A safe pair of hands

I was one of the very first interims placed by THINK back in 2009 and now here I am, 13 years later, working for THINK and looking after our pool of interim managers. I’ve been reflecting on why I and others have chosen interim work – why have I done it for so long and why do others do it?

For me it was a mix of professional and personal reasons. I had moved from permanent to fixed-term contract work, willing to trade off job security for variety and more interesting work. It seemed that in every organisation across the sector everyone was working at capacity; anything new required someone new and usually quickly. I’d always enjoyed change and the professional challenges that it brought. I wanted to use my experience but also grow it by doing lots of different things.

Then there were the personal reasons: I wanted to work hybrid (this was pre-Covid days when hybrid working was a much more unusual request!); I lived outside London and didn’t want to spend my whole life commuting. I also wanted more flexibility – I liked the idea of part-time work, but equally didn’t want  to (or could afford to) do it all the time. Interim suited me, for all the same reasons I hear from THINK’s Interim team: it keeps things interesting – the variety is there with all the different charities and roles; all the brilliant people you meet; and the flexibility to balance work and home life.

How does interim work?

I’ve chatted to a lot of interim managers and the consistent theme is that it’s all different! However – broadly – most contracts are two or three days a week and last three-to-six months. Some roles are project-based and others are backfilling vacancies. All interims are senior managers – experts in their area, with experience of ‘doing’ as well as leading. What I always hear is “We need a safe pair of hands” – someone who has the credibility and experience to deliver and usually, quickly!

The key is to agree the deliverables and outcomes before starting a contract. For the interim manager it allows them complete focus and helps to reduce the distractions that are inevitable in any busy organisation.

What are the downsides?

Well, there’s one big one: the lack of job security. Covid was a difficult time for everyone but particularly for those who didn’t have permanent contracts, but, apart from that, the interim market has always been a busy one. It is also a fast-paced market – often just a matter of days or weeks between a charity identifying the resource need and THINK matching that need with an interim manager, and then the interim assignment starting.

My advice: keep the faith. From my personal experience and that of our interim pool, there is always work, and great people get great work.

Want to know more?

Whether you want to chat about becoming an interim manager, or you work in a non-profit with a resource need to fill, then do get in touch – you can find our contact details here.

Vicky Harries, Head of Interim
October 2022

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