HR Support for Charities and Purpose-Led Organisations in Hull
Senior HR leadership for charities, social enterprises and purpose-led organisations . Without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
HR Support for Charities and Purpose-Led Organisations in Hull
Hull is the most deprived local authority in Yorkshire and the Humber, and the second most deprived in Northern England. The city's third sector has grown significantly in recent years, partly driven by the investment and civic energy that followed Hull's year as UK City of Culture in 2017, and partly out of necessity. Community organisations, social enterprises and charities are embedded across the city, often doing work in areas of significant deprivation that statutory services can't or won't do.
Sector Connect Hull provides infrastructure support to the local VCSE sector, funded by Hull City Council. The Hull 4 Funding portal gives organisations access to external funding opportunities. But the reality for most Hull charities is that infrastructure support doesn't translate into internal people capability. The organisations doing the hardest work in the most challenging wards are often the ones with the least HR resource.
The HR challenges specific to Hull's third sector
Isolation from wider third sector networks. Hull's geography, sitting at the end of the M62 corridor rather than at a junction, means its charities are less connected to the West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire networks that organisations in Leeds, Sheffield or Bradford can draw on. This includes access to HR expertise. Hull charities are more likely to be managing complex people situations without any professional HR input at all.
Post-regeneration growing pains. The City of Culture legacy created growth for many Hull organisations. Growth brings recruitment, team expansion, new management layers and the need for proper employment contracts, policies and frameworks. Several Hull charities have grown from 10 to 40 or 50 people over the past few years without the people infrastructure keeping pace.
Safeguarding in frontline services. Hull charities working with children, young people, vulnerable adults and people experiencing homelessness carry significant safeguarding obligations. Safer recruitment, DBS compliance, Charity Commission reporting and the management of safeguarding concerns within the workforce all require specialist HR knowledge.
Reserves under pressure. National data shows that 27% of charities have used reserves for essential costs like rent and wages, rising to 33% in the most deprived areas. Hull charities are disproportionately affected. When reserves are being used to keep the lights on, investing in HR support feels like a luxury. But the cost of a tribunal claim, a botched redundancy, or a safeguarding failure far exceeds the cost of getting proper advice.
How we support Hull organisations
We're Sheffield-based, which puts us within easy reach of Hull. Most of our work is delivered remotely, with on-site visits for the moments that need it: board meetings, investigations, restructure consultations, workshops. We provide fractional Head of People services, retained HR advisory, and strategic people projects.
Three services. Each one built for where you are right now.
Fractional Head of People
Your organisation needs a Head of People but can't justify — or fund — a full-time hire. We embed as your senior people leader on a part-time, ongoing basis. Attending board meetings. Building your people strategy. Handling the complex ER cases. Giving your CEO back the headspace to focus on mission delivery. This is our lead service for charities that are growing, going through change, or simply past the point where the CEO can keep doing it all.
HR & People Advisory (retained)
Ongoing access to senior HR advice on a retained basis. Not a helpline — a named, dedicated advisor who knows your organisation, your people, and your context. For charities that need consistent, reliable HR support without the overhead of a fractional appointment. Covers employee relations, compliance, policy, manager coaching, and the steady stream of people questions that don't stop coming.
Strategic People Projects
Defined-scope projects with a clear beginning and end. Restructures. TUPE transfers. Handbook and policy builds. Employment law readiness, including the Employment Rights Act changes rolling out through 2026 and 2027. Pay and reward reviews. Investigations. The one-off pieces of work that need senior expertise and proper process.
We don't just work with charities.
We understand how they work.
Most HR consultancies list "charities" as one of fifteen sectors on a dropdown menu. We've chosen this sector deliberately because the people challenges here are different, and they deserve an advisor who genuinely understands them.
Governance matters more. Trustees carry legal responsibility for how a charity manages its people, but most boards don't have HR expertise around the table. We bridge that gap, providing the board-level assurance that employment decisions are sound, proportionate, and compliant. We've sat on charity boards ourselves.
Funding shapes everything. When income depends on grants, contracts, and donations, workforce planning can't follow a standard corporate model. Restructures happen when funding shifts, not when strategy says so. TUPE transfers are common when contracts move between providers. We've managed these situations and understand the pressure they create.
Safeguarding is non-negotiable. Charities working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults operate under additional employment obligations — DBS frameworks, safer recruitment, Charity Commission reporting. Getting this wrong doesn't just create legal risk, it puts people in harm's way.
Mission and management pull in different directions. Purpose-led organisations attract people who care deeply. That's a strength — until it means poor performance goes unaddressed because everyone's too kind to have the conversation, or a grievance escalates because the CEO doesn't want to seem heavy-handed. We help you manage people with both compassion and clarity.
The experience behind the advice.
Jason King — Chartered MCIPD, MSc in Human Resource Management, 15+ years of senior HR leadership across charities, financial services, care, manufacturing and regulated environments. Experience of being a Board trustee at two Yorkshire charities, the Children's Heart Surgery Fund and Age UK Sheffield.
That trustee experience isn't a CV line. It means we understand Charity Commission expectations, governance tensions, safeguarding obligations, and the reality of volunteer-led boards from the inside, not as observers.
Becky King — co-founder and operational lead, with a decade of leadership experience across not-for-profit and hospitality sectors.
We're based in Sheffield and work across the UK.
Why this sector. Why it's personal.
Our daughter Amelia was seriously ill as a young child. During that time, the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund provided support to our family that we didn't know we needed and couldn't have asked for. It changed how we understood what these organisations actually do, not in the abstract, but when it matters most.
That experience is part of why we chose to focus King HR Advisory on charities and purpose-led organisations. Not as a niche to fill, but because we've seen first-hand what happens when these organisations work well. We want to help them stay that way. The people behind the mission are where that starts. Your people strategy isn't separate from your impact. It's what makes it sustainable.
