David Knott, interim chief executive of the National Lottery Community Fund, has been appointed to the role on a permanent basis.
Knott, who has been interim chief executive at the grant-maker since June, joined the NLCF as a senior adviser in October 2020 on secondment from his substantive role as director of the Office for Civil Society.
He spent seven years at the OCS, and was deputy director before being promoted to the top job in 2017.
Knott became interim chief executive of the NLCF after John Rose, who had been acting up to the position since the departure of Dawn Austwick at the end of 2020, needed to return to his role as director for Wales.
Knott said he was “honoured but a little bit daunted” to be taking up the role on a permanent basis.
“As we build back from the pandemic, my commitment is to put communities first,” he said.
“The National Lottery Community Fund will be there to support people and communities to prosper and thrive and we’ll redouble our efforts to have the greatest possible impact we can across the UK.
“As we do this, fairness and inclusion will be at the heart of our organisation. These will be my priority areas as we move forward – there for the communities we serve by being the best we can be.”
Blondel Cluff, chair of the NLCF, said Knott would ensure the organisation was “confident, accountable and purposeful”.