Directors

The Role:

WASP - Wiltshire & Swindon’s Active Partnership

The Client:

The Client

Wiltshire and Swindon Sport also known as WASP is a Community Interest Company (Reg no. 7815573), it works with a range of partners throughout the UK and the county and fulfils the role of Active Partnership for the county of Wiltshire.

There are 43 Active Partnerships across the UK, all of whom are linked together via the Active Partnership National Network. WASP are partnered with Sports England, who work towards making sure everyone can take part in sports and physical activity, regardless of age, background, or level of ability.

WASP’s vision is that the right sport and physical activity opportunities are available to everyone in Wiltshire and Swindon; their mission is to enable everyone’s access to an active lifestyle.

From conversations with the Board, to appoint people whose personal values align with the organisation’s objectives and values and bring their passion and enthusiasm to WASP. The incoming Directors would need to take responsibility of setting policies and strategies, approving and monitoring performance and budgets and holding the Chief Executive to account.

The Challenge

Following a detailed brief with the client, Sandy understood that the Board were interested in candidates who had experience in public and mental health and wellbeing or higher or further education. The board also were also interested in individuals with experience of working with traditionally "hard to reach" groups through community development, coupled with sound knowledge of sport, health, and wellbeing across the region of Wiltshire and Swindon.

Sandy Hinks, Head of The Charity Practice and her team at Moon Executive Search were confident of providing an excellent shortlist of candidates to present to the Board, given our knowledge of the key networks in the area our extensive coverage in the region.

The candidates would need to be able to deliver to stakeholders whilst working with several well-known partners, including:

  • Sport England

  • Age UK

  • Dame Kelly Holmes Trust

  • Swindon Sports Forum

  • Youth Sports Trust

  • Wiltshire Council

  • Swindon Borough Council

  • Framework for PE and School Sport - Swindon & Wiltshire

  • UK Coaching

With the experience of finding Directors and Trustees for clients, the Charity Practice team were confident that Moon Executive Search could present a strong shortlist of candidates to the board.

A key criteria for this search was to not only seek someone who has this region at their heart, but also someone who aligns well with the University’s 2030 strategy, the goals of which are set out below:

  • Empower and engage an inclusive and values-led staff and student community

  • Power the local economy through our wide-ranging economic impacts, our graduate-talent pipeline and support for innovation and enterprise

  • Create opportunities for all, through our recruitment from communities with traditionally low participation in higher education, support for students in need and close collaboration with schools, academies and further education colleges

  • Deliver an innovative, inclusive and engaging learning experience where students can thrive and flourish

  • Invest in space and facilities across all our campuses, opening up new opportunities for collaboration and public and community engagement

  • Work closely with a wide range of local partners across the city-region, including the four local councils and the combined authority, the Local Enterprise Partnership, the NHS, businesses, and the dense network of partnerships and community organisation.

Our Approach

Sandy offered a blended approach to the market, incorporating proactive networking into multiple communities and business groups, as well as advertising throughout the region, to ultimately provide a combination of candidates: from those who were not necessarily active in the market to short listing via our database and existing network of Trustees and senior contacts.

Sandy and the team then arranged detailed virtual meetings with a wide range of potential candidates to assess their suitability for potential appointment. These meetings ensured the Board was provided with detailed notes about each candidate’s strengths, capabilities, experience, and suitability. These notes supported the selection committee when reviewing the ability and experience of the potential Trustees to advance the overall governance and strategic direction of WASP.

The Director roles was of great importance to WASP, to build and maintain working relationships with a range of key partners and stakeholders. These include the public, private and third sector as well as liaising with the Chief Executive to ensure that the Board comprehensively adheres to their code of practice and public benefit statement and offering.

Our Solution

Sandy managed the recruitment process from the outset, thoroughly screening candidates against the search criteria, and managing the client and candidate communication from reach out to offer stage.

The board were delighted with the candidates they spoke to and decided had the right mix of experience and expertise to make a difference as Trustees and all were offered a Trustee role. Sandy’s original brief was to find 3 Directors and at the end of the process they offered 5 people who all accepted. 

  • Mark Smith, CEO Chippenham Town Council

  • Andrew Lewin, Education Development Director/Non-Exec

  • Monica Hart, Senior Digital Marketeer & Non-Exec

  • Leonie Wade, Sports Development Manager – St Bedes Catholic School

  • Mark Young, Football Development Manager – Wiltshire FA

Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice, commented:

‘This was a brilliant search to work on and the Board could not have been more helpful. The candidates were brilliant, with a diverse range of experience and the appointees will help the people of Wiltshire become and stay active.’

Steve Boocock, Chief Executive said:

‘We were impressed with the calibre of candidates provided, they had been fully briefed on the role and were aligned with our needs. We were presented with a very strong selection of candidates, with a fantastic range of skills and experience and we decided to appoint the candidates that could bring the greatest benefit. Sandy’s advice and calm manner was excellent, and we would happily recommend Sandy and The Charity Practice to anyone looking for support with Board recruitment.’ 

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