NCVO to cut workforce by a fifth amid Covid-19 losses

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is planning on cutting around a fifth of its workforce as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

The restructure will see 22 out of 107 posts cut as the NCVO looks to deliver its services and support for the charity sector with fewer staff.

Covid-19 has impacted on the organistion’s venue hire, training and consultancy services, says the NCVO.

Following a consultation with staff around the proposed restructure the organisation is set to be left with 85 posts in total.

Allowing for vacant posts 13 redundancies are likely and a total of 48 members of staff have been advised they are at risk of redundancy.

The restructure will see the NCVO’s leadership team reduced from three directors to two and its wider management team streamlined from 17 to nine.

Its number of teams will reduce from 13 to seven as it looks to a “more focused approach to practical support for charities and volunteering”, says the NCVO.

A new team will be created to focus on “people, governance and culture”. This is in line with the organisations strategy of boosting equity, diversity and inclusion. There will also be continued investment in digital and technology to boost online support for the charity sector.

The NCVO had secured a £1m grant from the National Lottery Community Fund amid the pandemic to continue supporting the voluntary sector during the first wave of the pandemic. The current restructure plans aim to secure the organisation’s longer term future.

“Like many other organisations right now, we are delivering more, but facing the reality of having to do this with less money and fewer staff, said NCVO chief executive Karl Wilding.

“Our plans have been informed by a year-long strategic engagement process and I'm confident that we are proposing a structure that will enable NCVO to support its members and wider voluntary sector long into the future.”

He added: “With a new strategy in place, we now need to develop new ways of working. We need to structure ourselves to focus on where we can make the most impact for charities and volunteering. The work of the sector has never been more needed.”