BTA Charity Voices

Abeer Macintyre shares the story of her career in this episode. As a BBC News Journalist, Abeer went to interview the founder of Mary's Meals, and her conversation with Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow changed the direction of her career, and life for ever.  A wonderful conversation, in which Abeer acknowledges that some of her decisions where a bit scary, but every one was perfect and led her to the...

Michelle Campbell of BTA joins us for this episode to chat us through her career, both in and out of the third sector. We also learn about what the role of Executive Assistant to the CEO is like, the contribution it is able to make within organisations and how the private sector and charities differ when being in this pivotal role within any team.

This episode welcomes Alan Clayton of Revolutionise - simple truths that spark great change. Alan's career in the third sector began more than 30 years ago. First as a student and then into fundraising as a career. As he moved through his first few roles Alan recognised that he had a unique talent to help organisations accelerate their fundraising and so began helping charities throughout the...

In this episode with Iain McWhirter of MS Revive we find out all about his journey into Fundraising and on to becoming CEO in recent months. This offers great insights into the skills he had built to be ready to lead an organisation. Iain also shares great stories from his career including raising half a million pounds in three weeks with a bit of a crazy concept that could just as easily have not...

A conversation about the Third Sector from yet another angle as Gemma Branney joins the conversation. Starting out in Marketing & Comms Gemma found her first job out of University in a charity she had been volunteering for. This allowed her to have a bigger glimpse at the range of roles that exist within Third Sector Organisations and led to a move into Fundraising. Here Gemma finds her place...

This episode looks at the Third Sector from another perspective, as we welcome Joette Thomas of Animate Consulting onto the podcast. Moving to Scotland in the 1990s from the USA Joette's career has always been steeped in the Third Sector and after a number of roles she took her degree in psychology & commitment to helping organisations through change and became a coach.  As a member of AC...

In this conversation with the very new CEO of Judo Scotland we chat about the similarities between Third Sector Organisations & Sporting Organisations. After a long career in Scottish Curling Judith recognised that her skills and what drives her meant she was perfectly suited to a move over to the Charity Sector. Lots of insights here from a different perspective which offers real insights int...

Sophie Castell joins us just over two months into her role at Chief Executive of Myeloma UK. In this episode we take a walk through a really varied career. From starting out as a scientist, Sophie went on to have a significant career in the corporate sector even working for Global brand Coca-Cola in the USA. Upon returning to the UK and getting involved in a charity she felt passionate about Sophi...

Director of Fundraising at Teenage Cancer Trust, Paul McKenzie shares his career journey in this episode which focuses on the strength of the people you meet in every role you do and what you can learn from them. Paul chats about the impact of previous leaders he's had and how he now intentionally leads his teams to success. He also recognises the strengths people have and very much believes...

A wonderful conversation with Celine Sinclair, CEO of The Yard. As Celine chats through her career the wisdom she has gathered shines through in this episode of BTA Charity Voices Podcast. As well as sharing her thoughts on having a good framework and the importance of strategic planning we also hear lots of useful insights on team culture.  Celine believes that how you respond to peoples needs; g...

This is a wise & insightful conversation for those in a CEO position at any organisation. Florence looks back at her career as a CEO and the challenges & adventure this brought and then walks us through her change of career. As a coach who 'thrives of transition & change' Florence now plays the role of mentor, fresh eyes & wisdom with those she works with. She talks here...

In this episode David chats through his career which is now in Australia and reflects how transferable the skills of a fundraiser are in different parts of the world. We also chat about David's love to data and the new platform he has created to make it easier for fundraisers to get the best from the information they hold on their donors.

A great conversation with Debbie Mooney, Head of Fundraising for the Devolved Nations at Marie Curie.  Debbie's career has spanned almost 25 years and we go right back to the start when she fell into fundraising a few days after graduating from University almost by accident. As well as understanding the path her career has followed we also hear great insights about our motivations, good leade...

This weeks conversation takes a wander through a very varied career which brough guest Takki Sulaiman to the role of current CEO at Argyll & Bute Third Sector Interface. Spanning three decades and reflecting on the private, public & charity Sector, Takki's career gives so many insights into prioritising what you are passionate about and the power of collaboration. In his current role...

A great insight into the career of a fundraiser in this conversation with Freelancer Susan Williams. As well as walking us through the journey of her career, we also find out about the impact being well networked & an active member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising has had on both her career and life. Here Susan reflects on the encouragement of colleagues, the advice she's receive...

Georgina Bushell, Partnerships Manager with Marie Curie, joins us for a chat through her career which saw her move from the private to the third sector - a move she is very glad she made. We also get real insight into the importance of relationships within Corporate Fundraising.  Understanding what is happening across the landscape of our potential partners allows us to understand what they need a...

In this conversation Gary Richardson shares the journey of his career which began in the private sector and moved into the life of a fundraiser unexpectedly. Gary also talk about the role he plays as part of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Convention in London and reflects on being a fundraiser at Chief Executive level. For more information on the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Conventi...

"I'm really lucky to have a really brilliant team" was one of many highlights in this conversation with Iain McAndrew, Director of Fundraising & Communications at CHAS. As well as talking about how his career developed over the last 25 years Iain also shares so many wise & insightful points about how he intentionally leads within his organisation. Creating a culture of empow...

In this conversation CEO of Cornerstone Hazel Brown chats about her career and journey from being a care assistant, then nurse and eventually getting the job of heading up her organisation in 2020.  Hazel also gives us an insight into the balance of running an organisation with more than 2000 employees; during such a difficult period for the whole care sector and how her and her team prioritise va...

Helen Carlin is the founder and CEO of Rowan Alba and prides herself that their services are built around peoples individual needs. Helen's journey within the homelessness sector is decades long and she describes herself as an accidental chief executive of a charity. She credits her commitment to ending homelessness as the driving force behind her career and explains the shifting priorities h...

In episode 11 of Charity Voices with BTA we are joined by the newly appointed Chief Executive of Scouts Scotland. Graeme Luke reflects on how this has been a journey of a lifetime having done most roles across the organisation as both a volunteer and member of staff since he was child. Here we Graeme reflects on how we leads both his team and the volunteers who play such a huge role in Scouts Scot...

As the Chief Executive of ACOSVO, Patricia Armstrong has a unique view across the Third Sector in Scotland. As she chats through her whole career in this conversation her passion for excellent leadership and how it needs to be nurtured and supported shines through. Patricia also chats about her hopes for the future of both the sector and ACOSVO as she prepares to step away from her role after almo...

A great chat with Director of Fundraising at Children 1st, Gary Kernahan. Here he shares his early ambition to be a fundraiser and how he's navigated his career. We also hear Gary's thoughts on what it takes to build a good team and the strategic direction he will be following in the future.

A conversation with Tom Elvin who has recently became Chair of Men Matter Scotland, a Glasgow based mental health charity. Here Tom chats about what the cause means to him, how he recognised the contribution he could make & how we aims to help the embryonic charity plan for a strong future.

After falling into the Third Sector by accident three decades ago Karen now plays the role of Change Maker and Interim Chief Executive in organisations moving through change.  Karen also shares how she's moved through her career and the fulfilment she gets by having impact in the way she does on a range of organisations.