An exciting new chapter...

After six incredibly enjoyable and successful years as a fundraiser in the charity sector, including living in Ghana and discussing the Sustainable Development Goals in the President’s office, building a website in the jungles of Southern India, launching a partnership with EA, FIFA21 and Hummel, to winning the 2020 IOF Fundraiser of the Year Award, it is with great pride and excitement to announce that I have moved back into recruitment to join Peridot Partners. 

Over the last six years, I have worked for a wide range of charitable organisations with differing areas of focus, size and brand personality, with each organisation and role teaching me valuable lessons that will stay with me throughout my personal and professional life.

Movember taught me to challenge the ‘norm’ and to be creative; RNIB taught me to connect with people and take time to hear and tell stories; Help for Heroes taught me that it is vitally important to have great passion for what you do; and Alive and Kicking taught me the value of developing and maintaining your network.

All these valuable lessons are also essential attributes that I will use as I move into Executive Search within the charity sector for Peridot Partners.

-       Why the change?

Like a lot of people, despite feeling trapped, the last year has given me time and space to reflect and really think about my professional purpose. A wonderful phrase I heard very recently at the Third Sector Fundraising Conference was from Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation ‘a crisis crystallises what really matters to you’ - for me that really hit the nail on the head.

I knew I loved working in the charity sector. It has so many inspiring causes, amazing stories and talented people, and it is also one of the most progressive, accepting and collaborative sectors around. I felt proud to be part of a sector that, according to a 2020 report by Pro Bono Economics, contributes a mammoth ￡200bn in economic value each year, but mainly proud of all the positivity and good that the sector does both locally and internationally.

I also knew that I love new projects, dealing with a wide range of people, and adapting to new environments and challenges, something that the charity sector offers as a whole, but not necessarily at a singular organisation.

So, for me, having started my career in recruitment, the perfect opportunity of staying within this incredible sector as well as having the chance to work across it with many different and diverse organisations meant that Executive Search was the natural step. A step which feels familiar yet incredibly exciting!

-       Why Peridot?

I know I have found an organisation that shares my core beliefs and values centred on trying to make a difference by showing a genuine interest in people and causes, placing purpose and quality before profit.

From what I have seen, Peridot lives up to its purpose of ‘delivering better leadership to accelerate societal change’, whether that is taking part in a cross-company Zoom to discuss the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: Race Report, hearing positive feedback from multiple trustee boards on outstanding exec appointments, or talking to my new colleagues about the sector and being blown over by the detailed knowledge they possess.

I wanted to join an organisation who valued diversity and inclusion, a company who did not just talk about it but actioned and delivered on it, so I was really happy to hear that in 2020, over 30% of our board placements were people from ethnic minorities, an impressive percentage and one that will hopefully grow.

Peridot will let me to be myself and will support me to provide the most thorough and informed process in the market. We are not driven by KPI’s, we are driven by success stories and relationships and see ourselves as a vital extension to organisations who are looking for better leadership to change the world.

-       What next?

As Head of Fundraising Appointments, I will be working exclusively with fundraising leaders and leadership teams across the sector.

If you would like to have a conversation with an experienced and successful fundraiser with over seven years of recruitment and search experience about your own fundraising career or are looking at hiring, please reach out and contact me directly.

I look forward to hearing from you.