Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) is the UK coalition of assistance dog organisations accredited by Assistance Dogs International and the International Guide Dog Federation. Representing 14 member charities, ADUK does not train dogs directly, but its badge is carried by over 6,000 assistance dogs nationwide. That badge signals something important: that the dog has been trained to internationally recognised standards by a member organisation.

ADUK's work sits at a genuinely meaningful intersection. Disability rights, public access, consumer confidence, and animal welfare all come together under its remit. Through evidence-based advocacy, ADUK works to remove the barriers faced by disabled people who rely on highly trained assistance dog partnerships.

There is, however, a persistent challenge. The lack of clear legal definitions around what constitutes an assistance dog continues to cause real confusion for service providers and members of the public. It also allows poorly trained dogs to be misrepresented as assistance dogs, which undermines public confidence and creates additional access difficulties for the very partnerships ADUK exists to protect.

A new advisory panel with real influence

To address this, ADUK set out to establish a new Advisory Panel: a group of independent experts who could provide strategic guidance and specialist insight to support ADUK's work influencing legislative and regulatory change. The aim was not just to create a committee on paper. This panel needed to carry genuine credibility and the kind of influence that could actually move things forward.

The skills ADUK needed spanned a wide range of disciplines. They were looking for legal experts with knowledge of legislative frameworks, public affairs and lobbying specialists, disability rights and advocacy leaders, animal welfare and assistance dog standards professionals, and strategic communications and PR practitioners. Getting the right mix was as important as finding the right individuals.

This was, by any measure, a complex brief.

Why Charisma?

Charisma has worked with many of the ADUK member organisations over the years, and had previously placed ADUK's Chair of Trustees. That existing relationship and sector knowledge made us a natural fit to lead this campaign, and ADUK appointed us to manage the process from start to finish.

What followed was a national headhunting and candidate engagement campaign, designed to reach people who would not necessarily be browsing job boards. We were looking for individuals with real standing in their fields: people who could walk into a room and be taken seriously, and whose involvement would strengthen ADUK's ability to advocate at the highest levels.

A robust and far-reaching process

The recruitment strategy had to balance technical expertise with independence, credibility, and the right kind of collaborative mindset. The Advisory Panel was being designed as a high-trust, high-impact group: part strategic sounding board, part route-to-influence accelerator.

That meant the selection process needed to be equally rigorous. We carried out a wide-reaching search, assessed candidates carefully against the brief, and worked closely with ADUK throughout. The aim was always to find people who would genuinely strengthen the panel, not simply fill seats.

At the conclusion of the process, seven candidates were offered a place on the panel. Each one brought something distinct, and together they formed exactly the kind of expert, diverse, and influential group ADUK had envisioned.

What the client said

The response from ADUK says it better than we could:

"We can't thank you enough for the work that you've done on this. The Panel is absolutely fantastic, and we have been thrilled at the quality and quantity of people that you've found for us. It felt like a very challenging brief, and you have met it in full, with more besides. The candidates almost all spontaneously said what a great experience they had working with you, and we certainly feel the same."

That kind of feedback never gets old. It is also a reminder of why the candidate experience matters just as much as the outcome for the client. Everyone involved in a recruitment process forms an impression of the organisation they are being recruited into. Getting that right reflects well on ADUK, and we are proud to have played a part in that.

What this kind of recruitment takes

Advisory panel recruitment is a different discipline to placing a single executive. You are building a group dynamic, not just matching one candidate to one role. Every individual appointment has to make sense on its own terms and as part of a wider whole. That takes careful thinking, broad networks, and a genuine understanding of the sector.

At Charisma, this is exactly the kind of work we find most rewarding. Complex briefs, meaningful organisations, and roles that genuinely matter. We understand the charity and not-for-profit sector, and we know what good leadership looks like within it.

Whether you are recruiting a single senior leader or assembling an entire advisory panel, we would love to talk.

Get in touch with the Charisma team