Mencap has made three appointments to its top-level team. 

The learning disability charity has appointed Chris Chalkley as executive director, personal support services (England), Laura Rees as executive director of people and Mary Mawhinney as executive director of governance and company secretary. 

Chalkey, who first joined Mencap as a volunteer in 1991, has progressed through front-line support worker roles to the senior team and has been in his new role on an interim basis since February. 

Rees and Mawhinney both join Mencap from the British Red Cross - the former in October from the position of senior director of people and the latter in November from the role of chief of staff. 

The charity welcomed the former Unicef UK chief Jon Sparkes as its new leader in June.

Sparkes said: “These appointments will be crucial to progressing Mencap’s work to ensure people with a learning disability get the very best, empowering support, enabling them to engage fully in communities, employment, sport and other activities.”