Earlier this month we were pleased to be able to spend some time with Rebecca Elcome, Head of Events at Ark. Rebecca has enjoyed a successful career spanning several high-profile charities, is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Special Events Forum, and also delivers freelance projects through her company, Coveted Events.
David Gold, Prospectus CEO, interviews Jane Slowey (CEO) and Steve Hillman (Director of Policy and Impact) of the Foyer Federation on Advantaged Thinking, what it means to them and what it means in practice.
For our latest newsletter Prospectus CEO, David Gold, had the real pleasure of interviewing Rachel Whale, Founder and Managing Director of Vanilla and the Founding Director of Charityworks. Inevitably a conversation with a passionate social entrepreneur covered a fair bit of ground in a short hour! Everything from innovation versus plagiarism, gender imbalance in the sector, as well as more personal insight into Rachel and her experience and understanding of talent, homelessness and what it means to make a good social contribution.
So what happens when someone makes the transition and secures a leadership role in the beyond profit sector? The board or chief executive is pleased, the candidate is delighted. How do you make it work, and how do you ensure all those attributes that were so desirable are truly utilised and enable the organisation to achieve more?
With the UK economy continuing to grow, wages outstripping inflation and employment on the rise it has never arguably been a better time for the social sector to think more strategically about its approach to board recruitment and development. However, life is never that simple. Especially with the challenge of three more years of austerity and service delivery organisations facing greater competition from the private sector.
Since 2011, I.G. Advisors has supported a wide range of individuals and organisations on their social impact journeys. Carlos is the Founder and CEO of I.G. Advisors and has worked with a wide variety of philanthropists, foundations, companies, charities and social enterprises. Interviewed by Prospectus CEO, David Gold, Carlos answers a range of questions covering data and impact, relationships between funders and organisations, and the value and perception of fundraising – as well as what I.G. Advisors learned from Star Wars.
It’s funny, if someone had of suggested I write a piece on this subject even a couple of years ago I would have refused on the grounds that I was certainly too young to fully understand the ‘real-life’ issues facing our elderly, much less the implications of providing quality care for them. Fast-forward 18-months past my big ‘50’, and add a widowed mother with rapidly progressing Dementia and complex care needs to the equation, I guess my own ‘tomorrow’ has arrived. Now I feel ready, and at least partly-qualified, to consider what for many people from younger generations is still a demographic time-bomb we can think about addressing in the future. But here’s the ‘rub’, to use another well-worn quote – The future is closer than you think.
Before a recruitment campaign begins, a number of crucial areas must be discussed and addressed. Critically, you must decide what you are looking for. Certain organisations might want specific skills to support the achievement of strategic objectives, some might want to attract the best and brightest talent and minds, and others might want to sign up individuals with contacts and a high profile.
At a recent dinner I hosted for a group of beyond profit chief executives, the topic of the senior leadership teams was discussed and particularly how important it is for a chief executive and an organisation’s success that it attracts good people. This is of course even more important in a sector that builds and invests in society’s human capital.
2015 has brought significant changes to family rights including the introduction of Shared Parental Leave. Jane Klauber of Russell-Cooke LLP summarises the developments in this area.