Getting to know... Sean Soulsby

In the latest instalment of Bdaily’s Getting to know... feature, which looks at the person behind the business profile, Sean Soulsby, chief executive at The Children’s Foundation, talks about swapping quarry life for youth work, why community has always been at the heart of his career and how running, gardening and family life help him unwind...

We know you as the chief executive of The Children’s Foundation, but who is the person behind the title? Tell us a little about what makes you tick...

I’m pretty insular outside of work.

My day job is full-on with meetings, events and being ‘on’, so home is my escape.

I’m happiest pottering in the garden or garage, and being outdoors whatever the weather.

It’s all about family time with my wife and our two boys (nine and 11).

Their social lives put mine to shame – tennis, drama, swimming, badminton, you name it – so most weekends we’re on driver duty to various training and events. 

I’ve recently stepped down after 15 years with Corbridge Youth Initiative as chair and trustee. 

Corbridge is where I grew up, and the youth initiative is the reason I got into youth work.

In rural Northumberland, youth clubs are a lifeline; they’re somewhere safe to go, something positive to do and give young people opportunities they may not otherwise get.

It takes a community to raise a child, and that has shaped my career in and out of work. 

Did you always want to work in the charity sector?

No!

I graduated from Newcastle University in environmental science and became a plant technician in the quarrying industry.

I was also running Corbridge Youth Club two nights a week, and found myself looking forward to that more than the day job.

In 2006, I took the leap, left the quarry, did my youth work qualifications and started full-time youth work with Northumberland Care Trust’s health improvement team.

I’ve never looked back.

What’s the best bit about your job? And the worst?

The best is the privilege of seeing the difference we make, hearing from families and working with creative and committed people.

It’s really energising to see projects like our Baby Box grow, and we get to be part of a real sense of shared purpose across the region. 

The uncertainty in the non-profit sector can be difficult to navigate.

Small charities often plan year-to-year, project-to-project, and it’s not just the services for children and families that rely on you, it’s your staff, their mortgages and lives too.

Being a charity chief executive can be lonely – you’re the bridge between trustees and team, and you have to trust your judgement.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

The Baby Box Project.

It helped put The Children’s Foundation back on the regional map after a proud history.

When I became chief executive in 2019, the charity was at a crossroads, and the Baby Box gave us focus and momentum.

It has scaled incredibly quickly for families across the North East and opened conversations nationally with the Children’s Commissioner office, the Government and the North East Combined Authority.

Not many small regional charities get to be in those rooms and part of those conversations.

How do you relax outside of work? 

Running with the Full Circle Brewery Run Club (we’re a ‘drinking club with a running problem!’)

It’s a brilliant switch-off, and has led me into all sorts of 5Ks and 10Ks.

Otherwise, it's gardening, family time and the odd escape to Italy – for the food and wine, as much as the sunshine.

What makes the North East such a great place to live and work?

I’ve always been rooted here.

I started working young (gardening on a private estate at 15) and stayed local for university because Newcastle had the right course and it meant I could keep working alongside studying.

The North East’s strength is its people, our warmth, pride and friendliness, and we have a genuine sense of community.

I wouldn’t swap it.

Tell us something about you we didn’t know…

I completed a floral art night class at Queen Elizabeth High School, in Hexham, when I was 19.

I was the only man and the youngest by about 50 years.

There were weekly themes and full arrangements – my showstopper was a black and white Newcastle United floral cake (sprayed carnations and all), which raised a few church flower team eyebrows.

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