Construction & Property

It's an exciting time to qualify and bring fresh, innovative ideas into this sector - find out more about the areas you could work in and the skills, qualifications and experience you'll need.

From designing homes to building and selling them, there's a whole range of property jobs and careers in the construction industry that you could pursue. Choose from graduate roles in areas including architecture, engineering, property development and town planning.

Getting Started

This wide-ranging career area includes architecture, landscape architecture, geotechnical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, building surveying, site management and quantity surveying (estimating and tracking costs). There are good opportunities in construction for school leavers. Careers in the property and construction sector can be grouped into:
  • architecture
  • building control
  • building services engineering
  • building surveying
  • civil engineering
  • construction management
  • estate agencies
  • estate management
  • facilities management
  • historic buildings conservation
  • housing management
  • land surveying
  • property development
  • quantity surveying
  • structural engineering
  • town and country planning
  • valuation
Check out this video about Tom, who started as an Apprentice and is now a Site Manager for Seddon, the UK’s largest privately owned and family managed contracting business, employing over 650 people.

Jobs

Employers in the third sector include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social enterprises, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and large charities such as:
  • Age UK
  • Alzheimer's Society
  • Barnardo's
  • British Heart Foundation
  • Childline
  • Macmillan Cancer Support
  • MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières)
  • RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
  • The Princes Trust
  • The Salvation Army
  • UNICEF
  • Welcome Trust.
Many charities focus on issues surrounding social services, housing, education, human rights, community development, international development, health and medicine, and conservation and environment.

Popular graduate charity employers include:
  • Amnesty International
  • British Red Cross
  • Cancer Research UK
  • Mind
  • National Trust
  • NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)
  • Oxfam
  • Save the Children
  • WaterAid
  • WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature)
As an employee in this industry, you can expect:
  • the majority of jobs to take place in office environments
  • a lower salary and reduced job security compared with the private sector
  • to work on temporary contracts due to short-term funding
  • a predominantly female workforce
  • flexible working conditions, including the opportunity for part-time work and home working
  • to travel during the working day for some roles.
  • international travel is also possible if the charity you work for has an international agenda
  • work to be stressful when resources are low
  • huge job satisfaction and career progression opportunities
  • strong competition for paid employment

Qualifications

The skills you need vary from job to job. For example, to be an estate agent it's vital that you're a brilliant communicator and salesperson. Working in architecture demands great attention to detail, accuracy and creativity. And becoming a property developer requires the ability to negotiate deals and identify opportunities.


Skills shortages are a major problem in the construction industry. This means that you can impress employers and put yourself in a great position when it comes to job vacancies by demonstrating that you have skills such as:

  • commercial awareness
  • IT literacy
  • negotiation skills
  • problem-solving skills
  • strong numeracy
  • strong time management
  • teamwork.


Sources & Useful Links

Practice applying for an entry level job

So you know what you are up against, practice applying for an entry level job as a Charity Officer and see if you get an interview

The opportunity

We are a national charity based in Wigan. We take action against the effects of childhood diseases, providing information, support, research funds and a voice for all affected. 


We need to become our supporters’ charity of choice, maximise our opportunities, work proactively and engage more donors to ensure that we are here when people need us most.


We have an exciting opportunity for a supporter focused individual to join our busy, small but dynamic charity. 2020 has been a hard year for all of us, as we move into 2021 we want to ensure our supporter care and communications around fundraising are the best they can be. 


As the Charity Officer you’ll be central to the smooth working of the fundraising function and ensuring that we can maximise our stewardship of donors and fundraising opportunities.


What we look for:

You’ll also need to be proactive, with real time management capability and thrive in a busy small team.


Could this be the role you are looking for? For more information please continue to read!

Includes, but not limited to:

Carry out marketing and public relations activities to raise the profile of the organisation's services and campaigns


Design fundraising materials such as leaflets and flyers


Create and organise fundraising initiatives and events


Approach potential donors and maintain donor lists


Liaise with external agencies, including voluntary sector organisations, the media, local authorities, business contacts, trustees and other stakeholders or clients


Recruit and coordinate the work of volunteers


Carry out administrative tasks, such as applying for grants and other sources of funding, managing budgets, gathering data, preparing reports, database management and clerical work to meet the charity's needs

Desired, Skills, Knowledge & Qualifications

You'll need to show:


Excellent oral and written communication skills


Well-developed interpersonal skills and the ability to build successful partnerships


Flexibility and time management


Commitment to, passion for and belief in the organisation's aims


Good understanding of the charity and voluntary work sector, and its relationship with other sectors appreciation of marketing and PR methods along with commercial understanding


Strong administrative skills, including numeracy initiative, creativity and good forward thinking

research, analysis and planning skills


The ability to multi-task and prioritise 


Understanding of the important role of volunteers the ability to learn quickly and adapt


Proficient in Microsoft Office


QUALIFICATIONS


A minimum of a GCSE grade 4 or C in Maths and English


Relevant qualifications to A-Level or equivelent and/or considerable work experience

Location, Salary, Hours & Benefits

Monday to Friday 8.30 AM – 5.30 PM at our offices in Wigan

£14,495 - £15,995 Per Annum

20 days holiday + bank holidays

Free parking

Flexible working arrangements considered

Apply Now Back to Careers