Opportunity Knocks Across the Pond

In Britain, plenty of fund-raising jobs await Americans; landing a work permit is the hard part

Demand for fund raisers in Britain has never been higher. As the British government scales back

its support for cultural, educational, and other charitable institutions, the need for people with fund-raising experience, particularly in wooing major donors, has skyrocketed. There’s just one problem: Few native Britons have the experience to fill the jobs.

“Our clients tell us that they’re looking to enhance their major-donor fund raising, but we have a real shortage of people with those skills here,” says Jane Peters, who oversees fund-raising recruiting at the Principle Partnership, a London headhunter. “We get a lot of jobs coming through, and nowhere near enough candidates to fill them.”

With demand for fund-raising specialists likely to continue to grow, British charities are increasingly looking to the United States to fill a deficit of homegrown talent. David VandeLinde, who serves as the vice chancellor of the University of Warwick, says that when he is seeking fund raisers, “it’s hard to escape the fact that many of the finest fish are clustered in the North American side of the pool.”

When Mr. VandeLinde sought a new director of development, he found his ideal candidate in Ronald Gray, an American who had previously run the development office at Washington University, in St. Louis. While professional fund raising is still emerging as a field in Britain, Mr. VandeLinde says, American fund raisers are benefiting from a head start: “The profession has been nurtured in the U.S. for decades.”

For American fund raisers with a sense of adventure, a dream job may be waiting across the Atlantic. But navigating the complexities of Britain’s culture and class system — not to mention the labyrinth of British employment law — can be a definite challenge.

Legal Obstacles

While British charities may have every reason to hire American fund raisers, the country’s employment laws make landing those positions tricky. Americans seeking to work in Britain are required to have a job there before moving to that country; visitors are prohibited from being employed in Britain without a work permit. And while dozens of recruitment firms in Britain work with charities, they probably can’t help American job seekers who lack work permits. And yet, the only way to get a work permit is to find a job — only employers can apply for the permits.

The situation isn’t hopeless, however. Some recruitment firms will make exceptions for candidates who are unusually skilled, helping introduce them to potential employers.

Once a match is made, the employer must then secure the necessary work permit. Employers in Britain are free to hire Americans as long as they can prove that the position has been advertised throughout countries that belong to the European Union, and that no candidates from there have the experience required to do the job.

An easier way might be to apply for one of the visas that Britain grants to skilled foreign workers. Britain’s Highly Skilled Migrant Program, introduced in 2002, was intended to lure skilled workers such as technology specialists and doctors, but American fund raisers may also qualify, notes Moyra Doyle, managing director of Richmond Associates UK Limited, a recruiting company that specializes in placing fund raisers. “The visa program is often one of the best routes for development professionals who have the prerequisite number of years’ experience,” she says. To qualify for the program, applicants must accumulate a series of points based on their credentials and professional experience.

Culture Clashes

While navigating Britain’s employment laws can be difficult, landing the job is only the first challenge that American fund raisers who want to work in Britain face. They also need to untangle the nation’s complex attitudes toward money — and toward the Americans who come over for the express purpose of asking for it.

“Americans have to be aware of the environment here,” says William Conner, executive vice president and managing director of Brakeley Ltd., an international fund-raising consulting company in London that is affiliated with the U.S. company Brakeley Briscoe. “It’s important to understand the differences between the two cultures, and at the end of the day to be self-confident enough to realize that the U.S. is the source of fund-raising innovation,” says Mr. Conner, an American who has assisted with fund-raising campaigns benefiting some of Britain’s most prominent cultural institutions.

Mr. Conner points out that American fund raisers who work for British charities are often tarred with the brush of caricature.

“They have a reputation for blundering into things that they don’t understand,” he says. The solution, he suggests, is to grow a thicker skin, and to win people over one at a time. “Show them how a really good solicitation works,” he says. “And never be afraid to ask questions.”

James Abruzzo is executive vice president and managing director of nonprofit search in the Short Hills, N.J., office of DHR Executive Search, a recruiter with headquarters in Chicago. He says American fund raisers need to grow more culturally sensitive. Mr. Abruzzo has spent years researching the differences between nonprofit organizations in the United States and those in Britain, and has been tracking the growing need for fund-raising professionals in Britain. “Americans can be very parochial,” he says. “People do things differently in different countries, and that includes fund raising.”

Still, Mr. Abruzzo has nothing but encouraging words for American fund raisers who seek to ply their trade across the Atlantic.

“Fund raising in another country involves a knowledge transfer,” he says. “There’s a tremendous demand for that knowledge right now.”

What’s more, he notes, the transformation of British culture, away from a system in which government serves as the primary financier for charities, is producing a demand for all sorts of American professionals — not just fund raisers.

“This change in orientation from direct government funding to private funding comes with a need for stronger management,” says Mr. Abruzzo. “Over time, organizations in the U.K. are going to need all sorts of good nonprofit managers.”

Resources for a British Job Search

For more information on searching for fund-raising jobs in Britain, check out the following Web resources:

Job listing. Many charities in Britain rely on the Internet to find potential applicants. Sites include: http://wwwjobsincharities.co.uk, http://www.charityjob.co.uk, and http://www.charityjobs.co.uk.

The Guardian newspaper also includes extensive listings ofjobs at charities: http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/charities

Employment law. For more information on British employment law, including a step-by-step guide to the process of securing a work permit, visit http://www.workpermit.com. For more information on the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa program, go to http://www.workpermit.co.uk/highly_skilled_migrant_program.htm.