The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF), which distributes more than £600m a year, has appointed Nadine Smith, a former head of strategic and media campaigns at the Cabinet Office, to a newly created senior comms role.
Smith will start as director of communications, impact & influence in November, reporting to NLCF chief executive David Knott. She will oversee more than 70 people, with a remit that spans the NLCF’s communications strategy, media, marketing, external affairs, and evidence and impact teams.
Smith has more than 25 years experience in comms, most of which has been spent in-house.
She currently works at non-profit organisation Social Finance, where she is executive director for government, strategy and external affairs.
Her previous roles include director of communications at the Institute for Government, director of global marketing comms at the Centre for Public Impact, and global communications director for Boston Consulting Group’s public sector practice.
She also spent more than five years at the Cabinet Office, where she was head of strategic and media campaigns.
Smith told In.Comms that her new role “brings together communications, engagement, reputation, evidence and learning – ensuring we understand our impact, grow our reach, and influence others to act alongside us. It also plays a key role in developing partnerships and drawing in new collaboration opportunities across the UK.”
One of her priorities will be to ensure that “we are making best use of all our talents, from evidence, storytelling and innovation to UK-wide and local networks to bring about impact that matters,” she said.
Commenting on Smith’s appointment, Knott said: “Nadine’s experience will enable her to lead from the front while bringing her passion and imagination to ensuring the hard work of our communities is seen and heard.”
He added: “Their dedication, drive and vision will play a vital part in our leadership team as we push forward with delivery of our strategy at a time when bold, community-led change has never been more needed”.