Executive Search
Animal Action Greece is Greece’s longest-serving national animal welfare organisation.
Founded in 1959 and registered as a UK charity in 1966, it works to prevent cruelty and relieve animal suffering across Greece through direct veterinary and community programmes, education, advocacy and partnerships.
Operating through teams in the UK and Greece, it improves the welfare of stray cats and dogs, supports working equids, and responds to animals affected by wildfires, floods, and other disasters. Its Paros and Antiparos Community Cat Care Project, delivered with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home over the past couple of years becoming Greece’s largest programme of its kind.
Animal Action Greece approached The Hiring Dept. at an important point in its development.
The organisation was financially stable and ambitious for the future, with plans to expand its community-based stray management work, develop new programmes, strengthen partnerships and increase its influence.
Alongside this was a clear need to diversify income, grow digital fundraising and strengthen corporate and institutional support.
The Board therefore needed more than an experienced charity Chief Executive.
The successful candidate needed to provide strategic and operational leadership across two countries, inspire a geographically dispersed team, work effectively with trustees and partners, and act as a credible external ambassador. Crucially, fundraising could not simply be delegated: the new CEO needed personally to lead income generation and build relationships with major donors, trusts, foundations and corporate partners.
Finding someone with the right experience mattered. Finding someone who genuinely shared Animal Action Greece’s values mattered just as much.
“We were delighted to work with Philip Nelson and The Hiring Dept. on the appointment of Joe Bailey as our new Chief Executive.
From the outset, Philip took the time to understand Animal Action Greece: our history, our values, the distinctive nature of working across the UK and Greece, and, most importantly, the kind of leadership we need for the next stage of our development. The search was about much more than finding someone with the right CV; we needed a Chief Executive who shared our passion for animal welfare and could combine strategic leadership with fundraising, advocacy, partnership-building and the ability to inspire people.
The process was thorough, well managed and highly personal. Philip kept us closely informed throughout, challenged our thinking where appropriate and introduced us to a strong and diverse field of candidates. We particularly valued the depth of his preliminary assessment, which meant that when candidates reached the Board we already had a clear understanding of their experience, motivation, leadership style and potential areas for further exploration.
We are all now enormously excited about what Joe Bailey, our new CEO, will bring to the organisation and the role as we move to the next chapter of our journey, and we would have no hesitation in recommending Philip and The Hiring Dept. to other charities.“
Paul McGlone, Trustee & Treasurer
We began by developing a detailed understanding of Animal Action Greece: its history, culture, ambitions, and the particular challenges of operating across the UK and Greece.
Working closely with the Board, we developed an appointment brief that positioned the opportunity around both organisational ambition and purpose. The search focused on identifying leaders who could demonstrate strategic leadership, fundraising capability, financial and governance experience, advocacy and partnership-building skills, alongside a deep commitment to animal welfare.
Our assessment process went considerably beyond reviewing CVs. Candidates were explored in depth for their motivation, communication and leadership style, achievements, cultural fit and potential areas requiring further consideration.
This gave the Board a rounded picture of each shortlisted candidate before final assessments, something Animal Action Greece later highlighted as a particular strength of the process.
Following a competitive search and assessment process, Animal Action Greece appointed Joe Bailey as Chief Executive Officer.
Joe brings more than 30 years of animal welfare experience across charities, government and industry. At the time of the search, she was Chief Executive of Humanimal Trust and had previously spent eight years as Global Head of Farming, Welfare & Wellbeing at RSPCA Assured.
Her experience combined CEO-level responsibility for strategy, governance, finance and organisational delivery with fundraising, advocacy, public representation and partnership-building. She had also worked extensively on animal welfare policy and standards, including engagement with governments and international organisations.
Just as importantly, Joe demonstrated an exceptional personal commitment to animal welfare.
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