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Nurole moderated a webinar which focused on how to approach - and subsequently frame - a non-profit role in order to secure a commercial one. The webinar featured Heather McKinley and Anthony Lewis, two Nurole candidates who have each been on this journey, and the discussion offers advice from those who have been there and done it. You can find a recording of the webinar below, along with a summary of insights from the discussion.

• It’s becoming easier to move between the commercial and NFP sectors. Strategic changes are bringing the two worlds closer together, with commercial organisations increasingly purpose driven post-Covid and charities having to think more commercially - particularly about funding - in the current economic climate. 
  
• Attach equal weight to NFP and commercial roles in your CV. The fact the former are unpaid doesn’t matter. Boards are looking for relevant functional, sectoral and situational experience, and trustees have the same level of risk and exposure as NEDs, as well as many of the same organisational challenges and opportunities.
  
• Find a role at an organisation which operates under relevant regulation. For example, if your goal is to become a financial services NED, it could be helpful to work at an NFP in the credit union space, which is regulated by the FCA and PRA.
  
• Use committees to develop specific NED experience. Once you are a trustee, you can use sub-committees to develop the functional experience commercial boards are looking for. If you’ve had a generalist executive career, for instance, and the most attractive commercial roles for you require audit experience, membership of the audit committee can give you the requisite exposure.
  
• Be dynamic with your relevant experience when applying for your next role. That might mean targeting younger companies within a sector. If you have an education background, for example, there may not be many London-based large-cap board roles. But there are many more series A and B ed-tech startups with board positions. Or it might mean thinking about your relevant experience in terms of company scale: a board position at a large charity will provide certain relevant experience for a large commercial organisation. 
  

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