Challenges in charity leadership recruitment in divisive times
Explore the challenges of charity leadership recruitment in divisive times and how charities and recruiters can navigate safety and trust.
How missing information shapes candidate perceptions
When senior leadership candidates research an organisation, they look for clear signals about governance, culture, stability and values. Websites, leadership profiles and public communications all play a role in building that picture.
Without context, reduced visibility can raise red flags. Some question whether an organisation is in crisis, poorly governed or deliberately opaque. Others worry about internal conflict, reputational risk or a lack of openness at board or executive level.
We have seen this first-hand. In the final stages of a recent CEO appointment with a refugee charity, several strong candidates expressed concern about the organisation’s limited online presence, with some assuming there must be something suspicious behind it.
These reactions were not unreasonable. Candidates are making high-stakes career decisions, often in an already uncertain sector. They are rightly cautious, particularly when stepping into roles that carry personal, professional and reputational risk.
What this illustrates is not a failure of candidates to understand the context, but a lack of shared framing. Without explanation, safety-led decisions are interpreted through a traditional lens of transparency and accountability. The result is hesitation, doubt and, in some cases, withdrawal from the process, even where there is strong alignment with the mission.
Category:Client advice
Written by
Bill Yuksel
Head of SME Charities
Bill Yuksel has a passion for creating environments where people can create systemic change and a real commitment to delivering inclusive, empowering and robust recruitment.
Since joining Peridot in 2016, Bill has led hundreds of chief executive, senior leadership and board appointments for charities, including appointing over 60+ chief executives across England, Wales and Scotland.
Bill also has experience leading transformation projects as a Trustee of two charities, where he secured better financial positions, led governance reform and recruited new CEOs and Trustees. Bill was also a member of the Transformation Board at the University of Suffolk Students' Union.
As a former two-year students' union Sabbatical Officer, Bill knows that many talented young people find it hard to find meaningful employment after their term of office and has offered pro-bono career workshops to empower young people and help them in their job hunts.
Bill is proud of his strong track record of recruiting women, people of colour, LGBTQ+, and disabled people into leadership positions.
Outside of work, Bill is a kinship foster carer to his young nephew. He is also a Trustee at Mindera UK Foundation, a charity providing education, funding, mentorship, and opportunities for underrepresented and underprivileged young people. He works as an Interim Co-Chair of the Small Charity Advisory Panel, supported by NCVO, and he is a Panel Member for Board Behaviours and Dynamics Working Group for the Charity Commission.
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