Charity CEO recruitment · Not-for-profit executive search
Charity CEO recruitment: hire a charity chief executive
Charity CEO recruitment is led by the trustees. The board agrees the role, forms an appointment panel, runs the search and makes the appointment, and it stays accountable for the chief executive afterwards. Fractional Quest runs the search for the panel and sends a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
If the post is empty now, an interim chief executive can hold it while the search runs. We also recruit charity finance directors and trustees.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a charity CEO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Charity CEO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Live roles · last 3 months
Live Chief executive jobs
Live chief executive and senior roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Charity CEO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What a charity chief executive does, and who they answer to
A charity chief executive runs the organisation day to day: the staff team, services, income and the budget, and the charity's public voice. The trustees govern. NCVO's guidance for boards puts it plainly: the chief executive reports to the board, and the board is responsible for holding the chief executive accountable. The chair usually manages the chief executive on the board's behalf.
The trustees stay responsible
The Charity Commission's The essential trustee (CC3) says trustees can delegate to senior staff but cannot delegate their overall responsibility. The same guidance describes the chair as the person who line manages the chief executive on behalf of the trustees. So the chief executive's authority comes from the board, in writing, and the board should record what it will not delegate.
Regulation comes with the seat
Chief executive and chief finance officer posts at charities in England and Wales are covered by the automatic disqualification rules. A disqualified person cannot hold them without a waiver from the Commission, and the rules apply whether the role is permanent, temporary, part time or interim. Charities registered in Scotland are regulated by OSCR, and those in Northern Ireland by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, each with its own guidance.
Income is the other half of the job. Most chief executives lead fundraising as well as services. The Commission's fundraising guidance for trustees (CC20) says charities should register with the Fundraising Regulator and follow the Code of Fundraising Practice. Ask every candidate how they have grown and protected income, and how they reported it to a board.
02/ scope
How charity CEO recruitment works
1. The board agrees the brief
Before anyone is approached, the trustees agree what the chief executive will own, what the board keeps, and what the charity needs in the next few years: growth, a turnaround, a merger, a new strategy. NCVO suggests boards settle questions such as what they will delegate, how performance will be monitored and how the board will decide the chief executive's pay. The Charity Governance Code is a useful check; its own site says compliance with it is not a regulatory requirement.
2. The trustees form an appointment panel
A small panel of trustees, often led by the chair, runs the process and recommends a candidate to the full board. Check your governing document for who has the power to appoint. Agree the timetable, who takes references and how staff and beneficiaries will be involved before the role is advertised.
3. Search, shortlist and assess
When you hire a charity chief executive, look past the job title. Test income generation, work with a board, leadership of staff and volunteers, and how the candidate handled a serious incident or a difficult regulator conversation. ACEVO, which describes itself as a community for charity leaders, publishes resources on the chief executive and chair relationship that a panel can use to shape its questions.
4. Checks before the offer
The Commission's guidance for charities says you must ask a prospective senior manager to sign a declaration that they are not disqualified. For an employee, you must also check their right to work before they start. Take references yourselves, including from a previous chair.
What we do on a charity CEO brief
We work to the panel, whether you hire permanent, interim or part-time. We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting. We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. For senior leadership outside the charity sector, see hire a fractional CEO.
03/ vetting
How we vet charity CEOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Charity CEO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
04/ not for profit executive recruitment
Not-for-profit executive recruitment and executive search for charities
Not-for-profit executive recruitment covers the senior team as well as the chief executive: finance, operations, fundraising and income, and people leadership. The seats differ from the private sector in three ways. Authority comes from a volunteer board. Income comes from donors, grants, contracts and trading, each with its own rules. And public trust is part of the job.
Executive search for a not-for-profit means approaching people who are not looking, including leaders from outside the sector, and testing them against the charity's purposes as well as the role. Before you hire a search firm, ask how it assesses candidates, how it takes references and how it handles candidates' data. The same data protection and employment law applies as in any other search. Pay is the board's decision: we set out pay or day rate for every candidate on the shortlist, so the panel sees it before interview.
For a senior finance hire alongside or instead of a chief executive, hire a fractional CFO or see the finance director section below.
05/ interim charity ceo
Interim charity CEO while the trustees recruit
An interim charity CEO holds the post between chief executives, or leads a charity through a merger, a funding crisis or a turnaround. The trustees can then run a proper search without leaving the charity leaderless. An interim chief executive is still a restricted senior manager position under the disqualification rules, so the same declaration applies.
On pay, the Institute of Interim Management's Interim Management Survey 2026 puts the average third-sector interim day rate at £728, against £907 across all sectors. That is an average across all interim assignments in the sector, not a chief executive rate; we set out each candidate's day rate on the shortlist.
An interim who works through their own company may fall under the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status is decided by how the engagement runs in practice. In most cases the client decides; a small client outside the public sector leaves that to the worker's own company. To cover the post quickly, hire an interim CEO; our interim executive recruitment page explains how interim search works, and the IR35 guide sets out the tests.
06/ finance director and trustees
Charity finance director and charity trustee roles
Where a charity has a separate finance lead responsible for overall management and control of its finances, that post is also covered by the disqualification rules. A charity finance director works to the chief executive and the board's finance committee, and prepares accounts the trustees must approve. For a part-week finance lead, see fractional finance director roles; for cover, see interim finance director roles.
Trustees are a charity's non-executive board. CC3 notes that charities can't usually pay their trustees, so a trustee search is about skills, time and commitment to the cause rather than pay. NCVO's guidance on recruiting trustees notes that prospective trustees in England and Wales must sign a declaration of eligibility and responsibility. Our non-executive director recruitment page covers board appointments, paid and unpaid.
07/ questions
Charity CEO recruitment FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a charity CEO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
