Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity – Selections Executive

The challenge

Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSHC Charity) approached Charity People to support the appointment of a Selections Executive during a particularly busy period for the Fundraising directorate.

As one of the UK’s most recognisable and respected charities, GOSHC relies on high-quality supporter data to drive fundraising income, supporter engagement, and campaign performance. The organisation needed a skilled data professional who could quickly integrate into the team and deliver accurate, timely and compliant campaign selections across a varied fundraising portfolio.

The requirement was for an initial three-month fixed-term contract, with the potential for extension. The successful candidate would need a strong understanding of fundraising operations, supporter data management and campaign selections, alongside excellent SQL skills and experience working with relationship databases and data warehouses.

This was a highly specialised brief. GOSH Charity needed someone capable of supporting multiple fundraising campaigns simultaneously while ensuring data quality, GDPR compliance and a positive supporter experience. Equally important was finding a candidate who could collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders and contribute positively to a fast-paced, high-performing team environment.

Our approach

Charity People partnered closely with GOSHC to gain a detailed understanding of both the technical requirements of the role and the qualities needed for success within the wider team.

We designed a targeted search that:

• Focused on candidates with proven experience within charity fundraising data functions
• Prioritised individuals with strong SQL expertise and experience delivering complex campaign selections
• Targeted professionals with hands-on experience using CRM systems, data warehouses, and fundraising databases
• Sourced candidates with a strong understanding of supporter journeys, fundraising campaigns and data-led decision making
• Assessed candidates on their ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining exceptional levels of accuracy and compliance
• Leveraged our specialist network of fundraising operations, insight, and data professionals across the charity sector

Given the short-term nature of the assignment, speed was a key factor. Our approach combined proactive search, targeted networking and a thorough assessment process to ensure candidates possessed both the technical capability and stakeholder management skills required to add value from day one.

The outcome

The search generated a strong shortlist of three experienced fundraising data professionals with extensive campaign selection and database experience, which is tricky to find in this climate, people who are available to start asap, with the nature of experience required for this type of role. The relevant searches, and Zelda’s network and expertise meant that she could source these candidates quickly and knew what skills and experience was crucial for this particular role.

GOSHC were very happy with the candidates they interviewed, Zelda had sent three candidates, one accepted a permanent role before the interview took place, the other two were excellent and appointable.  They successfully appointed a Selections Executive who brought the technical expertise and fundraising knowledge needed to hit the ground running. The successful candidate quickly became an integral part of the data team, supporting the delivery of charity-wide selections and helping fundraising colleagues maximise campaign performance through accurate and effective supporter targeting

Their experience working with supporter databases, campaign data and SQL enabled them to make an immediate impact while maintaining the high standards of data governance and compliance required within the organisation.

Impact

With the Selections Executive in post, GOSHC was able to:

• Deliver fundraising campaign selections accurately and within agreed service levels
• Support a wide range of fundraising activities through effective audience targeting and segmentation
• Strengthen internal processes around selection documentation and campaign tracking
• Maintain high standards of supporter data quality and GDPR compliance
• Support data imports, exports, and exceptional file processing to ensure data integrity
• Enable fundraising teams to make better use of supporter insight to drive engagement and performance
• Provide additional capacity within the team during a critical period of fundraising activity

This appointment ensured GISHC had the specialist fundraising data expertise required to support its ambitious fundraising programme, helping teams make informed decisions, maximise campaign effectiveness and ultimately generate more income to support seriously ill children and their families.

Zelda Leader is a Principal Consultant at Charity People specialising in interim, contract and temporary appointments across the charity sector. She works closely with fundraising, data, operations, and leadership professionals, helping charities secure specialist talent that delivers impact from day one.

Looking for specialist fundraising data talent?  Whether you need support with fundraising operations, data selections, CRM management, insight or campaign delivery, Charity People can connect you with experienced professionals who combine technical expertise with a deep understanding of the charity sector.