Case study: Finance Director Recruitment | Farleigh Hospice

Farleigh Hospice is a charitable provider of end-of-life care in Essex, supporting patients and families across the region. The hospice has an annual income of £27.5 million, ten inpatient beds and multiple income streams, including NHS contracts, retail, fundraising events and the Local Hospice Lottery. Beyond statutory funding, the organisation reinvests surplus income into improving services and reaching more people in the community.

The hospice was looking for a Finance Director who could lead the organisation financially during a period of significant change, while balancing day-to-day operational oversight withlong-term planning. The role included oversight of Farleigh Hospice and its subsidiaries, including the Local Hospice Lottery (turnover £16 million, Farleigh’s share £1.3 million). It also covered smaller trading operations, retail income streams, governance, company secretarial responsibilities and health and safety oversight.

Context.

The recruitment followed a significant leadership transition. The long-serving Finance Director was retiring after 20 years, while a new Chief Executive Officer and Director of Income Generation had recently joined the organisation. Under a new Chair, the Board and Trustees were focused on modernising systems and ensuring financial planning aligned with the 2026–2029 strategy. Early stakeholder alignment was critical in shaping a clear brief and building a shared understanding of priorities.

While financial systems were fundamentally sound, they required modernisation to support theorganisation’s strategic ambitions, particularly around more sophisticated forecasting, reporting and long-term planning.

At the same time, the hospice faced a projected 25–30% increase in demand over the next five years. With statutory funding accounting for just 37% of income, there was a clear need to increase NHS contributions while growing commercial and charitable revenue streams.

Brief.

Peridot Partners was asked to find a finance leader with charity-sector experience who could combine strategic thinking with strong operational leadership. The ideal person needed to be digitally literate and confident communicating financial strategy to non-finance stakeholders, with the ability to improve reporting and support better financial decision-making. The role also required managing relationships, overseeing subsidiaries, advising trustees and embedding a culture of financial transparency and strategic insight.

Outcome.

A targeted search and a broad brief attracted candidates from across the charity and commercial sectors, including experienced charity finance directors and rising finance leaders ready for their first director-level role. A clear organisational narrative and openness around the scope of the role also helped widen the candidate pool. The successful appointee brought a blend of strategic leadership, commercial awareness and operational expertise. The appointment gaveFarleigh Hospice stronger financial leadership to support work on reducing the deficit and modernising financial systems.

The new Finance Director is now supporting the organisation through a time of growth and change, helping maintain long-term financial sustainability as Farleigh Hospice continues to deliver end-of-life care across Essex.

Impact.

The process produced a strong and diverse shortlist. All shortlisted candidates were appointable, reflecting the close fit with the brief and the clarity of the organisation’s strategic priorities. The appointee brought experience in optimising multi-stream income and delivering financial transformation; they also brought strategic financial leadership aligned with Farleigh Hospice’s2026–2029 plan, strengthening oversight of subsidiaries and improving governance and financial reporting.