Tufail Hussain appointed as new director of Islamic Relief UK

23 Aug 2019 News

Tufail Hussain

Islamic Relief Worldwide has appointed Tufail Hussain as the new director of Islamic Relief UK.

He has been the charity’s interim UK director for the last six months after Imran Madden took a leave of absence.

Tufail was previously the deputy director and head of fundraising for the charity. He is also a trustee at the Muslim Charities Forum.

'I want to create an environment where staff feel empowered'

Hussain said:  “As a leader, I am here to ensure staff succeed and are happy; I want to inspire future leaders; I want staff to know that I am here to listen; and I want to create an environment where staff feel empowered.

“As I take on this role, I have four priorities. First of all, I want to build the right culture; there’s no point having lofty strategic objectives if we don’t have the right culture and bring our values to life. Secondly, I want to see digital transformation at all levels and wish to invest in a digital strategy going forward.

“Thirdly, I want to ensure that we never take our donors for granted. I want us to have a strategy built on trust between us and our invaluable supporters.

“And lastly, I want to ensure that we invest in our domestic programmes more. Poverty in the UK has a devastating impact on the most vulnerable people in our country. As well as working in low and middle-income countries overseas, we also need to address poverty within the UK and empower our community.”

Naser Haghamed, chief executive of Islamic Relief Worldwide, said: “Many congratulations to Tufail on his appointment to this strategically important role and to the senior management team of Islamic Relief Worldwide. He brings great energy and a wealth of community contacts and sector experience to this role.

“He can be assured of my personal support and backing to further increase the impact and effectiveness of our work in the UK and our fundraising for the global Islamic Relief family.

“The Islamic Relief story began in the UK, with a donation of 20p in response to the famine in Ethiopia in 1984. Our global family now has a presence in over 40 countries and we have assisted more than 117 million people, but our international office is still in the UK, and the majority of our income still comes from the UK.

“I look forward to working with Tufail to further build our community profile and strengthen our relationships with key partners such as the Department for International Development and the Disasters Emergency Committee.”

For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here

 

More on