In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Julie Randles, Chief Executive of Power2, a children and young people's charity based in Ashton under Lyne, working across Greater Manchester, the North West, West Midlands and Greater London.

Julie's route into the sector was anything but obvious, starting on the WHSmith graduate scheme, moving through Waterstones and children's publishing, then into charity by way of unpaid volunteering at Save the Children.

She talks candidly about why volunteering and trusteeship are two of the most underrated routes into senior charity leadership, what running Power2's Teens and Toddlers programme has taught her about self worth, and why the gap between proven impact and available funding remains one of the sector's biggest frustrations.

Julie also reflects on the hardest leadership lesson of her career, learning when passion needs a little less heart on the sleeve.

Takeaways

• Volunteering can be the fastest route into a charity career, even at a senior level
• Sitting on a board teaches you what it is really like to be a CEO
• Charity job applications reward detail, not passion statements
• Proven programmes often can not scale because funding lags behind demand
• Lived experience across a team changes how a charity works, not just what it says