Time to Shine is a Leadership Programme established by The Rank Foundation. Since 2011, there have been over 520 Time to Shine leaders. Each leader is employed by a charitable organisation in the UK while participating in residentials, action learning sets and leadership workshops.

 The programme was set up following discussions in 2008 about the impact of the impending recession on charities that The Rank Foundation supported and on young people setting out on their chosen career path. Following an extensive pilot project, based on a volunteering scheme, the Time to Shine Internship Programme was created in 2011. It has developed and grown over the years and in 2019 was re-branded as the Time to Shine Leadership Programme.

The programme has continued to run throughout the covid-19 pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, offering vital support to smaller charities by bridging organisational gaps in times of great uncertainty.  In 2019, The Rank Foundation received a grant of £3m from The National Lottery Community Fund to expand the programme over the next three years and in 2020, a further grant was received from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to support charities as they emerged from the pandemic.

What is Time to Shine?

Its purpose is twofold:

• To enable individuals with the right skills mix, talent and work ethic, the opportunity to experience a 12- month paid leadership and development placement in a charity
• To fill organisational, developmental and skills gaps in smaller charities by identifying a specific piece of work that can be completed in 12-months

The programme aims to develop capacity and bring about sustainable improvements to the charity’s performance whilst boosting employment prospects and building interest in career opportunities within the social sector.

What’s Involved?

The leadership programme incorporates personal development activities for both the Time to Shine (T2S) leader and the line manager, requiring attendance at residential events. The T2S leader will attend Action Learning sets throughout the year and can benefit from additional support provided by an experienced mentor from within the Rank network. Both line manager and T2S leader will have access to RankNet, Rank’s online network, providing further training and development opportunities and sector support.

How Does It Work?

Each year charities are invited to apply, outlining a priority, organisational development gap and what difference a leader would make in addressing this need. Charities are shortlisted and then the charity identifies an individual with the skills and talent to carry out the leadership programme.

Rank and the National Lottery Community Fund interview the line manager and the prospective leader in order to ensure that the organisation is clear about the role and what support structures are in place for the T2S leader

At the start of the programme the line manager and leader are both invited to a launch conference. This is an important activity as it provides the opportunity to share information on Time to Shine and offers a chance for the leaders and line managers to meet and create new support networks.
Each of the leadership programmes is designed specifically around the needs of the charity. The programme does not replace a core function but often offers the opportunity to test new areas of work that may lead to a permanent post or new system (not funded by Rank).

What Does The Leader Do?

The charities and social enterprises address many significant and deep-seated problems in society such as bullying among young people, knife crime, food poverty, loneliness among older people and rural isolation. These organisations face different challenges externally but share similar organisational needs internally such as marketing, PR, fundraising, research, social media and I.T. systems. The Time to Shine Leaders are specifically recruited on merit of their skills set and work ethic, to address these business needs and, over the 12-month period, to improve the host charities capacity to deliver services in the longer term.

Eligibility Criteria

Traditionally organisations are invited to apply for the scheme. These organisations must meet regional and thematic criteria set by The Rank Foundation.

The next programme will commenced in January 2023.