When British Mensa needed a credible, resilient Executive Director to embed change and lead a complex organisation with a vocal membership, Membership Bespoke were trusted to manage the search with discretion and rigour.
Our client – British Mensa
Mensa is one of the most recognised membership organisations in the world - a household name synonymous with high intelligence. Founded in 1946, it is the largest and oldest high IQ society globally, with a mission to promote intelligence for the benefit of humanity. British Mensa has around 17,000 members across the UK and Ireland, all of whom have scored within the top 2% of an approved intelligence tests. Members come from all walks of life and represent a broad range of backgrounds, beliefs, and generations.
British Mensa operates as a membership organisation, a limited company and a not-for-profit, with an active governance model and a small staff team. It delivers a wide programme of events, publications, and community engagement initiatives that support and connect its uniquely diverse membership.
Our brief
British Mensa appointed Membership Bespoke to lead the search for a new Executive Director - a strategic and operational leadership role, responsible for embedding recent changes, ensuring financial sustainability, and driving further improvement.
The role involved leading a small but diverse team, acting as Company Secretary, managing partnerships and licensing agreements, and maintaining a complex governance structure. The postholder would also be required to liaise with international Mensa bodies and represent the organisation externally.
In addition to technical competence, the successful candidate needed to show a genuine understanding of the membership and culture of Mensa, along with the resilience, tact and professional credibility to lead an organisation with a highly engaged - and often vocal - membership base.
This was a visible and sensitive appointment. Mensa required a process that would withstand scrutiny, and specifically requested that any members applying for the role were handled with care and neutrality.
Our solution
Membership Bespoke met with the Chairman and attended a Board meeting to fully understand the brief, the culture, and the expectations for the Executive Director. This early investment in understanding helped ensure alignment between the client’s goals and our candidate engagement.
We executed a comprehensive multi-channel search, utilising our 19k+ membership-sector talent database, our tailored LinkedIn advertising partnership, carefully selected job boards, and targeted direct outreach. Mensa also publicised the role to its own membership, and we ensured that any member applicants were fully integrated into a fair, externally managed process.
Throughout the campaign, we applied our sector expertise to filter for candidates who could balance strategic leadership with hands-on operational oversight. We were mindful of the need for resilience, strong communication, and credibility across a diverse membership and Board.
Our results
The process attracted a diverse field of candidates from across the membership and not-for-profit sectors. Following a rigorous two-stage selection process, which included online and in-person assessments, an internal candidate was appointed.
While internal, the candidate had gone through the same formal application, shortlisting and assessment process as all external applicants. This transparency and consistency were essential to the client, ensuring the process stood up to internal scrutiny and reinforced confidence in the outcome.
The successful candidate brought a deep understanding of Mensa’s operations and membership, with Board support unanimous at the final stage. Feedback confirmed the professionalism and impartiality of the process, and the organisation now has a stable leadership foundation in place to support future initiatives.
This appointment demonstrates Membership Bespoke’s ability to lead complex, high-profile executive searches where integrity, transparency and sector expertise are essential.
“Recruiting for a role as prominent and sensitive as Executive Director required a process that could withstand real scrutiny - from both the Board and our members. Membership Bespoke approached the brief with professionalism, discretion and sector knowledge that gave us confidence at every stage. They understood not just the technical demands of the role, but also the dynamics and expectations unique to Mensa.”
- Jenny Gill, Chairman - British Mensa