Community development worker jobs

Community development workers help local people spot what is wrong in their area and do something about it. The National Careers Service gives pay of £22,000 for a starter to £36,000 for an experienced worker, across 37 to 39 hours a week with flexible evening and weekend work. You can start from a degree, a college certificate, an apprenticeship or volunteering.

What the work involves

The listed duties are identifying community needs, problems and barriers, encouraging local people to take action and share their views, finding new opportunities and monitoring existing projects. Workers also raise public awareness of community issues, raise funds, manage budgets and plan meetings and events.

The focus is on groups of local people. Compare youth work, which centres on young people, and family support, which centres on households. The community safety officer profile covers a neighbouring council role.

Who employs them

The National Careers Service names charities, the NHS and local authorities. The profile does not name particular councils or give council grades. Charity roles set their own pay, so the National Careers Service range is only a guide. Check the contract length in the advert too.

Routes in

• A foundation degree or degree, ideally in community development, community studies, youth work or social sciences. Foundation degrees usually need at least 1 A level or equivalent, and degrees usually need 2 to 3.
• A level 2 or 3 certificate in community development, or a level 4 higher national certificate in social and community work.
• A public health practitioner degree apprenticeship, which usually asks for 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 plus A levels or equivalent.
• Volunteering on local projects, which often comes with training and can help you find paid work. The profile suggests community groups, tenant associations and charities.

Background checks

Every route on the profile requires enhanced background checks. GOV.UK lists four DBS levels: basic, standard, enhanced and enhanced with barred lists. Our guide to DBS check levels explains what each shows and who asks for which.

Applying for a community development post

Adverts in this field often ask for experience of working with local groups and for evening availability, which the profile says is common. Volunteering counts as evidence, so list what you did, for whom and what changed. Our guide to reading a job description and person specification shows how to match that experience to each criterion, and the STAR method helps you turn it into interview answers.

Because the profile says every route requires enhanced background checks, read pre-employment checks before you accept an offer, and applying with a criminal record if that applies to you. If the job is grant-funded, ask about the funding period. Fixed-term contracts in the public sector explains what rights apply.

Council terms to check

A local authority post normally follows the National Joint Council (NJC) Green Book. The May 2024 copy sets a standard full-time week of 37 hours (36 in London) and a minimum of 23 days’ annual leave from 1 April 2023, with a further 3 days after five years’ continuous service and two extra statutory days. The 2026/27 award of 3.3 per cent on NJC pay points 3 to 43 was agreed on 24 August 2026. Charities and NHS bodies use different terms, so compare adverts carefully. The NJC pay spine guide explains how council pay points work.

Questions to ask before you accept

Useful questions to ask are which communities you would work with, how long the funding for the post lasts, and how evening and weekend hours are recorded and compensated. Ask who sets the priorities, the council, a funder or residents themselves, and what support the employer offers for fundraising and budget management, which the profile lists among the duties.

Where it can lead

The National Careers Service lists specialising in an area such as health, homelessness or youth work, working across different issues and groups, managing a team, and moving into a role that shapes community policy. Some workers go freelance as trainers or consultants.

Work out what an advertised salary leaves you each month with the take-home pay calculator. Council employees are normally covered by the Local Government Pension Scheme, described in our LGPS guide.