Nigel Wright Group supported The Greatham Foundation with the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and Head of Finance during a significant leadership transition.
Together, these appointments strengthened the charity’s Senior Leadership Team, helping build on existing momentum, enhance governance and support the charity's long-term mission of improving the lives of older people and people affected by dementia, and of supporting communities across the North East.
Supporting a Long-Established Charity Through Leadership Change
The Greatham Foundation, formerly The Hospital of God, is one of the UK’s oldest charities with a legacy dating back to 1273. The organisation provides care, community-based dementia support, housing, including alms houses, and grant funding. Supported by a strong asset base, including a diverse property portfolio, the charity has a long-standing reputation for compassion, excellence, and commitment to improving lives.
In recent years the charity has seen a broader programme of modernisation, including a strategic rebrand and a renewed focus on innovation, financial sustainability, and service excellence.
The charity's progress created a strong platform for its next phase of development and reinforced the importance of getting the appointments right.
The Challenge: Replacing Two Senior Leaders at the Same Time
In 2025, The Greatham Foundation faced a significant leadership change when both its long-serving Director and Head of Finance announced their departures.
The outgoing Director had led the charity through a period of stabilisation and transformation. At the same time, the Head of Finance had played an important role in strengthening financial governance and strategy. Losing both leaders together created a significant leadership transition at a pivotal moment for the organisation.
The Board's priority was to retain organisational knowledge and momentum while bringing in complementary skills to support the wider executive team and build on the charity's existing strengths.
Key elements of the challenge included:
- Replacing two senior leaders with complementary skills
- Maintaining strategic momentum during a period of change
- Aligning new leadership appointments with the charity’s rebrand and future direction
- Identifying leaders with experience in transformation, governance, and financial stewardship
- Finding candidates suited to an organisation of similar size and complexity
- Ensuring the new leadership team could support long-term sustainability and service excellence
The Solution: Reframing the Leadership Team for the Next Stage of Growth
Nigel Wright worked closely with the Board to shape both appointments around the organisation’s future needs.
A key decision was to reframe the senior leadership role. The title was changed from Director to Chief Executive Officer to reflect the charity’s modernised identity and strategic ambitions. This move aligned the role with the recent rebrand and positioned the organisation more clearly for its next stage of development.
The CEO role was designed to attract a values-led strategic leadership who, working collaboratively with an experienced Board, Senior Leadership Team and colleagues across the organisation, would build on the charity's existing achievements. The search focused on candidates with experience in:
- Strategic planning and organisational growth
- Financial stewardship and sustainability
- Stakeholder engagement and partnership development
- Charity, health, or social care environments
- Organisations of similar size and complexity
Alongside this, the Head of Finance role was refined to strengthen strategic financial leadership across the organisation, working closely with the CEO, Board and wider leadership team to support financial resilience, system modernisation and effective stewardship of the charity's resources.
Nigel Wright’s approach centred on ensuring both appointments were aligned. Rather than treating the roles as separate searches, the process supported the appointment of a leadership pairing with a shared vision and complementary strengths. This was particularly important given the Board’s aim to combine continuity with further modernisation.
Key Outcomes
- Appointed a new Chief Executive Officer
- Appointed a new Head of Finance
- Ensured alignment across two critical senior appointments
- Strengthened the wider leadership team’s capacity during a period of transition
- Supported ongoing modernisation of the charity
- Reinforced governance and financial leadership
- Helped position the organisation for long-term sustainability and growth
The Outcome: A Stronger Leadership Platform for Future Impact
The dual recruitment strategy resulted in the appointment of a new CEO and Head of Finance who brought complementary expertise to the organisation.
The new CEO introduced fresh energy and strategic insight. Meanwhile, the Head of Finance added deep financial expertise and a commitment to innovation. Together, working alongside the Board, Senior Leadership Team, and colleagues across the organisation, they have helped continue The Greatham Foundation's journey.
Their complementary expertise has supported ongoing improvements to governance, financial stewardship, partnership working and organisational development.
This leadership transition has strengthened leadership capacity; supported the charity’s continued position as a leading provider of high quality dementia care, housing and support for older people; and helped ensure the charity remains well placed for long-term sustainability, operational resilience and future growth.
Why This Search Mattered
This assignment shows how leadership recruitment can support more than succession planning. In The Greatham Foundation’s case, the right appointments helped connect governance, finance, operations, and long-term strategy at an important point in the organisation’s development.
For organisations in the charity, health, and social care sectors, senior appointments often shape far more than reporting lines. They influence stability, service quality, stakeholder confidence, and the ability to grow with purpose. By helping the Board redefine both roles around future needs, Nigel Wright supported the Board in securing two important appointments that complemented the existing strengths of the organisation and helped ensure continuity while supporting its future ambitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would a charity recruit a CEO and Head of Finance at the same time?
A charity may recruit both roles at the same time when leadership continuity, financial stewardship, and strategic alignment are all critical. Parallel appointments can help ensure the senior team starts with a shared understanding of the organisation’s priorities.
This is especially important during periods of transformation, rebranding, or organisational growth. A coordinated hiring process can reduce disruption and support faster decision-making once the new leaders are in place.
In this assignment, Nigel Wright supported Greatham Foundation with a dual leadership recruitment process designed to maintain momentum and build a strong platform for future development.
What experience should a charity CEO have during organisational transformation?
A charity CEO leading transformation should typically bring experience in strategic planning, organisational growth, stakeholder engagement, governance, and financial sustainability. Sector understanding is also important where care, health, or social impact are central to the organisation’s mission.
Transformation roles often require more than operational leadership. Boards usually need someone who can balance values, performance, service quality, and long-term resilience.
For Greatham Foundation, the CEO brief was shaped to attract a visionary, values-led leader capable of guiding modernisation while strengthening governance and expanding the charity’s influence.
What does a Head of Finance do in a charitable organisation?
A Head of Finance provides financial leadership, supports governance, and helps protect the long-term sustainability of the organisation. In many charities, the role also includes improving systems, strengthening reporting, and helping leadership teams make informed strategic decisions.
The importance of the role increases when an organisation has significant assets, a complex funding model, or wider transformation plans. Strong finance leadership can help balance day-to-day control with longer-term planning.
In this case, Greatham Foundation redefined the role to support the incoming CEO, improve financial resilience, and optimise the charity’s investment and property portfolio.
How do executive search firms recruit senior charity leaders?
Executive search firms recruit senior charity leaders by working closely with Boards and stakeholders to define the brief, clarify leadership needs, and identify candidates with the right blend of experience, values, and strategic capability. The process usually includes role design, market insight, candidate evaluation, and careful management of the appointment process.
For senior roles, success often depends on more than matching a CV to a job description. Boards need leaders who can fit the organisation’s culture while also supporting long-term objectives.
Nigel Wright supported Greatham Foundation by advising on role definition, reframing the top leadership position, and aligning both hires around the charity’s future direction.
Why is leadership recruitment important during modernisation?
Leadership recruitment is important during modernisation because new leaders often shape how effectively change is delivered. The right appointments can help improve governance, support innovation, align teams, and sustain momentum.
Modernisation usually affects strategy, systems, services, and stakeholder relationships. That means organisations need leaders who can manage complexity while staying focused on purpose and performance.
For Greatham Foundation, the appointments of a new CEO and Head of Finance helped continue a broader journey of modernisation while strengthening the organisation’s ability to deliver impact over the long term.
Looking to Strengthen Senior Leadership in the Charity Sector?
Nigel Wright Group supports Boards and leadership teams with senior appointments that align leadership capability with organisational goals. This case study shows how the right executive recruitment strategy can help charities manage transition, build resilience, and support sustainable growth.