Overview

In late 2025, the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) created a brand-new strategic position to advance its use of data across one of the UK’s largest fundraising programmes. The Fundraising Data and Insight Lead role was designed to strengthen insight-led decision making, shape supporter strategy, and contribute to transformative projects including data warehousing and CRM/finance system integration.

Charity People was appointed to lead the recruitment process, working closely with the Understand Chapter and senior fundraising and data stakeholders. Midway through the campaign, responsibility for the hire transitioned internally to Dr Suzanne Snowden, requiring a smooth, well-managed handover and continuity of pace.

The Brief

This newly created role sat at the intersection of data, strategy, and fundraising. The Fundraising Data and Insight Lead would:

• Lead the strategic use of data to shape NDCS’s fundraising direction.
• Deliver high-quality insights from large datasets to inform supporter recruitment and development.
• Influence multi-channel fundraising decisions across agile, cross-functional chapters.
• Present complex data clearly to nontechnical colleagues at all levels.
• Contribute to major organisational projects, including data warehousing and system integrations.
• Build strong internal relationships and act as NDCS’s expert advisor on fundraising insight.
• The position required a rare blend of technical excellence (particularly SQL and Excel), commercial awareness, strategic thinking, and the interpersonal skills to guide colleagues without direct line management responsibility.

Our Approach

To ensure a focused and efficient campaign, Charity People applied a structured and insight-led approach tailored to the unique demands of the role. This included:

• In-depth briefing sessions with the Understand Chapter and fundraising leadership to clarify expectations, success measures, and technical competencies.
• A highly targeted advert that captured the role’s strategic importance, culture of innovation, and opportunities for ownership and influence.
• Proactive search activity, engaging candidates with experience in fundraising analytics, commercial insight roles, and largescale data environments.
• Clear communication and project continuity, especially when Dr Suzanne Snowden assumed responsibility partway through the campaign.
• Candidate preparation and interview support for NDCS’s streamlined onestage panel process.
• This blended approach ensured a diverse, high-quality candidate pool fully aligned with NDCS’s mission, culture, and agile ways of working.

The Outcome

Charity People successfully appointed a highcalibre candidate with strong technical expertise, strategic insight, and excellent communication skills. The individual is now:

• Delivering regular data tasks and actionable insights.
• Influencing supporter strategy through evidence-led recommendations.
• Supporting major technical and organisational transformation projects.
• Collaborating confidently across fundraising, technology, and insight teams.
• Their appointment strengthened NDCS’s ability to understand supporters, grow income, and deliver greater impact for deaf children and their families.

Why It Worked

Collaborative partnership
Regular and transparent communication with NDCS leadership ensured clarity and alignment at every stage. Dr Suzanne’s mid-process onboarding was managed smoothly, maintaining pace and momentum.

Targeted search strategy
A combination of headhunting, network outreach, and a well-crafted advert attracted a broad and high-quality mix of technical and strategic candidates.

Deep sector and role insight
Our understanding of fundraising analytics, supporter insight, and data-driven strategy enabled us to identify candidates capable of excelling in a newly created, high-impact position.