The head of a children’s charity founded by JK Rowling has stepped down amid allegations of ‘bullying and intimidation’ by former employees.
One disillusioned worker compared the Lumos Foundation, which was set up to change the lives of orphaned children, to Azkaban, the notorious prison in Rowling’s Harry Potter books.
Georgette Mulheir has now left her role as Lumos’s £160,000-a-year chief executive.
Anonymous reviews on the employer-rating website Glassdoor variously described Lumos as ‘terrible’ and an ‘awful place to work’. The company is rated 2.2 out of five on the website.
The head of a children’s charity founded by JK Rowling has stepped down amid allegations of ‘bullying and intimidation’ by former employees
A former employee wrote: ‘Bullying and intimidation starts with the CEO and trickles down through egomaniacal senior management who run the organisation like it’s a private club.
‘Prejudiced and bigoted attitude [sic] from senior staff are dismissed as ‘personality quirks’.’
Another said: ‘Senior management are like headless chickens and don’t know whether they’re coming or going. Nepotism at play. Most of the directors are blagging through their roles without a clue as to how the organisation should develop.’
Rowling, who was head of the board of trustees until 2014 when she was made life president, is estimated to be worth £750 million.
The charity’s board of trustees have commissioned two independent reviews into the organisation’s culture in response.
Miss Mulheir has headed the charity since 2011. She joined the charity in 2007 as operations director.
Georgette Mulheir has now left her role as Lumos’s £160,000-a-year chief executive. Pictured with Rowling in 2005
The charity, which takes its name from the spell to produce light in the Harry Potter books, is partly funded by royalties from the novels and employs 90 staff.
Rowling set up the charity along with Baroness Nicholson of Winterborne after she read a newspaper article about children in orphanages in the Czech Republic being put in caged beds.
The author said in 2013 how she nearly took a baby girl from a cot during a visit for the charity to a ‘cold and frightening’ state-run orphanage in eastern Europe.
Neil Blair, 52, chairman of the charity’s trustees said: ‘the Board of Trustees has identified some management and culture challenges facing Lumos that require immediate action.
‘As the charity has grown at pace following a period of important progress in its global mission, the nature and complexity of the CEO role has also scaled.
‘The Board believes the time is right for new leadership. Georgette Mulheir will therefore step down as CEO and hand over her current leadership, operational and managerial responsibilities after a short period.
‘The Board is also commissioning two independent reviews into governance and culture to ensure that Lumos continues to be an organisation that holds itself to the highest standards. We will take all necessary steps in response to the findings.’
Rowling set up the charity along with Baroness Nicholson of Winterborne after she read a newspaper article about children in orphanages in the Czech Republic being put in caged beds
Miss Mulheir will take on a ‘new global strategic advisory role for the charity’.
Claims of bullying at the foundation are likely to worry Rowling, who was bullied as a teenager.
In 2011, Rowling wrote to an American fan: ‘I know what it’s like to be picked on, as it happened to me too, throughout my adolescence.’
Royalties from the books Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages contributed £2.66 million in funding, according to the charity’s most recent accounts, filed in 2017.
A spokesman for the Lumos Foundation told the Times: ‘All necessary steps will be taken…to ensure this is an organisation where everyone feels respected and valued.’
The charity also received positive reviews from current employees, one of whom called it a ‘great place to work’.
Miss Mulheir (left) will take on a ‘new global strategic advisory role for the charity’
A spokesman said: ‘The Board takes allegations of this nature very seriously – we were founded to help some of the most vulnerable children in the world and we hold true to our principle of fair treatment for everyone today. That’s why we have commissioned independent reviews into the charity’s governance and culture. All necessary steps will be taken in response to any findings to ensure this is an organisation where everyone feels respected and valued.
‘The Board’s total focus is on ensuring the charity’s staff have all the support they need to continue their important work to help children in institutions globally return to a family environment.
‘As the charity has grown at pace following a period of important progress in its global mission, the nature and complexity of the CEO role has also scaled. The Board believes the time is right for new leadership. Georgette Mulheir will therefore step down as CEO and hand over her current leadership, operational and managerial responsibilities after a short period. The charity will be led by the Executive Leadership Team with an interim Managing Director whilst the search for the new CEO is underway.’