Small Charity Recruitment

Supporting small charities across the UK with values-led recruitment

Across the UK, almost 170,000 charities are doing vital work. Many are small to medium enterprises, with 95% under £1 million.

We support charities in hiring their first-ever employees or trustees and provide cost-effective recruitment services that allow small charities to continue supporting millions of people in the UK and internationally.

The charities we support operate in a challenging financial landscape, balancing high-quality service delivery with limited resources. Your leaders and board members must understand small charity dynamics and bring modern leadership skills.

Recruiting the right chief executive, senior leaders, or board members is crucial for your charity’s success. We work with you to understand your work and ambitions, constructively challenging your assumptions to ensure that no stone is left unturned in finding the right candidates for these important roles.

We focus on qualities like vulnerability, creativity, and empathy. These traits help charities grow, adapt, and achieve a greater social impact. Our values-led recruitment processes put inclusive and diverse recruitment at our heart. Improving representation in your leadership allows you to better serve the needs of your beneficiaries.

We are trusted because we understand the realities of small organisations, the skills required for effective leadership and the value of balancing integrity, speed and quality.

Our expert recruitment consultants have strong personal connections to the charity sector. Many of us have volunteered, served as Trustees, or worked in the roles we now recruit for.

If you are ambitious about leadership, courageous about embracing change and want your charity to thrive, we can help. Find your next small charity leader and enhance your small charity board with Peridot Partners.

Expert CEO and senior leadership recruitment for small charities

We have successfully appointed over 100 CEOs in small charities across the UK. We have also helped charities hire specialists in membership, finance, marketing, HR, Deputy CEO, and COO roles.

Our nonprofit recruitment track record includes appointing talented leaders who advance the charity sector and bring expertise from other values-driven organisations, strengthening the sector’s impact as a whole.

We are committed to supporting charities to enhance the diversity of senior leaders in the sector.

Over half of our recent leadership appointments have been women. This is a significant achievement, as only 33% of charity CEOs are women, despite women making up 70% of the sector’s workforce, according to ACEVO.

We’re proud that many of our appointments include those from LGBTQIA+, disabled and underrepresented ethnic communities.

Agile CEO recruitment for small charities

Recruiting a Chief Executive is one of the most important decisions a board will make. When a CEO moves on, stability can be disrupted, and the organisation needs to act quickly without compromising on quality.

We are proud of our Peridot Agile Recruitment offer, a fast, focused and values-led service designed specifically for small charities. This new approach gives small charities access to the same robust, values-led process that Peridot is known for, but in a shorter timeframe and at a price that works for smaller budgets.

Within six weeks, 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 our agile recruitment works: