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What Are Social Impact Jobs?

There’s a term for the effects companies and organizations have on the world, whether they’re negative or positive: social impact. In the career space, “social impact” also refers to how organizations address their social, environmental and economic footprints. It’s a challenging, but rewarding endeavor that’s becoming increasingly important not only for a company’s reputation, but for the health and safety of the world. To reduce their harmful effects and boost their positive ones, organizations in every industry hire people who want meaningful work. In this article, we’ll define social impact jobs and explore available career paths, which organizations are hiring, how to align your education and experiences, and how much social impact jobs pay.

What are social impact jobs?

Social impact is broad and flexible, and so are the jobs. Whether you want to focus on the environment or human rights, social impact jobs spread across every field and industry. Depending on the industry, certain social impact concerns – and jobs addressing them – may be more prominent. For example, a chemical company has a huge effect on the environment and human health, leading them to prioritize those two areas. No matter which programs they establish, a company’s ultimate goal is improving the well-being of their employees, the community they’re in and the world at large. In general, organizations offer social impact jobs in three main categories:

  • Environmental sustainability
  • Health
  • Human rights

Within those categories, jobs might address carbon emissions, pollution, poverty, education, social welfare, community development, gender equality and so on.

Why social impact matters according to cause marketing agency For Momentum’s 2024 Social Impact Stats:

Employee Motivation & LoyaltyOver 90% of employees say they’re more inspired, motivated and loyal at companies with purpose.
Brand Stance & Social Issues70% of Americans aged 18-30 believe brands must take a stand on social issues.
Environmental ConcernsConsumers care most about climate change.

What types of social impact jobs are out there?

A social impact job journey can take you across different sectors. Let’s say you start out doing entry-level data analysis for a nonprofit working on healthcare reform. Next, thanks to your experience with healthcare data, you move to a company offering discount medications. After several years there, you get hired to work at a government-funded research center focused on global health trends. In just this one example, you worked for a nonprofit, a for-profit company and a global-focused research center! Let’s go over three other general job areas in social impact:

1. Education

For this category, “education” includes any role where you’re educating or supporting the education of individuals or groups. That naturally includes teaching in a classroom setting, but there are also consulting, managing, counseling and administrative roles. Here are a few examples:

  • Curriculum developer (creates curriculums for schools, but also training materials for companies or government agencies)
  • Sustainability consultant (consults organizations on sustainability through assessments, training and monitoring)
  • Project manager (manages any education or training-adjacent programs for nonprofits, companies and government agencies)

2. Marketing

Marketers communicate about an organization’s social impact efforts and gather feedback on how consumers and other stakeholders feel about those efforts. If you go into social impact marketing, bear in mind that many companies use marketing (like greenwashing) to hide from accountability. If you want your skills to improve the world and not just a company’s reputation, look for organizations with a track record of real impact. Social impact jobs in marketing include:

  • Nonprofit marketing coordinator (manages and coordinates marketing efforts specifically for nonprofits, which depend on donations and grants)
  • Community engagement specialist (builds and maintains relationships with communities through events and regular communication, which matters for nonprofits, companies and government agencies)
  • Marketing analyst (gathers and analyzes data on market trends, customer behavior and campaign performance to measure success of social impact efforts and find new opportunities)

3. Finances and accounting

The financial and accounting fields may not feel like a natural fit for social impact. After all, corporate greed causes issues like gender and racial inequality to worsen. Can professionals who work with money find social impact jobs? Of course! These positions exist at nonprofits, social enterprises and other organizations committed to bettering the world. If their finances are a mess, they can’t meet their social impact goals. Accountants also have transferable skills that can measure more than just money. As a blog on Ohio Today describes, “sustainability accounting” is a great way to measure social impact, environmental impact, employee well-being and more. Social impact jobs for accountants include:

  • Payroll specialist (ensures employees get paid on time and what they’re owed, and that the organization complies with laws)
  • Tax analyst (understands tax laws and compliance, which makes them helpful when studying and advocating for tax reform and economic equity)
  • Social impact investor (guides organizations and individuals who want to invest in positive social and environmental assets)

Who hires for social impact jobs?

Every industry offers social impact jobs, so when you’re searching for a new position, look at organizations like:

  • Charities and nonprofits
  • Social enterprises
  • Schools and universities
  • Government agencies
  • Corporations
  • Think tanks
  • Hospitals and clinics
  • Intergovernmental organizations

Many organizations highlight their social impact programs and policies, but you can find jobs at organizations that aren’t as vocal. To find organizations that prioritize social impact, check job boards like Idealist, ImpactPool, Net Impact and Devex. Job boards like Welcome to the Jungle let you pick which job factors matter most to you (like flexibility or meaningful work), which can help you find social impact jobs.

What do I need to do before applying to social impact jobs?

You want to work in social impact, so where do you start? Before heading into the trenches, there are four main things to work through: what you’re passionate about, what your education qualifies you for, what work experience is most relevant, and what skills are most valuable for your ideal career.

Your passions

You probably already know what issues you’re passionate about, like environmental sustainability or gender equality or child welfare. However, these fields encompass hundreds of roles, and not having a clearer idea of the jobs you want quickly makes the job search overwhelming and inefficient. Whether you’re a student or working professional, take the time to identify what a job must include before you consider applying. Requirements should include your passions, but also factors like your education (we’ll talk about this in the next section) and work experience. Having a clearer picture of what you want keeps you from submitting hundreds of weak applications; you’ll instead have more time to write stronger, tailored apps for jobs you’re serious about.

Your education

Most social impact jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree (though there are always exceptions), while many higher-level positions want candidates who’ve completed master’s programs, too. If you’re about to start college or currently enrolled, think about which degrees make the most sense for the jobs you want. For example, if you’re interested in nonprofit fundraising, degrees in business, communications or nonprofit management are all good choices. Check out the coursework a program offers, too, and choose classes that build expertise for your ideal role.

Tip: If you already have a degree, but want to switch to social impact, do you need to go back to school? Most of the time, you don’t. As long as you meet the basic qualifications for education, organizations care more about the relevancy of your experience. If you want to make a significant career leap (e.g. computer engineer to middle-school history teacher), you will likely need to get some new education or certifications.

Your experience

90% of the time, you’re not getting the job if you lack the desired experience. This is especially tough for entry-level professionals who haven’t had years to work multiple jobs. Luckily, you can add things like volunteer work (especially if it’s long-term), internships, fellowships and other activities to your applications. Things are a bit easier with years of experience, but you should choose only the most relevant work for each resume you submit. You don’t need to include every job you’ve ever had unless for some reason, each one directly applies to the job.

Tip: When tailoring your experiences for a job, find the action verbs from the job description, like “manage,” “research,” “iterate,” and “collaborate.” Fit your experience to these keywords, so it’s clear you can perform the listed responsibilities. Worried your experiences aren’t good enough? Focus on transferable skills and what your experiences have in common with the job. You’re unlikely to meet 100% of the qualifications, but if you’ve got 70-80%, go for it. Pay attention to which qualifications seem like a must-have; they’re probably listed first.

Your skills

Naming your skills seems like it should be fairly simple, but many people struggle with describing what they’re good at in a clear, compelling way. If you’re having trouble, think about your responsibilities at school or work. What does success involve? Good organization? Creative thinking? Once you have a list of skills, compare them to the types of jobs you want. For every skill you identify, prepare a specific, ideally quantifiable anecdote you can bring up in interviews. For example, If you’re saying you’re good at organization and time management, include the time you successfully managed a complex project with management tools, which resulted in 20% faster delivery time than previous projects.

Tip: Jobs ask for “hard” skills, like experience with content management, office administration or project management software. If you don’t have experience with the specific software listed, add any comparable tools you’ve worked with. If you have no experience, try to figure out how important that aspect of the job is. If it doesn’t seem too important (it’s listed last on the job posting), go ahead and apply. If called for an interview, you should describe when you learned something new quickly, so the organization knows you can pick up the software.

How much do social impact jobs pay?

Social impact jobs have a very wide salary band. The most useful insight we can give is that social impact jobs do not pay drastically lower or higher than other jobs – what you might earn depends more on factors like job industry, job level, your education, your work experience, the job’s location and the organization’s size. For example, an entry-level fundraising job at a local animal rights nonprofit pays much less than a senior sustainability manager at a Fortune 500 company. It’s up to you to decide what your ideal salary range is and if the industries you’re interested in offer those jobs. As we said earlier, social impact jobs are flexible! You may work for a nonprofit for a few years and then move to an organization with better pay.

What do I need to remember?

  • Every field and industry has social impact jobs
  • Nonprofits, governments, corporations and other organizations are invested in social impact
  • When applying for social impact jobs, consider your passions, your education, your experience and your skills
  • Social impact jobs have a wide salary band, so think about factors like industry, role, education, experience, location and organization size