Trustees

The Role:

Wesport

The Client:

The Client

Wesport is a sports charity that is passionate about helping people become more physically active and enjoy the benefits that an active lifestyle can bring.

The mission is to: Create, Inspire, and Empower through Sport & Physical Activity.

They started their work in April 2006 when they became a registered charity and the Active Partnership for the West of England. They work across the four Unitary Authorities of: Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Wesport’s vision is: Improving lives in the West of England through championing, developing, and delivering sport & physical activity.

Wesport was seeking to add to its existing Board brining in a new independent Chairperson and additional Trustees to broaden the skills of the governing body and further the goals and impact of the organisation.

Only at this point, with all parties’ content, did we move to an NDA process and subsequent full disclosure meetings. In this way, we cautiously built our shortlist to present to the main Board.

The Challenge

Following a detailed brief with the client, we understood that the Board were interested in candidates who had experience in strategic planning and had an interest in the availability and equity around sport and inclusion, coupled with sound knowledge of sport, health and wellbeing within the West of England.

Wesport’s role in this region requires significant networking and a collaborative approach linking sporting, cultural and business outcomes. 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 South West and our extensive coverage in the region.

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.

The next step was for Sandy and the team was to have 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 Wesport.

The 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 to had the right mix of experience and expertise to make a difference as Trustees and all were offered a Trustee role.

Will Brown

Will is the Chief Executive Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and is a commercial, strategic, and operational leader who has succeeded at the highest levels for major brands and high-profile institutions.

Simon Russell

Simon is an experienced Communication Specialist consultant and advisor with a track record of supporting different organisations, focusing on good governance, intelligent design and robust scrutiny.

Neil Higginson

Neil is a Regional Facilities Planning Manager at Recreational Game for the England & Wales Cricket Board. In this role, he covers the SW & Wales and works closely with many stakeholders including other sporting NGB's and Sport England. Previously, he has worked in several business sectors, most recently as a Practice Business Manager for Montpelier Health: one of the largest GP Practices in Bristol & South Gloucestershire. Neil has since left the position due to personal reasons.

Tabinda Rashid-Fadel

Tabinda is a qualified Clinical Cardiac Physiologist and Independent Healthcare Consultant with operational, strategic, and business solutions in healthcare.

Guy Buckland

Guy works as Executive Director in Partner Development at Foot Anstey LLP strategic senior leader with a track record of transforming business performance through influence, collaboration, and commercial focus.

Due to the pandemic and the inability of the team to meet in person, the Board took the decision that the interim chair would continue, with a view to looking to appoint a new Chair this October.

Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice, commented:

‘This was a really interesting search to work on and the Board could not have been more helpful. So many candidates were very interested in Wesport and its’ goal to make sport and an active lifestyle accessible to all.
Given that Wesport drew significant interest from a range of candidates, it allowed us to present a strong shortlist to the Board, which created some tough decisions when choosing the appointments.
In the end, we were spoilt for choice which of course is a great position to be in, given that some Charities struggle to find their Trustees, and is testimony to the work of Wesport.’

Steve Nelson, Chief Exec of Wesport, said:

‘We were presented with a very strong selection of candidates, with a wide range of skills and experience and we decided to appoint the candidates that could bring the greatest benefit to Wesport. It was a very difficult decision as all the candidates were extremely good.
Sandy’s advice and calm manner was also incredibly valuable throughout this process, especially hiring during a pandemic. We would happily recommend Sandy and The Charity Practice to anyone looking for support with Board recruitment.’