​David McAuley will take up a role with OPENhouse, after nine years with the Trussell Trust

Foodbank provider the Trussell Trust is looking for a new chief executive.

David McAuley has stepped aside from the role to take up a senior position with OPENhouse, a charity which helps young and vulnerable people discover their potential.

McAuley joined The Trussell Trust, the UK’s biggest provider of foodbanks, in August 2008, and took up the role of chief executive in January 2014.

His time at the charity coincided with the advent of Westminster driven austerity, and the resultant expansion of emergency food provision.

He has overseen the creation of the More Than Food program, which has included schemes to offer fuel vouchers to people referred to foodbanks, cooking and budgeting courses, and holiday clubs.

McAuley said:“When I joined The Trussell Trust we had 13 foodbanks open, a very small charity shop and social enterprise, and a dream to help as many people as we could.

“Together with the dedication of over 40,000 volunteers in communities across the UK, over the past nine years we have turned that dream into a reality.

“It has been an incredible journey and a privilege to be chief executive of The Trussell Trust for three years, but I believe the time is right to move on to a new challenge."

Liz Pollard, chair of trustees, said: “The last few years have seen the need for foodbanks continue to grow, with our Foodbank Network providing record numbers of emergency food supplies in the last financial year.

“David’s leadership of The Trussell Trust has been defined by his wish to find innovative solutions to the grave problem of hunger in the UK. It’s David’s vision and enthusiasm that has pioneered the charity’s new More Than Food programme, to build resilience and make sure people don’t need a foodbank parcel in the first place.

“It’s an incredible achievement and we wish him all the best as he moves onto a new opportunity.”