The Charity Commission has appointed former Staffordshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker, to its newly created Chief Operating Officer Role.

The new post focuses on corporate functions, including HR, finance, governance, risk and assurance, and will be based in Liverpool, the Commission’s main office.

It has been created to strengthen the organisation and drive forward internal improvements that will ensure continued progress against its ambitious strategy.

It therefore seems unlikely that he will have direct involvement in the organisation’s regulatory work.

Helen Stephenson CBE, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission said:

"I am thrilled to welcome Nick to my senior team. His experience of both policing in the public interest and leading the support functions of the Force stand him in good stead to lead this new function at the Commission.

“Nick’s impressive technical knowledge and skills will equip us well to move forward confidently in delivering on our strategy. His commitment to helping ensure those who need our services get the best from us stood out, and I am confident Nick will support us in becoming a stronger organisation that can really maximise the benefit of charities to society.”

Nick had been Deputy Chief Constable at Staffordshire Police since 2014 and was responsible for overseeing people services, technology, corporate services, business services, legal functions, corporate communications, professional standards and force transformation. H

He has held a number of other senior leadership roles within the police, including as National Police Chiefs’ lead for Digital Forensics and Technical Surveillance Units, and was also Temporary Chief Constable of the Force between November 2019 and March 2020.