Case Studies
VRH Chief Executive Placement
In 2008, five years of reductions in financial support from the government for voluntary organisations had taken its toll on many charitable organisations such as Volunteer Reading Help (VRH). Add to this the early affects of the credit crunch and the tragic death of the charity’s chief executive, and the word “challenge” greatly understated the task ahead for anyone stepping in to the CEO shoes’ at the time.
It was critical for the charity to find a highly experienced Interim Chief Executive for this key role, and quickly. The Charity turned to Anna Bishell, Pinnacle Interim’s recruitment specialist to find the right person for the job. The charity needed someone with the right skills and expertise to lead VRH at this time; an individual who could provide sound leadership and be sensitive to the charity’s values and aims.
As an interim consultant it is important to know your candidates well and have a deep understanding of their abilities in order to make confident selections to ensure the interim candidate fits the client’s requirements and expectations.
Top of Anna’s list was Paul Newman who stepped into the vacant post, on an interim basis, in September 2008. Anna had known Paul for a number of years as they had worked together on earlier assignments. His previous experience leading other charities of a similar size was a big advantage. Crucially, she knew he could deliver and that he would be a perfect fit for this role.
Two years on, Paul has proven he was up to the challenge and has left the organisation on a sound footing and on the up. As the charity’s Chairman, Jamie Pike put it, “Paul has overseen a dramatic turnaround in the charity’s fortunes and has been of great assistance to me as Chairman”.
Volunteer Reading Help is a national charity, established in 1973, that helps children who struggle with their reading to develop a love of reading and learning. It recruits and trains reading helpers to work with children aged 6-11 who find reading a challenge and need extra support and mentoring.
When Paul took the helm the reduction in support from central government had already taken its toll. The numbers of children the charity could support had greatly declined and the number of volunteers on its books was steeply down. Add to that increasing costs of running a charity in today’s environment and the result was there was little in the coffers to expand and develop it work.
Paul used his previous 25 years experience in senior management in the private sector, along with the seven years he had gained working for a series of third sector organisations to, as he described his approach, ‘get back to basics’.
Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge was money, attracting more funding and a sustained income. “The problem for even a relatively small charity today is that they really have to operate like a large business, but this often goes against the ethos of many of those heavily involved in the charity sector”, says Paul.
Second priority was to do more with less, increase the services on offer whilst reducing the charity’s overheads.
How successful Paul has been at meeting these challenges can be summed up in his record over the past two years:
- Paul and his funding team have raised over £700,000 of unrestricted funding
- Nearly £600,000 has been wiped from central running costs
- Reserves have been built up to £500,000
- Sustainable contributions from schools have risen from 25% to 38%
- The number of volunteers is up 13% to 1,720
- The number of children helped is now over 5,000, up 18%
Paul describes himself as an “interim professional”, and was not interested in the permanent position when it was advertised earlier this year. The charity has now employed a new CEO, who took over in September 2010, and it was now time for Paul to move on. Asked whether looking back at his two years he would do anything different, he says “Not at all”.
Photos: Paul Newman
