At a glance
Verity has achieved what few charities do, almost entirely through volunteers: it was the only patient organisation on the global committee that renamed the condition, it set up the UK's first parliamentary group on it, and it has a seat on the committee for the NICE guideline due in January.
Your pack asks the Interim CEO for an agreed roadmap within six weeks, and for two jobs above all: an income base that can fund a permanent CEO, and becoming an employer for the first time. This is how I would start. It is a scaffold, built only from the pack and public information. It shows how I would structure the work, who is involved in each step, what waits on whom, and what six months can and cannot deliver. Much of it would change once I knew Verity from the inside.
I would love to build it out with you. Whoever is appointed, you are very welcome to use it.
Judith Mueller, candidate for the Interim CEO role
Verity today initial research, to be updated
Money
- £88.8kIncome, year to March 2025Filed accounts
- about £100kIncome, latest year (Verity's figure)Application pack, page 7
- 81%Restricted share of 2024/25 incomeFiled accounts
- £17.2kUnrestricted income, 2024/25Filed accounts
- £10.5kFree reserves, 31 March 2025Filed accounts
- to be filledFunders, amounts and end datesPre-start questions: documents
- to be filled2025/26 accountsDue by 31 December 2026
People
- 4Registered trusteesCharity Commission
- to be filledNew trustees who joined in 2026Pre-start questions: about you
- 1Part-time administratorApplication pack
- 0EmployeesApplication pack; filed accounts
- to be filledTrustee time on operations todayPre-start questions: time log
Reach
- 12,000+ membersPrivate Facebook support groupVerity's website
- 16K followersFacebook pageFacebook, 17 October 2026
- about 46,000Website visits, 2024/25Filed accounts
- 200+Information packs a yearFiled accounts
- 9.6 out of 10PMOS TIME rating by health professionalsApplication pack
Position
- 27 January 2027NICE guideline on PMOSNICE's own project page
- 12 May 2026, three-year transitionRenaming to PMOSApplication pack; The Lancet
- since April 2025, 10 recommendationsAPPG on PMOSApplication pack
- James Lind Alliance Top 10Research prioritiesApplication pack
Systems
- Donorbox and JustGivingOnline donationsVerity's website
- to be filledWhat Verity uses today for supporters, finance, HR and filesPre-start questions: systems list
- ◆ Suggested systemsSupporter database with Gift Aid and consent records; finance and payroll; HR and volunteers; marketing and communications; Board papers and risk register; impact data; shared files and secure access; and others, to be mappedMy suggestion, to be mapped together
What needs to get done
Everything else in the pack "serves those two aims". The six accountabilities, with the pack's own end-of-contract tests, are in section 2.
How this scaffold becomes the roadmap
- Before the start dateGoodwill days: introduction calls and pre-start questions (section 4)
- End of week 2The first full roadmap, fleshed out from this scaffold
- Weeks 3 to 5Tested with every trustee
- Week 6Agreed by the Board, then tracked month by month on this dashboard
The contract clock would start on Monday 4 January 2027.
The six tests: the pack's accountabilities and its end-of-contract tests
The pack sets six accountabilities, each with a test of what must be true by the end of the contract. Every step in the roadmap feeds at least one of them, and progress would be shown here month by month; today each is at zero. Under each test are the workstreams that feed it: ● from the pack, ◆ a suggested addition.
Financial sustainability and income generation
By the end of the contract: an income strategy agreed by the Board with targets, owners and timescales; a live grants pipeline with a stated value; and a clear picture of the funding secured towards the permanent post and the gap remaining.
Pack, page 8
Building the infrastructure to become an employer
By the end of the contract: an employer-readiness plan signed off by the Board, providers appointed, and systems documented and in use.
Pack, page 8
Strategic and operational leadership
By the end of the contract: an agreed roadmap in place within the first six weeks, and trustees spending materially less time on operational delivery than at the start.
Pack, page 8
Governance and organisational leadership
By the end of the contract: an agreed scheme of delegation, a consistent Board reporting pack, and clear role descriptions across the team.
Pack, page 9
Impact, external profile, risk and compliance
By the end of the contract: key relationships mapped and held organisationally, agreed impact measures with baseline data, and a live risk register reviewed at every Board meeting.
Pack, page 9
Transition and handover
By the end of the contract: a defined and costed permanent CEO role with a recruitment plan, and a written handover pack completed before the contract ends.
Pack, page 9
On external work (accountability 5): I would take on as much as the Board wants, at its pace, alongside the trustees who lead it.
The roadmap: who does what, when, and what it waits on
The top three rows are the overview: the Board decisions the work depends on, key dates fixed by others, and the Interim CEO's days each month, planned against available. Below them is every step, grouped by job. Hover over any bar or marker for detail. On a phone, swipe the chart sideways, or use the PDF version.
Board decisions
- 1 Week 6: Roadmap agreed by the Board, after testing with every trustee
- 2 March: Scheme of delegation agreed; Income strategy agreed
- 3 April: Employer-readiness plan signed off; Staffing model, reserves policy and impact measures
- 4 May: Business case for the permanent post
- 5 June: Month-6 decision: the second half, when to recruit, and media roles and budget
Board decisions could be taken at a meeting or by email, as the Board prefers.
Key dates
- a 16 November 2026: Rosa, the UK fund for women and girls: applications close (4pm)
- b 4 December 2026: The Fore, a funder of small charities: registration closes (midday)
- c 11 January 2027: The Fore: application deadline, if Verity is drawn
- d 27 January 2027: NICE guideline on PMOS expected
- e 31 March 2027: Last day to claim Gift Aid on 2022/23 donations
- f 7 May 2027: The Fore: decisions (early May)
- g 1 September 2027: PMOS Awareness Month begins
Funding dates come from the funders' own websites: open funds Verity could apply to. The NICE date is from NICE's own project page.
Interim CEO days
Weeks 1 and 2 at five days (my suggestion, to build momentum), then two days a week. Months 7 to 12 are shown at one day a week, for modelling only. Days not yet allocated are kept for the day-to-day and the unexpected. Before the start date: goodwill days, not charged.
Every step, by job
Each row is one step. The tags show who is involved, and the number is the Interim CEO days it takes.
- CEO Interim CEO
- Admin with the administrator
- Trustee with one or more trustees
- Board with the whole Board
- Trustee-led led by trustees or the administrator
- External external: funders, HMRC, providers
Before the start date: goodwill days
Not charged, at times that suit you: introductions and pre-start questionsJob 1: an income base for a permanent CEO
Accountabilities 1 and 2Job 2: ready to employ
Accountabilities 2 and 4Running and protecting Verity
Accountabilities 3, 5 and 6Before the start date: goodwill days
As goodwill on my side, not charged, and at times that suit you: getting to know everyone before the contract begins, so that day one starts with what is needed.
- 1Contract signedA contract for services, including confidentiality, signed before the introductions, for example in the last week of November. The contract clock starts on Monday 4 January.
- 2IntroductionsOne-hour calls at times that suit you, with each trustee (including the trustees who joined in 2026) and the administrator.
- 3Notes backWritten notes from each call within two days, for each person to add to.
- 4Pre-start questionsAbout you, a two-week log of your Verity time, a list of Verity's systems, and key documents.
- 5Day one, 4 JanuaryPreparation, then a short debrief with everyone: anything else I need for my first two weeks.
If the appointment comes later, the same steps simply move, and funding deadlines that have passed drop out.
Pre-start questions for trustees and the administrator
- About you: Your skills, what you do for Verity today, what you would like to do in the longer term and what would be sustainable for you, the time you have for the transition, and your networks.
- A two-week log of your Verity time: Only the time you spend on Verity, not your whole day: what you do, when, for how long, and which skills it draws on. It is the baseline for test 3: trustees spending materially less time on operational delivery.
- Systems list: What Verity uses today, what you would like, what is missing, and who holds each account.
Documents and information, once the contract is signed
- The grant strategy
- Current funders, their grant end dates and terms
- The latest figures and management accounts
- Existing policies, insurance and registrations
- The 2027 Board dates
- How the APPG will be funded from April 2027
- The media set-up: budget, processes, who prepares
- Key relationships, and who holds them
- The NICE publication on 27 January: your plans and any embargo arrangements
First conversations in January
- How the interim role is funded
- The pace of the media and stakeholder handover, and which relationships trustees keep
- The Board's position on industry funding
- The days, salary and timing the Board has in mind for the permanent post
Team and resources: the people, skills and resources map
Who brings which skills, time and networks, and what each person would like to do. It is filled in from the pre-start questions, so for now every cell is a gap.
| Role | Skills | Time for the transition | Time long term | Networks | What they would like to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Deputy Chair | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Treasurer | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Company Secretary | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Trustees who joined in 2026 | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Administrator (part time) | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
| Volunteers | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled | to be filled |
What six months can deliver, and what it cannot
Six months at two days a week is enough to build the foundations properly. Securing the funding for a permanent CEO, and appointing one, depends on funders' decision times and a recruitment process, and realistically concludes around month twelve.
Six months at two days a week can deliver properly
- The roadmap agreed by the Board, with people, systems and money mapped
- The Board report, scheme of delegation and risk register in use
- The income strategy agreed, the pipeline live and the first applications in
- The employer-readiness plan signed off, providers chosen and policies drafted
- The permanent CEO role defined and costed, with a recruitment plan
- A handover pack
What it cannot, because of lead times rather than effort
- The funding for a permanent CEO. Trust decisions take 16 weeks to 6 months, so applications sent in months 2 to 4 are decided in months 6 to 10.
- A permanent CEO in post. A CEO search typically takes around six months, plus one to three months' notice, and it needs the funding to be reasonably clear first.
- Employer systems fully in use. They are only truly in use once someone is employed.
- Trustee-dependent work at full speed. Board reports need trustees' input, sign-offs wait for Board meetings, and relationship records need every trustee.
The roadmap therefore shows months 7 to 12 at one day a week, for modelling purposes only: it could be anything from none to two days a week, to be discussed and agreed. The table shows what each option would mean in total.
| Months 7 to 12 | Interim CEO days in total | What happens in months 7 to 12 | A permanent CEO could start |
|---|---|---|---|
| None: six months only | 58 | Trustees lead, with the handover pack | Spring 2028 at the earliest |
| One day a weekshown in the roadmap, for modelling only | 84 | Run the systems, steward funding decisions, recruit, hand over | January to March 2028 |
| Two days a week (twelve months in all) | 110 | As one day a week, with more time for recruitment and income | January 2028 |
Weeks 1 and 2 at five days a week are my suggestion, not in the pack, to build momentum quickly; to be discussed and agreed. Without them, the first full roadmap would come around week 4 rather than week 2, leaving less time to test it with trustees before week 6. The pack offers a six-month contract "with view to extend up to 12 months" (page 12). Totals count two days every week after the ramp-up.
The main risks, and how the plan handles them
| Risk | How the plan handles it |
|---|---|
| The main funder does not renew, or renews on narrower terms | Protect the existing funder first: an early conversation before January, then regular contact. Build several income streams so that no single funder dominates. |
| Two days a week against two large jobs | Priorities agreed with the Board in week 6. The dashboard shows each month's days, so trade-offs are visible and decided, not discovered. About four and a half days in months 1 to 6 are left unallocated for the day-to-day and the unexpected; the trustees' time logs show how much day-to-day work there is, and the full roadmap in week 2 makes room for it. |
| Most income is restricted to specific purposes, and a permanent CEO needs core or multi-year funding | Unrestricted and multi-year funding first, and a fair share of core costs in every project bid. |
| Safeguarding in the online support groups, with over 12,000 members | A review in the first months, with clear moderation and reporting routes, before Verity becomes an employer. |
| Relationships and knowledge held by individuals | A relationship map recorded in a supporter database, and processes written down, so that knowledge belongs to Verity. |
Beyond the interim: what a permanent team would need (2028 to 2030)
For the Board to shape. A three-year horizon fits multi-year core grants (one to three years), the renaming's managed three-year transition, and a first strategy cycle for a permanent CEO. The longer direction is the mission itself, reviewed every year.
Income
Several income streams so that no single funder dominates; multi-year core grants; regular giving; earned income including PMOS TIME; a reserves policy; the APPG funded separately.
People
The permanent CEO in post; a staffing map shaped by the people-and-systems decision; clear volunteer roles; media work that does not rest on one person.
Governance
Scheme of delegation, Board report and risk register embedded; a Board skills and renewal plan; an annual review.
Systems
Supporter database; finance, HR and media processes; the dashboard with login and comments; plus additional systems, to be mapped.
Mission
NICE implementation; the renaming's managed three-year transition, with the new name integrated into the 2028 international guideline update; the APPG's recommendations; the research priorities; reach into underdiagnosed communities.
What this dashboard does now, and what I would add
A snapshot built from public information. It shows what Verity and its Interim CEO need to deliver, and by when: who does what, how many days each step takes, and how long it waits on others, with every figure marked as real, an estimate or still a gap. Each month the same page would show progress against the plan agreed in week 6.
- Secure login: Password-protected access.
- Comments in one place: Trustees, the team and invited partners can comment on any item, so all input sits together.
- One source of truth: Updated each month from one spreadsheet, so the Board pack is produced, not written.
- Views for different people: The Board sees everything, the team their own actions, invited partners only what they are shown.
- Owners update their own work: Each owner updates the status of their own steps.
- A history: Each month's version is kept, so progress and decisions can be traced.
- Reminders and export: Deadline reminders from the calendar, and a PDF for the Board papers.
- Safe by design: No personal or health data on the dashboard, and access logged.