Dr McCormick joins the Trust on October 26 from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) where he served as associate director in Scotland since 2018.

The announcement comes as the Trust prepares to launch its new ten-year strategy in September. The strategy will outline the Trust’s ambition for a more resilient and collaborative third sector, as well as outlining how it plans to use its resources to support organisations working to alleviate the causes and find solutions to poverty and trauma.

Trust chair, Shonaig Macpherson, said: “We are delighted to announce that Jim is joining The Robertson Trust at this pivotal moment. As we prepare to launch a new ten-year strategy, we are ambitious about what we want to achieve and I am certain that with Jim’s leadership, we will make a significant impact in the decade to come.

“Jim is one of the leading experts in poverty in Scotland, having worked to identify the causes and solutions for a number of years. The Board of Trustees and the whole organisation look forward to welcoming Jim in the weeks ahead as we prepare to launch our new strategy and announce much-needed funding for organisations across the third sector.”

Jim McCormick said: “At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused heartache and hardship to many, and with the risk of poverty deepening and inequalities becoming ever more entrenched in communities across Scotland, the role of policy makers, third sector and grassroots organisations and independent funders is more important than ever.

“I am delighted to join The Robertson Trust, an organisation I have respected and worked with for many years, as we embark on delivering a focused and bold strategy, with a clear vision to support organisations and address the root causes and impacts of poverty and trauma on the lives of people in Scotland.

“Now more than ever, the Trust has an opportunity to utilise all of its resources to affect change, to transform systems and the way we address poverty and trauma. I relish the opportunity to lead an organisation that has set itself such an ambitious challenge and look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, the staff team and partners, to affect real and lasting change.”

Commenting on strategic direction of The Robertson Trust in the decade ahead, Shonaig Macpherson added: “Over the next ten years, we are committed to investing in organisations to help them support communities across Scotland. In doing so we want to build on our rich heritage, experience and knowledge as a funder, while recognising that we are operating in a changing world and that this requires a different approach to tacking the complex problems that face society today.

“We are committed to building a better understanding of poverty and trauma, their causes, how they interact, how they affect people’s lives and how we can best support communities, and the organisations working with them, to reduce their occurrence and their impact.

“Our strategic direction going forward is an evolution of the work we have undertaken previously but will sharpen our focus around poverty and trauma, and supporting communities, and the organisations working with them, to affect lasting change.”