Jon Sparkes, chief operating officer at Unicef UK, has been appointed as chief executive of Crisis.

Sparkes will join Crisis after two years at Unicef. He has also held the chief executive role at Scope, where he spent five years in the role.

Sparkes is due to take up his appointment in the autumn. He said: "I am delighted to be joining Crisis; an amazing organisation providing essential services to help homeless people rebuild their lives. The charity has ambitious plans for the future, particularly in campaigning to tackle the root causes of homelessness.  

“It is a privilege to be selected to lead such an organisation, and I look forward to playing my part in supporting the incredible work of Crisis staff and volunteers.”

Commenting on Sparkes' departure, David Bull, executive director at Unicef UK, said: “We’d like to thank Jon for the incredible work he has done with us at Unicef UK and wish him the very best as he takes up the challenge of working with some of the most vulnerable people in the UK at Crisis.”

Sparkes is replacing Leslie Morphy who has led the charity for the past eight years. Morphy will be taking forward a range of other activities including as vice-chair of Oxford Brookes University, a member of the Home Group Board and chair of a charity focused on supporting newborn children in Vietnam. Morphy will continue as chief executive at Crisis until the summer.

Crisis has an annual turnover of over £21m, with some 280 staff and around 10,000 volunteers last year supporting over 10,000 people to improve their lives and move out of homelessness.