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Question mark over IoF's appointment due diligence for McLean 5

Fundraising | Tania Mason | 29 Mar 2011

The charity that employed Amanda McLean in her last job but one before she took the helm at the Institute of Fundraising says it was not asked to provide a reference for her by the Institute.

McLean quit suddenly as chief executive of the Institute two weeks ago after just four months in the job, leaving the Institute to start the recruitment process all over again. She admitted the role was too overwhelming and didn’t allow her enough time with her children.

Debra, the medical research charity where McLean was director of fundraising and communications from January 2006 until 31 March 2008, said it was not approached for a reference. Ben Merrett, chief executive, told Civil Society: “I can confirm that we did not receive a request for a reference from the Institute.”

The Institute’s acting chair Alan Gosschalk (pictured) insists that “we did as much investigation as you would expect for a chief executive”, including following up several references, “all of which were positive”. But he declined to say where any of these originated or whether one was sought from Debra specifically. “No employer would divulge the source of references,” he said.

Gosschalk also declined to say whether the Institute was aware that Debra’s 2007/8 annual report stated that additional fundraising staff employed during 2006 and 2007 “had not performed to plan”. Asked about this, he would only say: “As I said, we were completely satisfied with the references we obtained. We are not prepared to go into other details and no responsible employer would do so.”

When Civil Society asked McLean whether she had any comment to make about the contents of Debra’s 2007/8 annual report, she said:  “Whilst I refute strongly the implications about my time at Debra, a confidentiality clause in my contract prevents me from providing details to defend my own reputation without it appearing to be at the expense of others, who also do not deserve it.”

Six months after leaving Debra, in September 2008 McLean became chief executive at Prostate UK, a job she held until August 2010, just before it merged with Prostate Cancer Research Foundation to create Prostate Action. McLean said she did not apply for the position of CEO of Prostate Action and chose to leave early on in the merger process. The Foundation’s CEO Emma Halls became chief executive of the merged charity.

Ted Clucas, deputy chair of Prostate Action, said that when McLean left, she was given a standard employment reference as part of a confidential compromise agreement. McLean told Civil Society that she provided this reference, among others, to the Institute.

“I provided a list of referees to the Institute,” she said. “These spanned the last 15 years of my career, including my time at Prostate UK.”

Gosschalk did not accept that the Institute could have done anything more to avoid the situation it now finds itself in. “Don’t forget it was Amanda that decided to resign,” he said. “There’s no conspiracy about it. She was the best candidate and very appointable.”

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Who's Who: Amanda McLean | Alan Gosschalk