Applying for charity job

[Fressia123]

Looking for some advice. I used to be an operations manager (for 5+ years). I'd be applying for Sr. programme manager role at a somewhat well known environmental international charity. I have no charity experiencia (all corporate) BUT I have the language skills that need on top of the professional experience. I need to write a 1000 word essay as part of the application. What would you include? (Transferable skills and love for the environment are the obvious ones) but what else? Tia

Have they given you a topic for the essay or is it just a normal personal statement? If the latter then as well as a general bit about why you want the job and your transferable skills, I'd base the rest off the skills/experience/competency section in the person specification (or advert if there isn't a PS).

I normally literally do sub headings or bullet points which are their essential requirements and write a mini ''STAR" format response for each one with evidence of where I have met that competency, so e.g. the heading would be 'leadership skills' or whatever and then I'd write an example up of a key achievement where I have demonstrated that skill. You'll quickly find 1000 words is not actually much to do this esp if it's a long PS so you may need to cleverly combine a few different competencies and write very succinctly!

It's the latter as you can see:

As part of this application you will be asked to write a supporting statement of 1000 words. This should describe your suitability for the role, demonstrating how closely you match the person specification.

Thank you so much for the tips!