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Equalities officer

Alternative titles for this job include Equality and diversity officer, equal opportunities officer, equality, diversity and human rights officer

Equalities officers promote practices and attitudes to make sure people from minority groups are treated equally within organisations.

Average salary (a year)

£18,000 Starter

to

£45,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends attending events or appointments

How to become an equalities officer

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • applying directly

University

You could do a degree in a relevant subject, like

  • law
  • psychology
  • sociology
  • community studies or youth studies
  • human resources

Employers may accept a degree in any subject but a postgraduate qualification in disability studies, race and ethnic relations, or equality and diversity studies, may also help you.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More information

College

You could get an introduction to this type of work from a relevant college course, like a Level 2 Certificate in Equality and Diversity.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D) for a level 2 course

More information

Volunteering and experience

You'll need practical experience of working in the community. You can get this through:

  • involvement with equality and diversity issues in a student union or trade union
  • volunteering with a local community group, tenants' association or charity
  • working in a related career like housing, regeneration, social work or youth work

Direct application

You could apply directly for jobs if you have relevant work experience as well as knowledge and understanding of equal opportunities issues and legislation.

Experience in human resources, youth and community work or social work may give you an advantage.

More information

Career tips

You may need to qualify as a teacher first if you want to work as an equality and diversity officer in schools.

Professional and industry bodies

Some employers will prefer you to be a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Further information

You can find out more about working as an equalities officer from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
  • analytical thinking skills
  • the ability to read English
  • active listening skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • customer service skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could be:

  • identifying equality issues, introducing new policies and reviewing existing practices
  • working with employers to help them develop a diverse workforce
  • supporting community-based projects and groups
  • promoting equality initiatives and events, like International Women's Week
  • making sure adverts and promotional materials don’t discriminate
  • working with children from ethnic minority backgrounds in schools
  • preparing and delivering training, presentations and workshops

Working environment

You could work in an office.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a senior officer and work towards accreditation with the Institute of Equality and Diversity Professionals.

You could also work as a consultant or move into general management.

Training opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for an equalities officer right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

L2 Certificate in Equality & Diversity (NCFE)

  • Provider: Lambeth College
  • Start date: 01 August 2019
  • Location: London

Equality & Diversity : NCFE Level 2 Certificate Distance Learning

  • Provider: North East Surrey College of Technology
  • Start date: 01 August 2019
  • Location: Epsom
Find courses near you

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