Season 3 | E1 Ben Drabble on why job sharing might be the smartest charity leadership move

In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Ben Drabble, Chief Executive of Train, to explore a refreshingly honest charity career journey – from international mission, to fundraising leadership, to local youth work on his doorstep. Ben shares how he stepped into his first Director role through a pure job share model – one inbox, one calendar, total trust – and why job sharing can be an incredibly effective (and often overlooked) way of opening up senior leadership to people with caring responsibilities. Together, Adam and Ben unpack: What a pure job share really looks like at Director level Why job shares have such a high success rate when done well The leadership growth that comes from shared responsibility and constant feedback Moving from a large, international charity to leading a small local organisation Taking a £20k pay cut to gain lifestyle, alignment, and joy in work Why mission alone is not enough if you don’t enjoy the day-to-day The danger of confusing aptitude with true career alignment Ben also reflects candidly on leadership development, career pivots, learning later in life, and why happiness can’t sit permanently on the far side of your next promotion. This is a thoughtful, grounded conversation for anyone navigating senior leadership, considering flexible working, or wrestling with what “success” really looks like in a charity career. Takeaways Career journey Job sharing Networking Fundraising Youth work leadership transition Mission alignment Chapters 00:00 Introduction and career journey 05:59 Impact of gap year programmes 12:45 Building professional networks 20:09 Practicalities of job sharing 29:19 Transition to Chief Executive role 41:16 Lessons in leadership and mission alignment #podcast #charity #careers #flexibleworking #nonprofitleadership