“I don’t sit on boards to be important”

Jack Packman is the new CEO of Medway Voluntary Action. Steven met him in their new offices within Chatham Historic Dockyard, where they discussed what MVA does, how he became the CEO, and Medway's similarities to his home of Thanet.

What is your official occupation?
I'm the Chief Executive Officer here at MVA, supporting Kent and Medway. 

Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid? 
I have a number of additional roles across Kent. My first additional role is that I'm an elected councillor in Thanet, where I live. I also sit on the Director's Board for East Kent Mencap. I've just been elected onto the board of East Kent College. I'm also the chair of governors at a local primary school.

What is MVA?
It's a really good question, actually, because MVA is known as Medway Voluntary Action. The identity of the organisation is changing just like every voluntary sector and faith leader’s organisation, because of the economic pressures. We're practically known as an infrastructure organisation, supporting other charities, other voluntary sector organisations and faith organisations. To access funding, to look at the governance, look at the actual infrastructure of that organisation, policies, procedures, all that stuff. Maybe starting up a new charity, CIO or CIC. I think MVA has now developed more into service delivery in certain areas. Looking at health inequalities or inequalities generally, looking at young people and the next generation of leaders. They're 'realising your potential' programs rather than the infrastructure contract. Looking at how we support leaders within the sector and work with the leaders’ networks across the area. Hopefully, we will see that transition of becoming more than an infrastructure organisation and actually becoming a go-to organisation, even more than we already are around service delivery as well as infrastructure. 

How did you come to be the CEO?  
I worked in housing before I came here, before that, and then before that was in the voluntary sector at Social Enterprise Kent, where I really learned the bread and butter of the VCSEF sector. Went into housing to understand the pressures of housing, progressed within housing and then realised that this job opportunity came up and saw an opportunity to get back into the sector that I think makes the biggest difference in the world, or in the UK anyway, and it was a good opportunity where my morals and passions lie around grassroots and really supporting residents. I saw the opportunity, went for the interview, which was a grilling interview, but rightly so, because you're going for the Chief Executive role.

What can you tell us about the MVA strategy for 2026?
It's an exciting time. We're currently writing a new strategy, where we can really regain our identity and have real strategic aims and priorities. Not let too much out of the bag, because the strategy needs to be approved by the trustees before anything, but we are looking at creating a next generation of leaders and employment pathways. We are also looking at tackling inequality. Not just health inequality, the sector's been focused on health inequality, but all inequality, whether that's racial inequality or food inequality or something like that. Then looking at impact innovation. How can we be innovative and work smarter, and bring our organisation into the current century in IT, working smarter? Obviously, you've got AI coming. I say coming, it is here, it's how we then implement that into the organisation. Focusing on real targeted strategic priorities. We do work across Kent and Medway. It's around how we then expand without duplicating. It's about identifying those gaps and plugging those gaps, and then working with the sector and other sectors across sector collaboration.

I'm really passionate that the money stays within the sector, because the next five years are going to be hard economically for the sector.

How big an organisation is MVA? 
We have 13 members of staff, including myself. That's about to expand. We've recruited two new community connectors working in partnership with Active Kent & Medway. We've recruited a data officer. So probably looking at 15, and that's going to hopefully expand as we progress. Our budgets vary between £800,000 to £1.1 million of turnover. That's not profit. I wish it was profit, but it's not profit. That's our turnover, and most of that money goes back into the sector, we don't pocket that money. Any funding we get that's either a surplus then goes back into the sector, and I'm really passionate that the money stays within the sector, because the next five years are going to be hard economically for the sector.

Where does that money come from? 
All sorts of areas. We do a lot of work with the Integrated Care Board, with the NHS. We do a lot of work with the local authority here, Medway Council, who are really supportive of the voluntary sector. There are two core funded projects that we receive, and they are obviously under financial pressure. We need to make sure we're not reliant upon the statutory services, and how we become more innovative about our financial income. We also have donations that come into MVA, which come from people that have received either a service or help from MVA. We then do a lot of work with Macmillan and other funders of the National Lottery. All sorts of funders, really. 

If someone's reading this and they want to help MVA, is there a way they could get involved? 
We always have volunteering opportunities. Around 40 volunteers work with our befriending team, which is funded by the ICB. We have volunteers that work here with us in the office. Also, we're happy to connect people. You don't necessarily have to work or volunteer for MVA, but we're happy to say we don't necessarily need that skill set within our organisation, but we have member organisations that do need a treasurer on their board or whatever that needs to be. Or the other alternative is to come on our board. We currently have, I think, five or six places that, due to either retirement or they've reached their maximum level of service, we've now got vacancies on our board. If you've got a particular skill set that you feel you can give, come on our board.