The Talent Foundry announces new Deputy Chief Executive

Jenni Anderson will be joining The Talent Foundry as their new Deputy Chief Executive next month.  

Jenni has held leadership roles at the Invictus Games Foundation, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Haven House Children’s Hospice and The Scout Association.  Jenni has worked in the charity sector for just over 20 years and started out at the National Union of Students in press and campaigns. 

For the past year, Jenni has been managing a charity consultancy business called Avyze focused on supporting CEOs and Trustees in smaller organisations diversify their income streams, revise their operational models, and build engagement programmes.  She also writes and delivers training for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations on funding strategy, project management and finance. 

The Talent Foundry is an independent education charity, with a mission to increase social mobility by helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds discover what they are amazing at, develop valuable new employment skills and take that first step into the world of work.

In the 2020/21 Academic Year The Talent Foundry worked with nearly 60,000 students and ran 655 workshops, despite having to rethink how to deliver their programmes in light of the pandemic. Working with a whole host of companies ranging from Barclays and Dell through to Network Rail and the NHS, partner organisations volunteered a massive 1,175 hours of their time to help disadvantaged children, supporting workshops virtually due to the restrictions.

Students participating in The Talent Foundry’s programmes get to hear about the latest trends and technological developments in different industries straight from the professionals who work in them.  They also get to learn about a wide range of social and environmental issues and take part in challenges and problem-solving tasks based on real life client briefs.

The Talent Foundry are currently focusing on the expansion of their bridge to apprenticeship programmes, which they already run with top businesses such as MediaCom and M&G plc.  These programmes give disadvantaged students who are interested in the apprenticeship route the insight they need to be able to apply on a level playing field – essentially being match fit to meaningful roles in high calibre organisations. 

Amy Leonard MBE, Chief Executive of The Talent Foundry said:

“I am delighted that someone of Jenni’s calibre is joining the Talent Foundry team.  Many young people have missed out on opportunities due to the pandemic, which makes the work we do more crucial than ever, if we are ever going to galvanise social mobility in the UK. Jenni brings with her huge experience of working at a senior level in significant charities and I am confident she is the right person to help us reach more people than ever before.” 

Jenni Anderson said:

“I am looking forward to getting stuck into my new role at The Talent Foundry next month.  I know they have lots of exciting plans on the horizon, especially with regard to their Bridge to Apprenticeship programmes, and I can’t wait to see what else we can do to boost the employability and life chances of disadvantaged children across the country.”