About Us
“Delivering outstanding leadership appointments which strengthen your organisation and inspire social change”
About Us
“Delivering outstanding leadership appointments which strengthen your organisation and inspire social change”
About Us
“Delivering outstanding leadership appointments which strengthen your organisation and inspire social change”
How we work
Boutique Expertise
Public Leaders Appointments is a boutique executive search firm, providing Executive Recruitment, Interim Management, and Consultancy solutions, primarily across the public and third sectors. Our expertise lies in helping organisations identify, source, and secure the talent they need to develop and evolve now, and into the future.
We have an exceptional track record in identifying Chairs, Trustees, NED’s, Chief Executives, Executive Directors, and Senior Managers across all functional specialisms.
As your strategic partner and trusted adviser, our bespoke approach is highly valued by those we work with and delivers outstanding results every time.
Our promise to you
Our values-based, ethical approach is central to everything we do. With our diverse backgrounds, we blend the best of private sector thinking and experience with our social values, principles and conduct.
We believe that diversity is critical to the success of any organisation. A breadth of talent, opinion, judgment, and experience enables you to be more creative and deliver more innovative solutions.
Our search activity encourages interest from a diverse range of candidates and we deliver inclusive recruitment processes which remove barriers and ensure a fair and equitable experience for all candidates. The appointments we make regularly exceed our clients’ expectations.
Who we work with
We work with a wide range of organisations, predominantly across the third and public sectors, and at the public/private interface, advising on and delivering outstanding high-profile appointments. Our team brings broad and diverse experiences, providing a unique position that enables us to identify potential talent across all sectors, functions and specialisms.
We have worked with many of our clients for over a decade, supporting their organisations, and their own career journeys. Our candidate and client care lasts long past the point of placement and is key to the rich relationships we build from a foundation of trust, authenticity, transparency and inclusion.
Our Team
Anna Jay, Managing Director
Anna is a highly experienced executive recruiter, with over 20 years of experience across public, third, and commercial sector organisations. She founded Public Leaders Appointments in 2017 follow a career with interim and executive search firms Veredus and Berwick Partners (Odgers Berndtson) where she led on senior public and third sector executive and interim appointments. She also led a legal search practice in the Cayman Islands, working with firms in offshore jurisdictions.
Prior to establishing PLA she spent time in the third sector as Campaigns and Major Donor Manager for the Eden Project and Interim Director for the Church Urban Fund, leading major national fundraising campaigns and events at Board level.
Anna has a values-driven and ethical approach to driving and supporting change, and she is enthusiastic about bringing people together to develop and implement creative strategies for organisational improvement and growth.
She is passionate about enabling systemic changes to tackle inequalities and plays an active role in supporting and developing those from marginalised communities. Anna is a founder member of Member of Cornwall Women’s Fund, ex Trustee and an ambassador of the Young Trustees movement.
Anna was appointed as a Fellow of the RSA “in light of her contributions to the charitable sector, through incredible leadership of Public Leaders Appointments which is enabling opportunities and development for budding leaders.”
Melissa Stewart, Associate Consultant
With over two decades of recruitment experience across a breadth of functions and sectors, Melissa specialises in supporting senior appointments across the third and public sectors.
In 2019, Melissa joined Public Leaders Appointments, where she has worked with many of our public and not-for-profit clients, leading executive and board-level searches. Melissa has a strong track record in nurturing candidate and client relationships, with a deep-rooted emphasis on aligning values and integrity, and building purposeful long-standing relationships.
Melissa Stewart, Associate Consultant
With over two decades of recruitment experience across a breadth of functions and sectors, Melissa specialises in supporting senior appointments across the third and public sectors.
In 2019, Melissa joined Public Leaders Appointments, where she has worked with many of our public and not-for-profit clients, leading executive and board-level searches. Melissa has a strong track record in nurturing candidate and client relationships, with a deep-rooted emphasis on aligning values and integrity, and building purposeful long-standing relationships.
Extensive Network
Our offer extends outside of recruitment. We work a network of highly experienced associates tailored to your unique needs:
- Executive coaching for individuals, teams and boards
- Leadership development
- Board skills analysis and development
- EDI consultancy
- Psychometric assessment for individuals and teams
- Dispute resolution
- Strategy, merger and organisational development
- Governance reviews
Client Voices
“I’ve worked with Anna for almost a decade both as a customer and supplier. There are thousands of players in the recruitment marketplace who will sell you the moon on a stick. My own history suggests there are only a tiny handful, Anna included, who are consistently good and actually care about the client beyond the end of the current engagement.”
“Two things mark Anna out from the crowd: Firstly, her values; she takes the time to build lasting and meaningful relationships. Secondly, her remarkable network and her knowledge of the people she has worked with over the years. It’s a powerful combination and Anna makes it look easy.”
