Springboard for Children - Chief Executive

Springboard for Children is a highly regarded education charity engaged in literacy teaching and working to change the effects of underachievement and social exclusion among children in deprived communities. Springboard for Children was founded by committed Christians to bring hope to underachieving children at risk of becoming disaffected. The strong Christian ethos is embedded in their governance, culture and the way they work.

In advance of their Chief Executive retiring in March 2010, the Trustees of Springboard for Children engaged Veredus, through a tender process, to work with them to recruit the new Chief Executive for the next stage of the Charity’s development. They were looking for an experienced and talented Chief Executive to lead a motivated team and provide clear strategic leadership to Springboard for Children as it builds on its firm foundations and record of success, and develops the reach and impact of the charity across the UK.

The new Chief Executive needed to build on the previous leader’s success in inspiring confidence with the team and Trustees and influencing a wide range of stakeholders, including funders, media, DCSF, voluntary and statutory agencies. In addition, the person needed to be in sympathy with, and fully supportive of, the Christian ethos of the charity.

We were appointed because of our successful and strong track record in recruiting Chief Executives for charities and our extensive knowledge and networks in the education field. We knew that we were searching for more than just an experienced Chief Executive and as always, we began with original research. This involved a review of trade press and internet research, in addition to our own database, and referrals from our strong network of contacts.

We supported our client in developing a thorough and rigorous process, which we managed on their behalf. This included a stakeholder day where the short-listed candidates met with groups of staff, Trustees, and supporters. This was important, as the appointee had to be both well-qualified and an excellent ‘fit’ with the organisation and its culture.

The panel appointed Tim Mungeam, who started at Springboard for Children in March 2010. Tim had previously established and developed a small pioneering charity, Parentalk before founding his own independent management consultancy practice, specialising in organisational development, brand development, communications, and leadership and working with a variety of agencies in the not-for-profit, public and corporate sectors. It is in this context that he spent almost two years as Organisational Development Director for a multi-academy sponsor, Oasis Community Learning, working as part of the Executive Team alongside school leaders to build a geographically distributed family of academies with a distinctive Christian ethos.

Peter Slater, the Chairman, commented "This has been a very rigorous process and Veredus have been highly professional throughout. They have made, what could have been a very time consuming and challenging exercise, a very smooth and effective process. At every stage they showed a very high level of professionalism and always made sure that information about candidates (the long list, the short list etc.) was presented in a very structured and easy to understand format. It has been a real pleasure working with Penny, Sandra and their team, and I would therefore like to take this opportunity to formally thank them for all their help and assistance. Professional and friendly from start to finish. Many thanks, Peter".