In Transition 2: Designing an Intentional and Caring Recruitment Process
Rising Co-Directors, Euella and Jess in November 2025 taken by Ilayda Akarca
This is the second part in a series of essays and reflections on the process of being in transition as we move from our current Co-Directors, Euella Jackson and Jess Bunyan, to recruit new Co-Leaders through an open recruitment process, for the first time.
In this blog, Euella reflects on why building a culture of care is essential to having inclusive leadership and making space for new voices at the table.
Applications for the Rising Co-Director roles are open now until 11:59pm on 22nd February 2026. Click here for more information about the role and details of how to apply, or if you have any questions, drop us a line euella@rising.org.uk and jess@rising.org.uk
Things are feeling really real. By the time this blog post is released, we would have just launched our recruitment for Rising next Co-Directors (eeek!). This leadership transition has been something Jess and I have been thinking about since before we stepped up as Co-Directors for Rising back in 2021. Building an intentional legacy centred on creating space for new leaders to run the agency and platform young people as leaders across the sector has been part of Rising’s DNA since we were founded in 2016.
Over the past few months, we’ve had the chance to reflect on how it’s felt for us to be in transition. Last month, we were part of a Learning and Connections day with PG Collective (formerly Practical Governance Collective). As part of that, Jess and I were involved in an in-conversation with Martha King, Creative Co-Director at Knowle West Media Centre and Kamina Walton, Rising’s Founder and current Non-Executive Director, reflecting on our first leadership transition in the context of now.
Looking back, there are many things that have contributed to our last leadership transition being successful, but I would argue that the most critical was ‘care’ and ‘intentionality’. These are the exact things we’ve embedded into the process this time around.
Jess and Euella presenting at Rising’s 6th Birthday in 2022.
It’s important to be honest; being a leader feels particularly difficult right now. Cultural and creative organisations are struggling with limited resources, many are facing closure and the weight of responsibility we as leaders feel towards our communities can be intense - particularly as we see inequalities worsening.
The burden that comes with leadership can feel isolating at the best of times and with the turbulent socio-political climate, this burden can be amplified and is not spoken about enough. It’s a balance. Leadership is not something that people should take on lightly but we desperately need new leaders and they are out there.
with co-leadership comes hope
With co-leadership comes hope. We have long been vocal about co-leadership being the antidote to some of the challenges that comes with being a leader and that is why we’ve designed this recruitment process specifically for co-leaders. The sector is facing challenges that need fresh thinking, innovation, risk-taking and collective care. We also believe young people’s creativity and ingenuity are key in opening up alternative futures of what the world could look like - but without support, inviting new people into leadership is negligent and harmful.
Over the years, we have done so much work challenging leadership in different contexts, whether that be through consultancy, facilitation or diversifying governance. We’ve been privy to the barriers and challenges that come with leadership and have intentionally designed a process and culture where we hope new leadership can thrive in spite of the current climate.
The ‘Glass Cliff Phenomenon’ is a concept developed by Michelle K Ryan and Alexander Haslam that describes the ways women and underrepresented people are often promoted into leadership positions during times of organisational crisis or precarity. The name is a metaphor for how these individuals are put in highly visible yet unstable positions where they’re set up to fail and are systematically scapegoated.
OUR WORST FEAR IS HANDING THE AGENCY OVER TO CO-LEADERS WHO DO NOT FEEL SUPPORTED…
When Jess and I took over the leadership of Rising in 2021, the agency was in a stable place, we were gaining recognition and we had a reputation that we could build upon. Unfortunately, this is the exception and the not the rule. We’ve seen many leaders only handover power when they’ve been forced out, they’re burnt out or the organisation is in crisis.
At a time where the sector feels insecure, this way of doing things further entrenches the status quo and prevents incredible leaders leading change and innovation. It’s something we’ve always been conscious of, both through our agency work and as young / diverse leaders ourselves, so we’ve been intentional in ensuring support has always been embedded across the agency to enable us and the next Co-Directors to flourish. Our greatest fear is handing the agency over to co-leaders who do not feel supported and feel set up to fail.
Late night hybrid Transition Steering group meetings in November 2025
Co-directing Rising has been one of THE MOST rewarding and transformative opportunities we/ I’ve ever had, and we want to ensure that others get the same chance. But, the bottom-line is that you MUST invest in a culture of care. One where it’s safe to fail and you’re transparent about the realities of the role while ensuring that support is proportionate to the level of responsibility they have. It’s important that the responsibility feels shared. Where there is a well-held governance structure, and capacity is built-in to manage risks and challenges, as well we take advantage of exciting opportunities.
THIS TRANSITION HAS BEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING
For some, Jess and I stepping away from Rising may seem like it’s come from out of the blue but if you know us, you know that this transition has been years in the making. Here’s what we’ve done to ensure that Rising’s next Co-Directors are set up to succeed (or at the very least don’t have an awful time):
Secured core funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 2024 to cover a portion of Rising’s core costs including investing in the leadership transition until 2027.
Stuck to our guns about Co-Leadership being the anti-dote to exclusive forms of leadership and invested time and money into developing Rising’s caring work culture and supported other organisations to do the same through our flagship training programme
Put together and worked with an incredible Leadership Transition Steering Group from July 2025 - December 2025 to design a care-held and considered recruitment and handover process for the next Co-Directors.
Commissioned The Better Org to evaluate the transition, share key learnings and build reflection into the process before, during and after the transition.
Worked explicitly with Rising’s advisory board and non-executive directors to understand the key aspects of Rising’s work that they will steward and support while we’re in transition and the new Co-Directors are finding their feet
Planning and fundraising for a festival / celebration in June 2026 to officially platform the next Co-Directors and reflect on the legacy of Rising over the past 10 years.
We’re really excited to see who steps forward to lead the next phase of Rising and we hope we’ve laid the groundwork to ensure that they feel supported to make the role and the agency their own.
Applications for the Rising Co-Director roles are open now until 11:59pm on 22nd February 2026. Click here for more information about the role and details of how to apply, or if you have any questions, drop us a line euella@rising.org.uk and jess@rising.org.uk
