Non-executive director appointments
Independent oversight and constructive challenge across strategy, quality, risk, people and organisational performance. I bring experience as a chief executive, trustee and board chair.
Consultancy for charities and purpose-led organisations
Clear thinking for the decisions that matter.
I help charity leaders test opportunities, improve services and turn strategic ambition into practical action.
I’m Karen D Jackson OBE, Founder and Director of K D Jackson Enterprises Ltd and former Chief Executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice and Bolton Lads and Girls Club. I was awarded an OBE for developing a young people’s mentoring programme at Bolton Lads and Girls Club that was replicated nationally.
Discuss a project
“Karen is a visionary leader who is able to see both the bigger picture and the practical steps required to turn a vision into reality.”
Sarah K Randall · Worked alongside Karen at BLGC for seven years
Read Sarah’s testimonial“She has integrity, sound judgement, enormous energy and a genuine desire to make organisations stronger and the communities around them better.”
Chris Houghton · Chairman, HoughtonCo Investments Group
Read Chris’s testimonialEXECUTIVE & BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Experienced leadership when it matters.
I work with purpose-led organisations in non-executive and time-limited executive roles, bringing strategic perspective, practical delivery experience and a commitment to strong governance.
Interim or fractional CEO and COO
Senior leadership for a transition, defined period or part-time need: setting priorities, supporting teams and boards, and keeping delivery moving while permanent arrangements are developed.
Assignments built around your needs
Focused strategic or operational leadership, mentoring and development support can be shaped around a particular challenge, opportunity or stage of growth.
Where I can help
From a focused funding bid to an investigation, governance review or wider service change, I work alongside your team on a defined brief with a useful outcome.
Strategy and growth
Review your position, test new service or partnership options, and translate ambition into priorities, milestones and measures. Outputs can include a strategy session, first-year plan or business case.
Service and organisational change
Develop a Target Operating Model that sets out how your services, people, processes and governance will work together to deliver your strategy. I can support development, mobilisation and implementation, with clear responsibilities, a practical delivery plan and measures of progress. Support can also include service reviews and focused improvement plans.
Income generation and diversification
Review your current income mix, identify credible new opportunities and develop a fundraising strategy with clear priorities. I can also provide bespoke bid writing, from shaping a strong case for support to preparing funding applications and commissioning proposals.
People, culture and volunteers
Develop organisational development plans, test culture through staff listening and evidence, and facilitate staff away days that lead to clear actions. I can also review how volunteers are recruited, supported and retained, and help leaders clarify roles through change.
Governance and board effectiveness
Develop board assurance frameworks and strengthen risk management, support trustee recruitment, and facilitate board away days or focused reviews. I can help Chairs and CEOs clarify priorities, improve decisions and agree effective ways of working.
Investigations and patient safety
Independent investigation support, scrutiny of existing investigation reports, and practical help with patient safety governance and CQC readiness. I bring experience of leading investigations, reviewing gaps in root cause analysis, overseeing PSIRF implementation and serving as a CQC Nominated Individual.
Explore investigation consultancyINVESTIGATIONS & REGULATORY ASSURANCE
Clear findings. Practical learning.
I support charities and health and social care organisations to investigate concerns, examine the quality of existing reviews and turn learning into practical improvement. Assignments are shaped around the issue, the evidence and the expertise required.
Independent investigations
Investigation support for safeguarding, operational and organisational concerns, with an agreed scope, careful evidence review and clear written findings and recommendations. Where specialist clinical expertise is needed, we agree how that input will be provided.
Reviewing investigation quality
A critical review of existing reports to identify gaps in evidence, unanswered questions and weaknesses in analysis. I challenge whether findings adequately explain underlying causes and whether recommendations address the issues identified.
Patient safety and PSIRF
Support with patient safety governance, oversight of incident response and translating learning into improvement actions. My experience includes overseeing implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) at Derian House Children’s Hospice.
CQC readiness and assurance
Practical support to review governance arrangements, test the evidence behind assurance and prepare for regulatory scrutiny. I bring experience as a CQC Nominated Individual and participation in both mock and actual CQC inspections.
My approach combines direct investigation and report-writing experience with executive accountability for safety, safeguarding and governance. We agree the terms of reference, independence requirements, timescale and intended outputs at the outset, with sensitive information handled confidentially.
Discuss an investigation or assurance reviewCOACHING & MENTORING
Space to think, develop and move forward.
Practical, supportive coaching and mentoring for CEOs, directors and leaders, and tailored programmes for people your organisation supports. We agree the goals together, then build a programme around the person and the change they want to make.
Leadership coaching and mentoring
Confidential space for CEOs, directors and emerging leaders to work through decisions, develop confidence, strengthen leadership practice and plan their next steps.
Beneficiary coaching and development
Commissioned support for beneficiaries and learners, shaped around their circumstances and goals. Sessions can combine one-to-one coaching with practical development activities and agreed progress reviews.
A focused starting point
A short programme to explore a specific challenge or goal, build a practical development plan and establish momentum, with regular sessions and clear actions between them.
Sustained development
Longer coaching and mentoring plans, from a few months up to a year, offer ongoing reflection, accountability and support as goals and responsibilities evolve.
Flexible delivery: Sessions can take place online, in person, or as a blend of both, depending on location and what works best for the programme.
Start with a free introductory session: We can discuss your goals, the support needed and whether working together is the right fit.
Arrange an introductory sessionHow an assignment works
My aim is to leave you with something your organisation can use: a decision paper, business case, facilitated session, action plan or concise recommendations with clear ownership.
- Define the question. We agree the problem, scope, timescale, people to involve and intended output.
- Listen and test. I speak with the people closest to the work, review the relevant evidence and explore practical options.
- Make it actionable. We agree clear conclusions, decisions and next steps before the assignment ends.
TESTIMONIALS
From people I’ve worked alongside
I worked alongside Karen at Bolton Lads & Girls Club (BLGC) for seven years. Karen's passion, commitment, and dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of others have been truly inspiring.
One of Karen's greatest strengths is her ability to understand and identify the needs within a community. She takes the time to listen to people, understand the challenges they are facing, and stay up to date with emerging issues and changing community needs. Ensuring to identify where support is most needed and develop appropriate services and projects to address those gaps.
Karen is a visionary leader who is able to see both the bigger picture and the practical steps required to turn a vision into reality. I have always been impressed by her strong strategic thinking, with a clear understanding of where the charity needs to go. At the same time, Karen brings a strong operational focus and understands what needs to happen day to day to deliver high-quality services and achieve positive outcomes for the community.
I have also been impressed by her ability to turn identified needs into meaningful opportunities for support, identifying potential funding opportunities, building strong funding applications, and securing resources that allowed BLGC to respond to real issues within the community. Karen's ability to connect community needs with available funding played a vital role in the charity's growth and impact.
Worked alongside Karen at Bolton Lads & Girls Club for seven years
I worked alongside Karen for over 14 years as Director of Finance at Bolton Lads & Girls Club, joining when she was appointed Chief Executive.
At that time, the charity faced significant financial pressures. Through Karen’s skilled leadership, it went from strength to strength, building substantial reserves that enabled a £2.4 million refurbishment while strengthening its reputation and standing within the sector.
Karen is a visionary leader who recognises opportunities and brings together the strategic, structural and operational changes needed to realise them. I learned a great deal from working with her over the years and saw first-hand the lasting impact of her leadership.
Former Director of Finance, Bolton Lads & Girls Club (now retired)
“I would have no hesitation in recommending Karen to any organisation looking for an experienced Chief Executive, board member, strategic adviser, consultant or mentor.”
Chairman, HoughtonCo Investments Group
Read Chris’s full testimonial
I have had the pleasure of knowing Karen professionally and personally for more than 15 years, and during that time I have seen first hand the impact she has made as a senior leader within the charitable and community sector.
I first came to know Karen through her leadership of Bolton Lads and Girls Club and subsequently followed her work as Chief Executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice. Throughout both roles, she demonstrated an exceptional ability to combine strong strategic leadership with a genuine understanding of the people, families and communities the organisation exists to serve.
Karen is one of those leaders who sees the bigger picture without losing sight of the practical detail needed to deliver it. She understands governance, finance, people, fundraising, partnerships and organisational development, but equally importantly, she understands how to bring people with her. She listens, challenges constructively and has the confidence to make difficult decisions when required.
I have particularly admired Karen’s ability to build relationships across business, the charitable sector, public bodies, trustees, employees, volunteers and supporters. She communicates naturally at every level and has an instinctive ability to understand what different stakeholders need from an organisation and from its leadership.
Her record speaks for itself.
The growth and development she helped deliver at Bolton Lads and Girls Club, her subsequent leadership of Derian House, and the recognition she received through the award of an OBE reflect a career built on commitment, delivery and genuine social impact.
I know the values you see professionally are entirely authentic. She has integrity, sound judgement, enormous energy and a genuine desire to make organisations stronger and the communities around them better.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Karen to any organisation looking for an experienced Chief Executive, board member, strategic adviser, consultant or mentor. She brings substantial leadership experience, commercial awareness and a deep understanding of purpose led organisations.
More importantly, she brings credibility. Karen has spent her career doing the job, dealing with the pressures and responsibilities that come with senior leadership, and delivering results in organisations where those results genuinely matter.
About Karen
I am the Founder and Director of K D Jackson Enterprises Ltd. I offer interim and fractional executive leadership, management consultancy, coaching and mentoring to help charities and purpose-led organisations strengthen their leadership, improve services and deliver change.
I am the former Chief Executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice and Bolton Lads and Girls Club, with almost four years at Derian House and 13 years at Bolton Lads and Girls Club. My career combines organisational leadership with the practical development of services, partnerships and opportunities for young people.
I have worked with trustees, funders, staff, volunteers and partners across children’s services, health, care and community settings. My experience also includes leading investigations, reviewing investigation reports, overseeing PSIRF implementation and serving as the CQC Nominated Individual at Derian House, including mock and actual inspections. I was awarded an OBE for a mentoring programme for young people that was replicated nationally.
Let’s talk about what you need.
Whether you would like to discuss a board or executive appointment, a consultancy assignment, or a free introductory coaching or mentoring session, I would be pleased to hear from you.
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