Policy officer to community development officer
A policy officer already meets 68% of what the community development officer role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
33.8/ 100
1 How much of what a community development officer is expected to do is already part of a policy officer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the community development officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A community development officer role treats 11 of its required skills as things a policy officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse community needs
- build community relations
- carry out strategic research
- conduct public presentations
- ensure information transparency
- government policy implementation
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A community development officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a policy officer background worth leading with.
- already held advise on economic development communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held carry out strategic research information skills
- already held ensure information transparency information skills
- already held analyse community needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held provide improvement strategies management skills
- already held build community relations communication, collaboration and creativity
All 19 carried skills, including the 11 the community development officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- optional, not held public finance optional
- optional, not held public housing legislation optional
- optional, not held public law optional
- still to learn build trust required
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- still to learn identify sources on potential target communities for art required
- optional, not held study community as a target community optional
- optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
- optional, not held ensure public safety and security optional
- optional, not held geography optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a community development officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 budgetary principles study this
- 02 identify sources on potential target communities for art practise this
- 03 build trust practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held analyse community needs skill
- already held build community relations skill
- already held carry out strategic research skill
- already held conduct public presentations skill
- already held ensure information transparency skill
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held liaise with local authorities skill
- already held maintain relations with local representatives skill
- already held perform resource planning skill
- already held provide improvement strategies skill
- already held work within communities skill
- already held advise on economic development skill
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management principles knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held rural development strategies optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ensure public safety and security optional
- optional, not held rural development strategies optional
- optional, not held study community as a target community optional
- optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- optional, not held public finance optional
- optional, not held public housing legislation optional
- optional, not held public law optional
97 held skills the community development officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role European Structural and Investment Funds regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role European political studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on foreign affairs policies skill
- not needed by the target role advise on government policy compliance skill
- not needed by the target role advocate a cause skill
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse education system skill
- not needed by the target role analyse foreign affairs policies skill
- not needed by the target role analyse goal progress skill
- not needed by the target role analyse irregular migration skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role assess risk factors skill
- not needed by the target role asylum systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role attend parliament plenaries skill
- not needed by the target role build international relations skill
- not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role business strategy concepts knowledge
- not needed by the target role circular economy knowledge
- not needed by the target role communications sector policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role competition law knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role consumer law knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role create cultural venue outreach policies skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role cultural projects knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop agricultural policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop competition policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop cultural activities skill
- not needed by the target role develop cultural policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational resources skill
- not needed by the target role develop immigration policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop media strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop promotional tools skill
57 further entries not listed here
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- optional, not held rural development strategies optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held public finance optional
- optional, not held public housing legislation optional
- optional, not held public law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a policy officer become a community development officer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A policy officer already covers 68% of what a community development officer is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 11 of which the community development officer role treats as required.
What skills does a policy officer need to become a community development officer?
3 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is budgetary principles.
How hard is the move from policy officer to community development officer?
Its learning distance is 33.8 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.