The Charity Commission has announced the appointment of David Holdsworth as its chief operating officer, which sees him take responsibility for a large amount of the regulator’s case work and its “digital by default” agenda.

In an announcement yesterday, the Charity Commission said it had promoted David Holdsworth into the role having previously been head of operations at the independent charity regulator since August 2015.

Holdsworth’s new role will see him work on all of the commission’s case work - except for those cases “involving the highest risk” – and for pushing through the ‘digital by default’ agenda being adopted by the Charity Commission and the wider Cabinet Office.

According to the commission’s statement, the chief operating officer leads teams that carry out: assessment and allocation of all incoming work to the regulator, registration of new charities and annual return programme along with casework and maintain the regulator’s presence on the gov.uk website.  

On his new appointment, Holdsworth said: “In my first few months at the commission, I have been impressed with the people that I have met across the directorate. I am really looking forward to leading the teams through the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead”.

Before Holdsworth’s appointment, the role was being undertaken by Paula Sussex, who is also currently the chief executive of the commission. Sussex said: “I am very pleased to welcome David to the commission. He completes our senior team and his expertise will be invaluable.

“David has already contributed greatly by leading changes to the way we manage and oversee our casework. He will take the lead on our wider digital strategy to improve customer experience and increase operational capacity.”

The commission is now recruiting a replacement head of operations.