Skip to content
Community

Our people

Meet the people who lead our charity. Meet our Patron and President as well as trustees and senior directors.

Our patron

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Patron of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, operating as Charity for Civil Servants, for 70 years, succeeding her father, King George VI. Her Majesty had a particular interest in the welfare of the peoples of Her Majesty’s Civil Service.

Following His Majesty The King’s Accession, the Royal Household is conducting a review of Royal Patronage. This will cover the organisations which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was patron of and those which The King and The Queen Consort were connected through Patronage or Presidency as Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Queen Elizabeth II

Our president

As Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case is President of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, operating as Charity for Civil Servants. He succeeded Sir Mark (now Lord) Sedwill in 2022.

Simon has been a civil servant since 2006 when he joined the Ministry of Defence as a policy advisor. Previous roles have included heading up the Olympic Secretariat in 2012, working as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Director of Strategy at GCHQ and as Director-General Northern Ireland and Ireland.

As well as our President, Simon is a member of the Privy Council, a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case

Honorary Life Presidents

Upon leaving the Civil Service, the role of President passes on to the incumbent Cabinet Secretary. We are pleased to continue benefiting from the continued support of the Honorary Life Presidents.

  • Lord Sedwill of Sherborne GCMG, FRGS, PC
  • Lord O’Donnell of Clapham GCB, FBA, FAcSS
  • Lord Turnbull of Enfield KCB, CVO, PC
  • Lord Wilson of Dinton GCB
  • Lord Butler of Brockwell KG, GCB, CVO, PC
Sir Richard Wilson

Our trustees

Our Board of Trustees set the charity’s strategic direction, monitor the delivery of the charity’s objectives and uphold its values and governance.

We are grateful for the time and commitment they give.

Peter Schofield
Peter Schofield – Chair

Peter became the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions in January 2018.

Previously, Peter worked as Director General for Finance at DWP, Director General for Housing and Planning at the Department for Communities and Local Government and as Director of the Enterprise and Growth Unit at HM Treasury.

Sonia Phippard
Sonia Phippard – Vice Chair

Sonia joined the Civil Service in 1981. She worked in the centre of Government for a number of years, with periods of secondment to the Department for Education and to the private sector, and was Principal Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary from 1989-92.

In 2001, she moved to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, becoming Director-General, Environment, Rural and Marine in 2015.

Since leaving the Civil Service in 2020, Sonia has combined voluntary sector roles with occasional consultancy: longer-term plans having been somewhat delayed by COVID!

David Kuenssberg
David Kuenssberg – Treasurer

David is currently Director General, Corporate & Delivery for the Home Office having performed a Finance Director role in the department from January 2020.

Prior to that he was Executive Director, Corporate Resources at Brighton and Hove City Council from 2016, after various finance roles up to Deputy Director at the (then) Department for Communities and Local Government from 2007.

He was also Finance Director and Head of Business Operations at English Heritage between 1999 and 2007, having become CIPFA-qualified with PwC in 1997.

Matt Brook
Matt Brook

Matt is currently head of communications at the Valuation Office Agency.

He has worked in the Civil Service for over 20 years in various communications roles including two stints at the Home Office in the media relations team and internal communications, head of strategic communications at the Treasury and deputy head of external affairs at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Prior to government, Matt worked in the private sector as a public relations consultant.

Jo Dally
Jo Dally

Jo is Strategic Partnerships Director at the National Composite Centre (NCC). Part of the UK Catapult Network, the NCC is focused on accelerating the adoption of high impact, sustainable engineering solutions to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges.

Before joining the NCC, Jo was Director of the Western Gateway (the UK’s first cross-border economic Powerhouse). Prior to that she held a range of senior leadership roles in both the public and private sector. This included in BP’s Advanced Mobility business and Regions, Cities and Solutions segments, the Royal Society, and the UK Government Office of Science. She also serves as a Trustee for the UK Research Integrity Office.

Clara Lane
Clara Lane

Clara is a financial services conduct specialist with a range of experience across the financial services industry, from the private sector through to regulated sectors and within the regulator itself.

She spent 10 years working at the Financial Conduct Authority where she specialised in supervisory, enforcement and policy matters relating to market integrity. Her experience includes working on the trading floor within investment banks and on the investment teams of hedge funds based in London and New York. She is also a trustee of a charity which promotes performance through music, dance and drama.

Angela MacDonald
Angela MacDonald

Angela became HMRCs Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary in August 2020. She is an Operations professional with 30 years’ experience of service delivery, transformation and change in both the public and private sector.

Angela joined the Civil Service in 2009 to deliver reforms in Child Support. Following four years as a Director at the Department for Work and Pensions, leading service delivery and transformation, she moved to HMRC in 2017 and became the Director General for Customer Services.

Before joining the Civil Service, Angela worked in a number of operational, sales and marketing roles at Aviva plc and its legacy companies.

James Renwick
James Renwick

James is an Executive Coach who works with leaders, groups and teams to influence and enhance their understanding, learning and behaviour.

Following a degree in psychology, James has spent 20 years in leadership roles across government, creative and charity sectors, specialising in behaviour change, marketing and brand strategy. Organisations include COI, WorldSkills London 2011, Royal Museums Greenwich and World Vision UK.

Most recently, James was responsible for the UK’s most trusted brand at Macmillan Cancer Support, where he also led a 35-strong brand and creative department.

Jaspal Roopra FCIPD

Jaspal is Director of People at Barts Health NHS Trust having spent 19 years in the Civil Service.

She held a series of leadership posts with Departments such as the Home Office, National Crime Agency and Department of Energy and Climate Change. She was also Co-Chair of the Race to the Top SCS Network, where her focus was to champion ethnic diversity in support of the Civil Service’s ambition to improve diversity and inclusion at its most senior levels.

Jaspal is a Chartered Fellow of CIPD and holds a Diploma in Organisational Design and Development. She is an experienced Executive Coach, is a school governor, and is an Independent Member of the EDI Committee for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Mal Singh
Mal Singh

Mal recently joined the Money and Pension Service (MaPS) as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member.

Prior to this he was Chief Financial Officer and Board Member for BPDTS Ltd, a digital technology company owned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Mal brings with him extensive experience of senior finance roles within digital, welfare reform, operations and strategy. Before joining DWP in 2009, Mal worked at HM Treasury where he led on the financial management reforms across Whitehall.

Michael Smith
Michael Smith

With a digital career spanning over 25 years, Michael has unparalleled digital knowledge and experience across both the public and private sectors. Most recently he has held a number of senior marketing positions within the Technology Sector (IBM). Prior to that he was managing partner of a modern media consulting practice.

Michael joined the Civil Service in 2002, where he spent 10 years at the Central Office of Information (COI) leading Digital Advertising, Media and Strategy. He was also involved in a number of Industry Trade Bodies, chairing ISBA’s Digital & Data Action Group.

Luke Treadwell
Luke Treadwell

With a background in strategy development, user-centred design and analysis, Luke has worked with, and alongside, civil servants since 2016.

He is currently responsible for delivery at a strategy and digital transformation consultancy, where he manages and supports teams to identify long-term solutions to deliver impactful change and transform public services.

Luke has previously worked within the charity sector with a particular focus on corporate fundraising, delivering award-winning strategic partnerships with some of the UK’s largest companies.

Our impact

Find out how we help the Civil Service community and the impact we are proud to make.

Our directors

Our Chief Executive, Graham Hooper, leads the Executive Management Team towards achieving our mission, vision and purpose.

Graham Hooper
Graham Hooper

Chief Executive

Following an early venture into sports marketing, Graham previously enjoyed a 23-year career in the Civil Service before running a consultancy and working for a wide range of public and private sector clients, tackling the broadest spectrum of behavioural challenges and strategic business issues.

An experienced senior civil servant, some of Graham’s key roles included Head of Marketing for the Home Office, Head of Corporate Communications for the Cabinet Office and acting as Joint Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI) where he was responsible for over 400 staff.

Graham joined the Charity as CEO in 2015.

Flavia Gapper
Flavia Gapper

Director of Help, Advice and Services

Flavia’s background includes heading up information and advice teams in charities, working in tourism and regeneration in Richmond and Hammersmith and Fulham, managing contracts, helplines, partnerships, teams and projects. At Roehampton University, Flavia was Centre and Partnerships Manager for a Centre of Teaching and Learning Excellence in Human Rights.

Flavia holds a CMI diploma in Strategic Leadership and Management and has experience in Project Management (Prince 2 Practitioner).

Flavia joined the Charity in 2012, and became Director in 2019.

Damian Chapman
Damian Chapman

Director of Fundraising and Communications

Damian has spent the last fifteen years in fundraising, communications and brand within charities across the UK. He previously worked at GenderShift, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and Police Care UK.

Damian sits on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations not-for-profit committee, is a member of the Fundraising Ethical Research Network, and is a mentor with the Tony Elischer Foundation.

Damian joined the Charity as Director in 2019.

Jemma Kingham, Director of Finance and Corporate Services at the Charity for Civil Servants
Jemma Kingham

Director of Finance and Corporate Services

Jemma has a range of senior level charity and public sector experience having worked in charities in the healthcare and education sector and in the Civil Service.

Her background includes finance and resource management as Bursar and Business Manager in a Special Needs School, and Director of Strategy and Development of a Healthcare charity. She also worked as Head of Finance at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Jemma is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW), having trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jemma joined the Charity as Director in 2022.

Work for us

Looking for a rewarding job with a great team of people? Find out about our current vacancies.

Female leaping for joy

Related pages

Heart
Our history

We were founded in 1886. Find out how we’ve grown over the years.

Thumbs up
Our help services

We support civil servants, past and present, when times are tough.

Community
Support us

Make a life-changing difference to a civil servant when they most need it. Fundraise, donate or volunteer your time

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!