Charity Non-Executive: State of the Market Update
The Starfish Board Practice produces topical, insight-led reviews from time to time on a range of different subjects. Our ‘state of the market’ updates aim to share insights that guide thinking for organisations considering securing new non-executives, and for individuals thinking about securing a non-executive appointment on a charity board.
Almost 50% of all appointments handled by Starfish in the Social and Public Policy sectors are non-executive. These include Chairs and Committee Chairs; Senior Independent Directors, Trustees, Governors, Council Members and Non-executive Directors; Co-optees and Panel and Advisory Board members, and Presidents. We hold a 98.3% first time placement rate on around 400 non-executive appointments, including 80 chairs, most of which are pro bono appointments. At any one time over 30% of people we place tell us that they are bringing diverse experiences to the role.
This report looks into –
- Changes in the talent pool for charity appointments
- The pattern of time expenditure for Chairs is still changing
- The purpose and roles of boards continues to change subtly in response to shifting pressures on organisations
- Charity Boards are making space for innovation and for the incubation of positive change at the most strategic level of the charity
- Using board appointments as a means of furthering reach
- Top insights to help individuals who are looking for non-executive roles
You can download the full report here – Charity Non-Executive: State of the Market Update Report
Get in touch with our board practice at info@starfishsearch.com to learn more about how Starfish Search can support your leadership journeys.
Celebrating New Leadership: Announcing Starfish Search’s 2025 Promotions
At Starfish Search, we believe in the transformative power of skilled and principled individuals to shape successful organisations. We are therefore delighted to announce the promotion of four exceptional colleagues, each of whom exemplifies our values of integrity, professionalism, and inclusive leadership.
Webinar Recap: Navigating Recruitment in the AI Age with PPMA
Starfish Search recently partnered with the Public Services People Managers Association (PPMA) to deliver a timely and thought-provoking webinar: “Navigating Recruitment in the AI Age.” Our own Sunita Patel was joined by Jason Makepeace from GovCats to explore how artificial intelligence is already reshaping recruitment, leadership, and workforce planning across the public sector. If you missed the session, the full webinar is available to watch here.
Lorraine Payne Named Among Top 10 Interim Consultants in the 2025 IIM Awards
We are incredibly proud to share that Lorraine Payne, Partner at Starfish Search, has once again been recognised by the Institute of Interim Management (IIM) as one of the UK’s top interim consultants, securing a place in the Top 10 for 2025. This honour, based entirely on feedback from interim managers themselves, celebrates the individual consultants who go beyond the brief — those who listen carefully, understand deeply, and deliver consistently for the interims and organisations they support.
ACCREDITATIONS
ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years. Starfish Search has been awarded a place on ESPO’s Strategic HR Services framework (3S). Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 1, Executive and Managerial Interim Recruitment Lot 2, Executive and Managerial Permanent Recruitment.
Starfish are proud to be certified Disability Confident Committed. This scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.
Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. Starfish Search has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Executive and Non-Executive recruitment. Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 3 - Non-Executive and Public Appointments.
Bloom, launched in 2012 is the UK’s leading marketplace for professional services. They provide an end-to-end solution for the procurement, contract management and payment of all professional services, via the compliant NEPRO³ framework. Their public sector clients have access to 20 professional services categories and over 4500 accredited suppliers. Bloom provides swift routes to market via either direct award or mini competition. Starfish is an accredited supplier to BLOOM; our services can be accessed via this framework - Executive and Non-Executive Search and Interim Management.
Join the starfish team
We hire people who bring insight, integrity and ambition to their work. If you’re ready to contribute to shaping the future of leadership and you want to explore our current opportunities please get in touch.
