Small & Medium Charity Recruitment

The Chief Executive role in a smaller charity can carry considerable breadth. Alongside setting direction and working with the board, a CEO may have direct responsibility for areas that would sit with several directors in a larger organisation.

Our searches consider the scale and nature of the organisation alongside the breadth of experience the role requires. We look beyond previous titles to understand how candidates have led people, managed resources and worked with trustees, funders and partners.

For some charities, the appointment also comes at an important point in the organisation's development. This may be the first Chief Executive appointment, succession from a founder or long-standing leader, or a point where the organisation needs different experience for its next stage.

Peridot Agile Recruitment is our faster, focused recruitment service designed specifically for small charities recruiting a Chief Executive. It combines targeted search, advertising and candidate assessment within a six-week process, at a fee designed for smaller charity budgets.

Agile works best for small charities with a clearly defined CEO brief and a board that can move quickly throughout the recruitment process. Where an appointment requires a broader or more complex search, we can advise on whether our full executive search service would be more appropriate.

We commit to securing three strong candidates for interview, combining:

• A bespoke candidate pack and branded microsite
• CharityJob and Guardian Express advertising, included in the fee
• Two weeks of targeted search and outreach to 50–100 potential candidates
• Careful sifting, candidate engagement and stewardship
• Online interviews with full facilitation and support

How Agile Recruitment works

Week 1: Briefing with your team, candidate pack and microsite live
Weeks 2–3: Proactive search and targeted advertising
Week 4: Shortlisting of applicants
Week 5: First-stage online interviews
Week 6: Optional final interviews in person and offer management

The six-week process relies on us working closely together, with quick decisions and feedback at each stage. This allows us to keep the search moving while giving candidates the attention and information they need throughout the process.

Trustees in smaller charities can have a particularly close relationship with the organisation and its leadership. Recruiting a Chair or trustee therefore involves considering how someone will contribute to the board alongside the expertise or perspective they bring.

We recruit individual trustees and Chairs as well as several board members at once, helping charities consider existing board strengths, future needs and where a new appointment could add value.

Smaller organisations still need specialist expertise, even where teams are lean and roles have broader remits. We recruit senior functional leaders who can bring depth in their own area while working across the wider needs of the charity.

An interim appointment can give a smaller charity experienced leadership while recruiting permanently, covering an extended absence or working through a defined period of change.

We consider both the expertise required and the realities of working within a smaller organisation, where an interim leader may need to become closely involved in delivery as well as provide senior leadership.