Amanda Batten to step down as Contact’s CEO

3 mins read

Thursday 10 November 2022

Tags: Contact CEO, Amanda batten

Contact has announced today that Amanda Batten is to step down as Chief Executive in the spring of 2023.  

Amanda joined Contact in May 2014 and has been instrumental in driving the charity forward over the past eight years.    

Under Amanda’s leadership, Contact has made a substantial difference to the lives of families with disabled children. She has overseen major policy changes including the scrapping of rules that stopped disability payments for sick children in hospital and more recently improved Covid vaccine access for families.   

Amanda’s leadership has anchored and strengthened Contact’s cycle of support – supporting families, bringing families together and helping them take action for others. During her tenure, she has driven new programmes of support for families, as well as digital transformation and income diversification programmes that have enabled Contact to grow its reach, turnover and financial sustainability in a challenging external climate.  

Alongside her work as CEO, Amanda will be missed as an active leader in the sector. She brought partners and families together to set up the Disabled Children’s Partnership, a coalition of over 100 organisations, which plays an important role in campaigning for improved health and social care for disabled children, young people and their families.   

A passionate advocate for families of disabled children

Chris Carr, Chair of Contact’s Board of Trustees said: “We are truly sorry to see Amanda leave us. It is hard to imagine Contact without her, and the Board and I want to extend our thanks to her for her brilliant leadership, not least during the last few years of the pandemic.  She leaves Contact stronger in terms of our people, culture and finances, so we can continue to be here for families in the current challenging times and forward into the future.   

“Over the last eight years Amanda has worked tirelessly for Contact’s beneficiaries, and her legacy of policy change is testament to the passionate advocate she is for families of disabled children. The organisation has also benefitted from her excellent leadership skills, most recently being recognised as a Top Ten Charity to work for in the UK by Best Companies.   

“We are grateful that Amanda will stay in-role until March 2023 to ensure a smooth transition period, and will be job-sharing with our interim CEO, Jenny Jones, from January to March. It is typical of Amanda’s leadership that she wants to ensure she leaves Contact in the best possible position, and we thank her for her dedication and commitment.”  

Amanda Batten said: “It has been a real privilege to have had the opportunity to be part of Contact. I have learnt so much from the wonderful colleagues, trustees, partners and, perhaps most of all, from the parent carers of disabled children that I’ve worked with over the last eight years.   

“The time is right for me to take a career break. It has been a difficult decision to make but I know that I leave Contact well placed for whatever the future brings. I will continue to be a passionate advocate for disability and carers’ rights in whatever I do.”   

We will begin our search for a new Chief Executive shortly supported by Executive search company Peridot Partners.