UK Community Foundations

About

UK Community Foundations (UKCF) is the national membership organisation for all accredited community foundations across the United Kingdom. Their members bring together people and organisations wanting to make a positive difference to communities through place-based philanthropy. Their mission is to provide inspirational leadership and advocacy at the national level, delivering training, resources, and a national profile to enhance and sustain support for local communities.

For over 30 years, the UKCF network has distributed millions of pounds to smaller, locally based organisations. Their 47 community foundations provide vital support to every postcode across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2024, they helped people, organisations and government invest over £184 million to support local communities to identify and tackle the issues that matter most to them.

The Brief

UKCF needed a CEO to create and lead their new strategy and provide leadership and support to their network. This was an exciting opportunity for an inspirational strategic leader who could increase the impact and influence of community foundations nationally, while motivating both the internal team and the wider network.

In terms of specific expertise, they sought:

• A values-driven leader with clear experience of building and supporting a diverse, high-performing team and culture that empowers staff and external stakeholders alike.
• Proven strategic leadership of an organisation that exists to add value to a diverse membership, network or similar structure.
• Evidence of delivering impactful, inclusive change through a results-oriented and collaborative approach.
• A credible external ambassador, able to influence at the highest levels across Parliament, the civil service, the private sector, civil society and the media.

Our Approach

We conducted a targeted search across the charity, public and membership sectors, prioritising leaders who could evidence strength across three areas: national policy influencing and advocacy; corporate and organisational leadership at scale; and direct experience of leading a national umbrella or membership body.

Throughout the process, we maintained close communication with the UKCF board, providing regular market intelligence updates, candidate profiles and assessment summaries to support informed decision-making at each stage.

Following a four-week search, we received almost 300 applications – a particularly high number for an executive role – reflecting both the strength of UKCF’s reputation across the sector and the compelling nature of the opportunity. From this group, ten candidates were invited to first-stage interview, and a refined shortlist was taken forward to final panel.

The Outcome

Emma de Closset was appointed to the CEO position. A highly accomplished public sector leader, Emma brings deep expertise in strategy, transformation and complex delivery at the heart of UK government. She has held senior roles across the Cabinet Office, No.10 and major cross-government programmes, including Director for Transformation, Strategy Director for the Cabinet Secretariat and Chief Operating Officer for the UK’s 2021 G7 Presidency.

Emma has operated at the highest political and diplomatic levels, most recently as the Prime Minister’s Deputy Representative for the AI Safety Summit, where she played a central role in negotiating the landmark Bletchley Declaration with counterparts from around 30 countries. Her career combines strategic design, organisational reform and consensus-building with international diplomacy, board-level leadership and large-scale operational delivery — underpinned by an early career in top-tier management consulting.

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