Our new way to search for purposeful work

Issue 858, Sun 23 August, 2026

Dear Escapees,

There is something newly attractive about useful people.

People who know how to do things. People who can fix a mess, make a decision, calm a room down, explain something properly, keep a project moving, spot what matters, get the thing over the line without writing a triumphant post about it afterwards.

Maybe this is because so much of modern life feels slightly over-styled and under-powered. Maybe we are all just tired. But competence, usefulness, steadiness, these are beginning to feel much sexier than they used to.

The same is true of jobs. At some point you stop being dazzled by shininess and start looking for places where people actually seem capable, decent, and vaguely serious about the work in front of them.

That is where this week’s Top 10 is trying to point. Less sparkle, perhaps. More substance. Which, depending on your mood, may be exactly the fantasy.

Happy Escaping,

Team Escape

• Job Title: Talent Database Lead

  Organisation: 80,000 Hours

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Communications Manager (maternity cover - part time, flexible hours)

  Organisation: Lion Landscapes

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Estate Manager

  Organisation: Oxygen Conservation

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Executive Director

  Organisation: GFI Europe

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Principal Consultant

  Organisation: New Philanthropy Capital

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Senior Growth Marketing Specialist

  Organisation: Be the Business

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Creative Art Director

  Organisation: MATTA

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Head of CEO Office

  Organisation: John Muir Trust

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Chief of Staff

  Organisation: More in Common

  Apply for Job

• Job Title: Marketing & Social Media Lead

  Organisation: NOMA Collective

  Apply for Job