Certitude hires Head of Marketing and Fundraising and Corporate Partnerships Manager

Certitude has appointed Phil Hesmondhalgh and Seema Chopra as Head of Marketing and Fundraising and Corporate Partnerships Manager respectively.

Certitude is a social care charity and provider of critical support to those with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs, as well as their parents and carers. They support over 1,600 people in a diverse range of services.

Society conducted a search that spanned the Not-For-Profit, Higher Education and private sectors, with a focus on social care and disability charities, or organisations that shared the same values as Certitude.

Phil Hesmondhalgh, Head of Marketing and Fundraising, comes from a background in marketing and communications across a range of Not-For-Profit organisations, including Mencap and Breast Cancer Campaign. Prior to taking on this role, he was Head of Marketing and Communications at The Country Trust.

Seema Chopra has worked across a number of charities, including Samaritans and Hospice UK. She was most recently at the Alzheimer’s Society as Regional Corporate Partnerships Executive, where she led on developing and managing the organisation’s regional corporate partnerships.

Phil commented,

"I’m really looking forward to working for Certitude. Shortly after accepting the role I was invited to their annual awards ceremony where I met many of the people I will be working with, as well as some of the people Certitude supports. I was made to feel very welcome and it was amazing to see and hear inspiring human stories about the charity’s work. My new role will be very exciting and provides a fantastic opportunity to raise Certitude’s brand awareness, fundraising potential and promote positive messages about learning disability and mental health issues. I hadn’t encountered with Society before but was immediately struck by their professionalism, care and attention to detail during the process. Senior Researcher, Shehrazade Zafar-Arif, took the time to fully explain the role and the culture at Certitude to ensure there would be a good fit both with my skills and experience, as well as mine and the organization’s aspirations and values. Shehrazade was also excellent in ensuring I was fully prepared for my interviews which in turn gave me the confidence to do my best."

Seema commented:

"I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed to the role of ‘Corporate Partnerships Manager’ and I am looking forward to the challenge of building up Certitude's corporate partnerships portfolio. It is a really exciting time to be joining as there is a lot of opportunity for innovation and creativity. I am looking forward to the time when Certitude is widely known amongst corporate audiences and we are the charity of choice for Learning Disability and Metal Heath in London. I have been made to feel incredibly welcome and, despite having joined less than a month ago, have had the opportunity to meet so many people we support and colleagues I’ll be working with on a regular basis. Working with Society was absolutely seamless. They were professional, friendly and always had my best interests at heart; which were attributes I greatly appreciated."