Act for Peace, an international humanitarian organisation, faced a critical moment in 2026. Its traditional model was no longer sufficient, and the Board recognised the need to transition towards a new model. This required a shift from being a purely humanitarian organisation to a movement for peace. At the same time, the organisation was operating in a constrained funding environment and required significant organisational realignment. Archie Law was appointed Interim CEO to lead the organisation through this transition.

Objectives.

Translate an evolving strategy into a clear and workable operating model
Realign organisational structure and resourcing to future priorities
Accelerate the shift to a partner-led approach
Reposition fundraising towards philanthropy/major gifts and establish a Working Capital Fund
Stabilise and strengthen executive leadership
Support the organisation to navigate the “messy middle” of transformation

What was delivered.

Organisational redesign aligned to strategy and resources
A transition strategy and new organisational structure were developed and implemented, aligning roles, responsibilities, and resourcing with the organisation’s future direction.

Shift to a partner-led model
The organisation accelerated its transition towards empowering local partners and redesigned its internal systems to support this approach.

Foundation for a Movement for Peace
Work was initiated to define what it would mean to support and enable a global movement for peace, including stakeholder engagement and development of an organisational narrative.

Renewed fundraising strategy
A new fundraising direction was established, focused on philanthropy and major gifts, including the creation of a Working Capital Fund to support organisational sustainability.

Strengthened leadership team
Executive recruitment processes were led to appoint a new CEO and COO, strengthening leadership capacity for the next phase.

More resilient and aligned culture
By addressing organisational stress directly and creating space for open dialogue, the leadership team developed stronger alignment, improved psychological safety, and greater clarity on leadership expectations.

Outcomes.

Clear alignment between strategy, structure, and resourcing
Strengthened executive leadership with key roles successfully appointed
A defined and operational shift towards a partner-led model
A more sustainable and focused fundraising approach
Increased organisational clarity and stability during a period of significant change
Stronger leadership alignment and a more resilient organisational culture

Case Studies

Leading Organisational Transformation at Act for Peace