Amanda Bringans, director of fundraising at the British Heart Foundation, is among three directors who will leave the charity as part of a major restructure caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The charity said today that Bringans, until recently chair of the Institute of Fundraising, would leave the BHF along with Carolan Davidge, director of marketing and engagement, and Jacob West, director of healthcare innovation, as it reduced the number of directorates from eight to six.
The BHF, which expects to lose about £60m in income this year because of the outbreak, warned in July that up to 300 jobs were at risk because of the pandemic. It employs about 4,300 people.
It said today that it would merge its fundraising, engagement and marketing activities into a team led by a new executive director.
It will also bring together its medical and healthcare innovation divisions to form a team led by Sir Nilesh Samani, its current medical director.
The charity is starting a consultation with staff on how the changes will be implemented, with about 300 jobs expected to be removed.
But it said it hoped that up to half of those job cuts would be made via existing vacancies. The proposals exclude staff working in its network of about 750 shops.
Asked whether the three directors were being made redundant, a spokesman for the charity said: “Carolan, Amanda and Jacob have all made personal decisions to leave the BHF.”
Bringans, whose three-year term as chair of the IoF came to an end in July, has been at the BHF since 2015 and has overseen a 20 per cent growth in the charity’s annual fundraised income, the BHF said. She will leave at the end of October.
“My five years at the BHF have been among my most treasured times in the sector,” she said.
“The merger of the fundraising and marketing teams is the natural next step for the BHF and I’m fully supportive of the change.
“The drive, energy, sense of fun and determination of the fundraising team is something I will always remember and miss so much, and I feel confident that the BHF will go from strength to strength.”
Davidge, who has been with the BHF since 2014, will oversee the merger of the fundraising and marketing directorates before leaving in March to pursue a portfolio career as a leadership coach and NHS non-executive director, according to the charity.
West, who joined in 2018, will stay at the charity until the end of the year to help shape the new integrated directorate before leaving to pursue new opportunities in the wider health sector, the BHF said.
Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF, said: “The coronavirus crisis is the biggest challenge we’ve faced in our 60-year history, and our dedicated teams have left no stone unturned in trying to fight it. But we need to take bold steps to protect our life-saving work.
“While the decisions affecting my executive team have been taken, the implications for the rest of the organisation and the two new directorates are still to be agreed and initial proposals for how this might look will form part of the collective consultation.”
She also said: “The BHF’s continued reputation as one of the UK’s best-loved charities with the needs of patients at its core is testament to the transformational leadership that Amanda, Carolan and Jacob have shown.”