Nonprofit Talent Trends – 2025 Insights

Overall, in 2025, we recorded 951 advertised management-level roles, advertised by 708 nonprofit organisations.

In Demand Skills 2025: 

For the full year 2025, the Service Delivery and Operational Management skillset was in high demand, at 44% of all recorded advertised roles, followed by Fundraising and Business Development at 16% of advertised roles, and CEO/Executive Director and Finance, which both sat at 11% of all advertised roles respectively.

Subsector Breakdown 2025:

Using recorded advertised roles to decipher which subsectors saw the most growth and/or movement in 2025, the Social Services subsector was busiest at 29% of all advertised roles (289/951 advertised roles), followed by Health at 14% and Local Development and Housing at 13% (122/951 recorded roles).

Analysing all subsectors by volume of organisations recruiting, Social Services was largest at 25% (178/708) followed by Local Development and Housing at 14% (97/708) and Health at 13% (94/708).

2025 Observations

Overall, 2025 was a challenging year for nonprofits across Ireland. Against a backdrop of rising operational costs, funding uncertainty, and ongoing cost-of-living pressures affecting both service demand and donor capacity, the sector saw a notable reduction in personnel movement.

One consistent trend, however, was the increased movement at CEO and Executive Director level – likely reflecting organisations reaching the end of a post-pandemic period of stabilisation, which may have delayed planned leadership transitions in previous years. With growing emphasis on governance, accountability, and strategic renewal, boards are increasingly focused on securing leaders equipped to navigate a more complex operating environment.

At the same time, we’re seeing organisations invest more deliberately in fundraising capability as they work to diversify income streams and reduce reliance on statutory funding. As we move into 2026, there is a renewed sense of energy across the sector: many organisations are launching new strategic plans and building the leadership teams needed to deliver on them.

For boards and senior leaders, this signals both opportunity and competition in attracting the talent required to drive impact in the years ahead.

Get in Touch

Our Talent Management Team monitors senior hiring across the nonprofit sector and publishes quarterly insights. To explore previous Nonprofit Talent Trends Reports, visit our Talent Insights page. For more information, contact Shannon Barrett, Principal – Talent Services, at Shannon.barrett@2into3.com.