Career & Workplace Insights Series: Kerri Brown
22nd Aug 2024
As per the launch of our Not for Profit desk, Andrea Green has been speaking to leading senior charity team members in a series of interviews. Up next is Kerri Brown, Chief Financial Officer at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Can you tell us a bit about your own background and why you have switched to the charities sector?
I trained as a CA in Big 4 Audit and spent some time in Infrastructure Advisory before moving into Financial Services. I then joined Lloyds Banking Group for 14 years in various financial and regulatory control roles, before joining My Name’5 Doddie Foundation earlier this year.
Over the past few years, I’ve spent more and more time in voluntary positions using my finance skills to help the local community. I got a real buzz from doing that, knowing I was making a difference.
This gave me the impetus to look for different kinds of roles. When this one came up I couldn’t believe my luck.
How do you find it so far?
I’ve loved it.
There is so much to get involved in and learn. Every day is different. That really suits me.
Being involved in the MND Community is really inspiring and humbling too.
The strength and courage shown by those impacted by Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is incredible.
They confront a really difficult diagnosis with bravery, often becoming advocates for awareness and research and spending precious time (that is running out) pursuing a cure to help other people in the future.
Also, the generosity of the fundraising community is staggering. Every day I feel that I get to see the best of humanity, which is really heart-warming in such a volatile period.
Can you tell us a bit more about My Name'5 Doddie Foundation?
Doddie Weir was one of rugby’s biggest and best characters and he played for Scotland and the Lions. He was diagnosed with MND in 2016. MND is a terrible disease and there is currently no cure. 50% of people diagnosed with MND die within 2 years.
The Charity was founded in 2017 by Doddie and his friends in response to a lack of options for people living with MND and ultimately a lack of hope. To date, the Foundation has committed over £11 million to vital MND research and a further £2 million to support people living with the disease.
The Foundation’s vision is a world free of MND and we won’t stop until we have achieved that goal.
What have you been involved in so far?
There have been so many different things to get involved in from a work perspective and as a supporter. It has been terrific.
Back in June, I arrived at the office to be asked if I fancied abseiling off the Forth Road Bridge that weekend! It’s not often you get an offer like that. I thought it was a brilliant opportunity and I couldn’t let it pass me by.
It was a great opportunity to raise money as a supporter and I can’t wait to see what other challenges we have got in store.
Is it possible for people to make the transition from other private sector roles?
It is absolutely possible.
The skills in the private sector are transferable.
Take a step back from the situation and consider what roles in different sectors have in common rather than worrying about how different they are.
Many of the risks and challenges are the same. It is key to think about what you can bring to a role with your individual experiences and perspective and how can you use this transferable skillset in a new sector.
Before making the leap into the new sector, think about what makes you tick, what you have enjoyed about prior roles and what matters to you in an organisation. You need to understand this before making a big change.
What are the main issues facing the charities sector at present and financial governance in this sector?
Challenges are really similar to the private sector.
Financial sustainability impacts everyone. We are mindful that the recent cost of living crisis impacts our supporters, who continue to donate generously. It impacts those living with MND, who have to adapt their homes and lives around the condition. It impacts us as a business, with increasing costs.
For a charity, maintaining public trust and demonstrating the impact of our work are two key challenges. We aim to address these by being a strong, evidence-based and trusted voice for MND patients, their families and the wider community.
Tying these two strands together, there’s a need for strong financial governance and we need to implement a strong control environment that underpins all of our decision making and reporting to make sure that valuable funds are directed to meeting strategic priorities.
What would be the main tips you would give individuals either searching or hiring into finance roles in the charities sector?
Keep an open mind and think broadly about what experience a candidate can bring to a role.
Also, think about what support they might need to get up to speed in areas that they are less familiar with.
If you can cross that with the strengths and experience in the rest of the organisation, you can strike the right balance with new hires.
Pay particular attention to communication skills, as finance teams in the charity sector deal with a huge range of stakeholders including other finance professionals, fundraising and events teams, researchers, Execs and Trustees. The ability to communicate and collaborate with such a wide range of stakeholders is really important.
What are the key points to consider in the interview and selection process?
Be clear on why you want the role and are passionate about the organisation that you are applying to. Articulate it in a way that is authentic to you.
You don’t have to be directly impacted by a cause to support it.
Charities also need to operate efficient finance functions, so there are lots of similarities to the corporate world. Reputation and credibility are huge assets for charities, so think about how you can bring your governance and controls experience out and relate it to a different business.