Board of Commissioners and senior management
Our Board has responsibility for the overall strategy and future direction of the Commission. As an open and accountable organisation we publish a record of all our Board meetings on our website. The Board is supported by an Audit & Risk Committee and a Human Resource & Remuneration Committee.
The senior management team (SMT) makes decisions involving our day-to-day operation. The team is led by the Chief Executive and includes the Head of Corporate Services, Head of Compliance and Enquiries and Head of Charity Services. The senior management team implement the programmes and policies arising from our Board’s decisions to ensure we deliver effective services.
The Commissioners of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland are appointed by the Minister for Communities in line with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Our Board:
Chief Commissioner, Gerard McCurdy
Mr McCurdy has over 40 years’ experience working in a regulatory environment dealing with food safety, public health and consumer protection. He qualified as an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) at the University of Ulster in 1978 and went on to attain a Master of Science Degree in 1991. He has held a number of senior positions in local and central government. As NI Deputy Chief EHO he was asked by the Department of Health to take the lead in the setting up of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), a UK-wide non-Ministerial Government Department and Central Competent Authority for food safety.
On his retirement as Northern Ireland Director of the FSA in 2013 Gerry has worked as a food safety consultant for the United Nations FAO and the World Bank on projects in Bosnia and Bangladesh. He currently holds Ministerial appointments on the Boards of the Northern Ireland Consumer Council and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Gerry has considerable Board experience, particularly in the areas of strategic planning, governance, audit and risk management.
Mr McCurdy was appointed Chief Commissioner from 1 September 2023 until 31 August 2028. Remuneration £6501.60 per annum for a commitment of two days per month. However, an interim arrangement is in place, until a review of remuneration is completed, which allows up to a further 3 days per month potentially increasing total remuneration to £16,254 per annum. It is expected that this interim arrangement will be in place until March 2024. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable.
Deputy Chief Commissioner, Aoife Hamilton
Ms Hamilton is currently Director of Corporate Development at CARD Group Research & Insight and is the former Head of Charity Services at Employers For Childcare where she was responsible for the management of the charity’s functions. She previously worked as Policy Development Manager at the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and has also held roles in social research within both the private and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland. She brings extensive charitable knowledge and experience to the Board. She holds no other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
The Deputy Chief Commissioner receives remuneration of £3930.19 per annum for a commitment of two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. An interim arrangement is also in place until 31 March 2025 whereby the Deputy Chief Commissioner can claim up to an additional half day per month. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgment all Charity Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision-making Committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
Legally Qualified Commissioner, Patricia Kelly
Ms Kelly has worked as a lawyer, having been called to the Northern Ireland Bar, and has an LLM in Human Rights Law. She is the Director of a children’s rights organisation, which is a charity, and has extensive experience on boards in the voluntary sector and on government funded bodies.
She has been appointed to two government led policy review panels and is currently a serving member on a statutory board, reporting to the Minister and Department of Health. Ms Kelly has declared no political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments. Ms Kelly was appointed from 1 June 2021 for a term of five years. Remuneration of £2,626.34 per annum for a commitment of one to two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgement all Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision making committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
Charity Commissioner, Leanne McCullough
Following her qualification as a Chartered Accountant, Ms McCullough gained a range of commercial experience in the textile and food production industries, including as Financial Controller in a local beef processing plant during the BSE outbreak. Following a move into the public sector, she held a variety of roles within various government Departments and Agencies, most recently as Head of Corporate Governance within OFMDFM/Executive Office until her retirement. She brings an in-depth knowledge and skills relating to finance, governance and internal control matters to the Board. She has declared no political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments.
Ms McCullough was appointed from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029. Remuneration of £2,626 per annum for a commitment of one to two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgment all Charity Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision-making Committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
Charity Commissioner, Alan Hunter
Mr Hunter’s background is within the law sector, having been Chief Executive and Accounting Officer, in both the public and private sectors, including of the NI Judicial Appointments Commission and the Law Society. Through these positions he has valuable experience of governance matters, as well as dealing with board-related issues and dealing with a range of stakeholders through partnership working. He introduced to the Law Society several new financial policies and drove the organisation towards ISO accreditation which included introducing a complaints procedure against the organisation itself.
He is currently a Member of the Ulster University Governance, Nominations and Remuneration Committee. He is also Deputy Chair of the Statutory Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. He has declared no political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments. Mr Hunter was appointed from 1 February 2022 for a term of five years. Remuneration of £2,626.34 per annum for a commitment of one to two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgement all Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision making committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
Charity Commissioner, Kieran Donaghy
Mr Donaghy is a former Director of Human Resources in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. In this role, he led a range of projects to achieve a number of the Trust’s strategic objectives. He also has experience of reviewing governance and finance structures, and partnership / stakeholder engagement. He is a Board Member with the Probation Board for which he receives a re-numeration of £5,050 per annum. He has not undertaken any political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments.
Mr Donaghy was appointed Commissioner from 1 March 2019 until 29 February 2024 (appointment extended until 28 February 2029). Remuneration of £2,626.34 per annum for a commitment of one to two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgement all Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision making committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
Charity Commissioner, Hugh McKeag
Mr McKeag is a former General Manager and Director of Caterpillar, and Managing Director of Wright Endrive Ltd, within the WrightGroup of Companies. He has experience in developing and implementing organisational strategies, including the setting of clear strategic objectives and goals. He has served on a number of boards, and has various experience in the preparation of budgets, capital expenditure and management reviews. He has been closely involved with PHAB – Inclusion Matters and Arthritis Care NI. He has not undertaken any political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments.
Mr McKeag was appointed Commissioner from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 (appointment extended until 31 August 2024, and than again until 31 August 2029). Remuneration of £2,626.34 per annum for a commitment of one to two days per month. Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable. In addition, since the 2019 McBride High Court Judgement all Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision making committees throughout the year and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £554.
The senior management team
Chief Executive, Frances McCandless
Frances was appointed to the Commission in April 2010 as its first Chief Executive. Prior to taking up this post, Frances was employed as Director of Policy at NICVA, an umbrella body which provides advice, information and policy analysis to the voluntary and community sector.
Frances’s career in the voluntary and community sector goes back nearly 30 years and she has worked with young people, women returning to work, in housing, with older and disabled people and as an international volunteer in Prague with the YMCA. She has also been a board member of organisations working in the areas of environment, ethnic minorities, reconciliation, community arts, audience development, mediation and physical activity.
Frances has a BA (Hons) from University College, Oxford, an MPhil from Trinity College, Dublin and a Diploma in Public Administration from Warwick Business School, where she has also taught and been an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Governance and Public Management.
Head of Charity Services, Punam McGookin
Punam McGookin was appointed to the Commission in February 2011 as Head of Charity Services. The role will develop and manage the registration, policy and legal function including the granting of consents. Prior to taking up this post, Punam was seconded to the Commission as Deputy Chief Executive from Big Lottery Fund.
Punam was employed by Big Lottery Fund as a programme manager working on a variety of programmes assessing and managing funding to a wide range of voluntary, community, educational and public sectors bodies. Punam's career working with and for charitable organisations dates back to 1983. She has worked with organisations focusing on the arts, communities, young people, older people, education, environment and heritage, and still volunteers for her local sports club.
Head of Corporate Services, Aubrey McCrory
Aubrey was appointed as Head of Corporate Services in March 2011. He is tasked with delivering the corporate functions of the Commission and, ultimately, helping to ensure the Commission achieves its core aims and objectives. Aubrey’s team is responsible for strategy in relation to finance and human resources, corporate governance, ICT, remuneration, procurement and audit issues. He leads on planning and coordinating Commission work on implementing the Independent Review of Charity Regulation.
Aubrey has post graduate ACCA and CIPD qualifications and over 20 years experience covering service provision and performance improvement, as well as regulatory roles in statutory policy development, transparency and information rights.
Head of Compliance and Enquiries, Rossa Keown
Rossa was appointed to the Commission in August 2021 as Head of Compliance and Enquiries. He is responsible for leading the Commission’s development of appropriate systems for the annual monitoring of all registered charities in Northern Ireland and leading the enquiry function to include investigation of the mismanagement of charities.
Rossa has over 10 years of public sector audit and investigations experience gained in the Northern Ireland Audit Office, where he qualified as an accountant with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Most recently, Rossa was employed as a Finance Officer in the National Crime Agency where he was involved in the completion of the Annual Report & Accounts and helped implement a number of new financial policies and procedures.