a key lever for long-term workforce sustainability. By adapting role structures, such as offering part-time or flexibility, organisations can tap into underutilised talent pools and build resilience within teams. Strategic entry-level hiring can help plug resource gaps while nurturing the next generation of sector professionals.
2025 Q3 TPP candidate application & availability data
Although the market remains candidate-driven, the average response rate in Q3 has dropped by 23%. This could be due to seasonal factors, but there is still a significant drop YoY, by 10%. Candidates are increasingly selective, prioritising roles that offer flexibility, and visible organisational values.
Notably, there was a decline in candidate availability amongst permanent candidates, compared to Q2 2025, by 8%, again this shift may be due to seasonal factors, where typically movement is often around more urgent temporary needs.
10%
decrease in average responses to live jobs YoY
8%
decrease in permanent candidate availability in Q3 compared to Q2
23%
decrease in average responses to live jobs in Q3 compared to Q2
While Q3 2025 has been another challenging quarter, there are signs of cautious optimism. Month-on-month job postings haven't declined like we saw in 2024.
Key pain points
- Ongoing decline in both vacancies and candidate activity.
- Budget constraints and economic uncertainty continue to delay hiring decisions.
- Lack of innovation in role design (e.g. part-time or flexible roles) may be limiting access to underrepresented talent pools.
- Skills gaps are growing - with development in technology/ AI, redundancies and fewer roles being replaced, employees are over stretched and needing to upskill.
Opportunities
- Enhance employee wellbeing - With less hiring to replace crucial roles, redundancies and stretched teams, invest in mental health and wellness initiatives to reduce burnout and improve retention.
- Internal development - Offer clear career pathways and upskilling opportunities to retain and motivate existing staff.
- Flexible hiring - Consider interim, contract, and part-time roles to maintain agility and manage costs.
The non-profit sector faces ongoing recruitment and retention challenges, but there are signs of resilience and adaptation. HR professionals are at the forefront of this, balancing cost pressures, evolving candidate expectations, and the need for organisational agility.
As we enter the final quarter of 2025, the sector will be watching closely to see how the Autumn Budget shapes the economic landscape and whether it provides the confidence boost needed to reignite hiring momentum. By focusing on wellbeing, internal mobility, and inclusive job design, non-profits can position themselves for sustainable growth in the year ahead.
