The Fundraising Regulator has launched a new staff recruitment drive, in line with recommendations by the Etherington Review that it increase staff numbers to between 15 and 20 people.

The recruitment drive comes as the new regulator prepares for its operational launch in “early summer”.

Four new positions are currently being advertised on its website - in what its chief executive Stephen Dunmore says is the “first step” of a bigger recruitment drive.

The regulator currently lists six staff on its website. New positions being advertised include a head of casework and adjudication, a standards and case officer, a second case officer and a communications officer. Salaries will vary from between £25,000 to £60,000.

Dunmore told Civil Society News “evidence presented by the Etherington review recommended a better resourced fundraising regulator with around 15 to 20 staff”.

“Obviously if we are going to launch and take on the responsibilities of regulation this summer, we are going to need to build up our staff numbers. So this is the first stage in getting properly staffed up,” he said.

Dunmore said further positions will support the work of the standards committee.

“The two main things we have got to do is to be able to deal with the Code of Fundraising Practice when that passes over to us and to look very carefully at the standards. We will do that through the standards committee,” he said.

Dunmore said the advertised adjudications post will support the regulator’s new adjudications committee.

Further posts will be created to support “these various areas rather than posts of a different kind,” Dunmore said.

Dunmore confirmed the Fundraising Regulator will be operational for an early summer launch.

“We will announce the launch date in the next couple of weeks,” he said.  

The organisation that the new regulator is taking over from, the FRSB, has six members of staff.