The founder and head of a social-care foundation has been named chief executive of the Charity for Civil Servants.
Jonathan Freeman will join the organisation, which supports the UK’s more than 2 million current and former civil servants, on 16 September.
He succeeds Graham Hooper, who led the charity for nine years.
Freeman spent 18 years in the civil service from 1992 to 2010, including as a senior civil servant. In 2010 he sat on an independent advisory panel convened by Oliver Letwin, then minister for government policy, that informed the government’s review of its consultation principles.
Since then he has held a number of roles in the private and charitable sectors, including as chief strategy officer for the Patchwork Foundation, which encourages young people from disadvantaged and minority communities to participate in democracy and civil society; interim chief exec of the The COSARAF Charitable Foundation, a family grant-making foundation; and managing director of Earlsbrook Consulting Limited, which provides strategic consultancy support to charities, businesses and individual philanthropists.
He founded the CareTech Charitable Foundation, which provides grants in the social-care sector and supports care workers, in 2017 and has served as its chief executive since.
Sir Peter Schofield, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions and chair of the charity’s trustees, said: “We are very lucky to have someone of Jonathan’s calibre joining the charity as CEO and I look forward to working closely with him, as the charity continues to offer such vital support to our civil service community.”
“As Graham retires, I also want to express on behalf of the entire board our huge gratitude for everything he has achieved in his time as chief executive. His vision and leadership have not only guided us through significant challenges but have also set a solid foundation for the next stage of the charity’s journey, with Jonathan now taking the helm,” he added.
Freeman said he was “thrilled” to have been chosen for the role “at a time when the need for its support is possibly more important than at any time in its long history”.
“This feels in many ways like coming home, having spent the first half of my career in the civil service. I know from first-hand experience just how important it is that effective support is in place for our hard-working and dedicated civil service community,” he said.
“I can’t wait to work with the fantastic team of trustees and staff to deliver that support, growing our scale and impact to match the need in our community. I wish Graham my thanks for leaving such a strong legacy and my best wishes as he moves on to new adventures.”