Andrew Wallis, CEO, Unseen
In the latest of our series of articles with influential leaders, Sandy Hinks Head of Charity Practice talks to Andrew Wallis CEO and Founder at Unseen, an anti-modern slavery charity, about the services the charity provides, the future, plus some of Andrew’s own career highlights and words of advice for anyone looking for a career in the charity sector.
What is Unseen?
Unseen is a Bristol based charity which operates nationally. Technically we’re an anti-modern slavery charity and we do five main things.
We provide high-end accommodation, outreach and reintegration services to victims who are severely traumatised or are at risk from their traffickers within the United Kingdom.
We work with agencies like the police, border force, paramedics; both in terms of training and joint working.
We support business with the Modern Slavery Act compliance by helping them to develop programmes, practices and procedures which tackle modern slavery.
We run the UK’s modern slavery helpline which is a 24/7 helpline and is there for victims and the public to report concerns as well as businesses, agencies etc.
·We work with governments; local to international governments, around policy legislation and strategy.
What drove you to set the charity up?
My interest was first piqued when a colleague of mine who’d come across the issue in the Ukraine highlighted what an issue modern slavery was in the UK and the fact that there was still very little support.
But what crystalized it for me was a story from Eastern Europe, where they were using regional airports (including Bristol) to move people through to the USA. That led to me writing to the council and MP’s to say, ‘I’m aware of this issue, so what is going on at a local level?’ Which was all well and good, but I remember a police officer saying to me that anyone can write a letter that creates a stir, but what are you actually going to do?. And, it snowballed from there!
Up to 2007/2008 all the police were doing was arresting the victims, putting them in a hostel and overnight they would either disappear back to their trafficker or immigration would send them back. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another solution at the time, the safe housing needed wasn’t available, so that’s where Unseen started.
Initially, a colleague of mine came on board to help set up Unseen, and we set up a safe house. However, we didn’t want Unseen to just be about safe houses because that meant we were accepting the status quo, so began to tackle the systemic issues.
What is the future vision of the charity?
We are in the process of going international and the next five years will be twin track. Firstly, continuing to navigate what we need to do in the UK; everybody accepts that we are just scratching the surface of the scale of the problem but part of the addressing this issue is looking how we can successfully fund and grow what we do here in the UK.
Secondly, we’re going to start to work in other locations. We’ve started in Uganda and we’re looking at other countries. The idea is that as informed practitioners we can work on the frontline and talk to key stakeholders to effect real change.
What one thing in your career to date are you most proud of?
I was very honoured to get an OBE for my work combatting slavery. However, what makes me most proud is when I see things change. For example, I chaired the report that was the catalyst and led to the Modern Slavery Act. To be involved in that legislative process, and to see primary legislation come about as a result of your work makes you realise that it is still possible to change a country for the better, whilst not being an elected official.
What is the one thing that you wish you knew when you started out, that you know now?
Charities are formed because someone spots a problem, looks around and goes ‘there is no one addressing that problem’ and then they create the charity to address that problem. My view is that you should always create a charity with the end game properly thought through; what does success look like?
We did that when we created Unseen but what I hadn’t anticipated was how complicated dealing with official bodies can be and how to navigate vested interests. Lots of people want to do the right thing, but often the system will stop or hamper things, you can try doing things a different way, but you still get the same results or a variation of them.
What I’ve learnt is that you need to have the courage to completely change the system. That can be quite an isolating position to take sometimes, but it’s often the only thing that gets the results you want.
What advice would you give to future leaders who want a career in the charity sector?
Get informed - the more informed you are the more you understand both the advantages and disadvantages of working within the sector.
We are at an interesting time in the charity sector, take for example, the relationship between the board and the executives - who is responsible for setting strategy - do the board set it, or do the executives? Is it co-set? It will depend on the level of technicality that that charity is dealing with, but it can become quite complex especially when you add in legislation, dealing with the government and other official bodies.
By becoming a Trustee it’s a good way to understand the charity and understand the governance of that charity, but Boards need to be aware of, in light of the recent negative press around charity’s recently, that there is a strong push to increasingly professionalise the board but that this is in conflict with the voluntary role of trustees and further increases the risk on board members.
You also need to understand the restrictions you have as a charity, everything you do has to be towards your charitable aims. The way charities are going to operate in the future is very different to the way they operate now; they have to become more commercial.
To the people just starting out in their careers, I would say to do something you are passionate about. I am completely agnostic as to people’s backgrounds. I look for alignment around skills sets, values, an element of passion and transferable skills.
Is the problem with modern slavery getting worse, or better?
Globally there is estimated to be between 40-46 million people exploited in modern slavery situations, but we have no way of really quantifying that number. What we do know is that the number of victims identified each year goes up, between 30-50% year on year. Last year we saw a 60% increase in call volume on the helpline. There are more modern slavery cases being investigated than ever before and prosecutions are slowly going up.
“Andrew, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Modern Slavery, without a doubt, continues to be a big issue and one which both companies, organisations such as Unseen and the Government need to work in conjunction with one-another to tackle,” comments Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice.
“It was also interesting to hear your comments around the way charitable organisations will need to operate in a more commercial manner in the future. Our charity practice, Trusted, looks to support organisations operating in the charity and third sector with the recruitment of diverse trustee boards and senior management roles by providing candidates who can bring that commerciality without diluting the essence of the organisation.”
For any queries about how our Trusted practice can support your organisation please contact Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice on +44 (0) 01275 371 200 or sandyhinks@moonexecsearch.com