The Merrifield Consultants Charity & Not-for-Profit Salary Guide 2026 sets out a detailed picture of pay, recruitment patterns and career progression across the UK voluntary sector, drawing together benchmarks for fundraising, marketing, membership, digital and operational roles. According to the guide, these data are intended to help hiring managers and charity professionals make informed choices when setting pay, structuring teams or planning moves between organisations.

Financial pressures shaping hiring

Charities face a squeezed operating environment that is reshaping pay expectations and hiring decisions. The guide highlights rising costs, growing demand for services and keen competition for niche talent as drivers of change, echoing wider sector reports that show average salaries creeping upwards even as vacancy volumes fall and recruitment becomes more selective. According to CharityJob data, median salaries have risen modestly in recent years while job postings have reduced, a pattern reflected in other industry analysis.

Importance of salary benchmarking

The report underlines why reliable benchmarking matters: transparent market data support competitive offers, stronger retention and fairer internal pay structures. Independent studies underline persistent inequalities in pay across the sector, with a notable gap between London and regions and evidence that a significant proportion of entry-level roles remain below the real living wage, creating recruitment and diversity challenges for charities.

Demand for income-generation skills

Recruiters and sector specialists are increasingly prioritising candidates with demonstrable income-generation skills. Merrifield’s guide stresses that roles tied to major giving, corporate partnerships and strategic fundraising have seen the most upward pressure on pay, a trend tracked by other salary surveys and recruitment consultancies which catalogue growing demand for senior fundraisers and digital specialists alike.

Practical guidance

For HR teams and hiring managers the guide offers practical salary bands and role-specific commentary to support recruitment planning. Merrifield positions the resource as a tool to benchmark pay across functions from individual-giving executors to heads of fundraising, and from digital roles to operational support, recommending that organisations balance market realities with mission-driven constraints when setting remuneration. The full guide is available for download from Merrifield Consultants’ site. 

The implications

Candidates and charity leaders should take a combined view: sector purpose remains a strong motivator, but market data now play a central role in career decisions and workforce planning. Industry reports caution that executive pay at the largest charities has also risen, reflecting greater responsibilities at senior levels and amplifying debates about pay equity across organisations. Merrifield’s 2026 guide, read alongside independent salary surveys, offers a timely reference as charities seek to recruit and retain the specialist skills needed to meet growing demand while managing constrained budgets.

Trying to ensure your pay is perfectly benchmarked? The Reward and Payroll Summit features dedicated sessions to help your compensation benchmarking. Click here to find out more.