Needed to lead the service as the Trust prepared for its first CQC inspection in eight years
Spanning over several disciplines
Whittled down from 80 relevant candidates
Project concluded in less than a month
The Wilberforce Trust is a supported housing provider inYork, tailoring support to meet the needs of people with sensory loss and/orother disabilities. They provide a 24/7 service for up to 45 tenants, alongsidea range of other sensory services within the community.
A historic organisation, established in 1833 by leadingabolitionist William Wilberforce, the Trust has been patroned since 2018 byYork-born Dame Judi Dench. As a beloved and respected charitable organisationwithin the local community, it was essential that Wilberforce found the rightbalance between affordability and high-quality service when sourcing this vitalpost.
The role required a niche skillset spanning severaldisciplines. Castlefield therefore established a dedicated Project Team, withNathan Lysons as the leading consultant and key point of contact, supported byDirector, Jack Barnes and Senior Manager, Dominic Parkinson.
With more than 20 years’ combined experience across Housing,Healthcare, Operations, Finance and Governance, the team prioritised theassignment and ensured a thorough, targeted search of the available market.
Nathan meticulously filtered more than 80 candidates from arange of sources, including Castlefield’s database, job sites, LinkedIn, clientand candidate recommendations, and social media. He mapped the available talentacross the market, meeting all candidates deemed relevant to the brief.
The four strongest candidates were presented, withrecommendations from key referees where possible, and the shortlist was agreed.
Multiple candidates were deemed appointable and, following afinal meeting with the Board, an offer was made and accepted.
The process was smooth and efficient due to Castlefield’sproject schedule (C.A.R.E), requiring minimal time away from the Trust’sday-to-day commitments. The three stages - briefing, shortlisting andinterviewing - were successfully concluded in less than a month, with anaftercare meeting then booked in.
The successful candidate was local and had previously manageda practice through a CQC inspection rated “Outstanding”. They brought stabilityfrom day one and quickly produced a comprehensive plan to strengthen governanceand improve CQC inspection readiness.
Castlefield’s thoroughness, attention to detail, ease to workwith and overall quality of service were excellent throughout, resulting in theideal appointment to lead the Trust into the future.
