Jon SparkesSector leader

Biography

Jon Sparkes OBE is Chief Executive of Royal Mencap Society, the UK charity that supports people with a learning disability and campaigns for their equal rights in health, social care, and employment. He joined Mencap in June 2024, having previously served as Chief Executive of UNICEF UK (from January 2022), Chief Executive of homelessness charity Crisis (seven years), and Chief Executive of disability charity Scope (almost six years), with an earlier spell as Chief Operating Officer at UNICEF UK between 2012 and 2014. Before entering the charity sector, he worked as a human resources and organisational development director in an international technology business. He is publicly known for arguing that people with a learning disability die on average up to 23 years younger than the general population, and that NHS targets and annual health checks for this group must be protected.

References

1. 1.Royal Mencap Society announces Jon Sparkes OBE as its new Chief Executive | Mencap — Confirms appointment as CEO from June 2024, previous roles at UNICEF UK, Crisis UK and Scope, and LinkedIn profile URL
2. 2.Our executive team | Mencap — Confirms current role, prior CEO roles, earlier career in HR/OD in technology sector, and non-executive positions including SeeAbility, ACEVO, Centre for Homelessness Impact, and St Petrocs trustee
3. 3.Unicef chief to take top job at Mencap | Third Sector — Confirms seven years as CEO of Crisis and almost six years as CEO of Scope, plus COO role at UNICEF UK 2012–2014
4. 4.Mencap responds to Lord Darzi Review | Mencap — Establishes Sparkes as a panel member for the Darzi NHS review and documents his public positions on social care and health inequalities for people with a learning disability
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Adult social care & reform

Stated areas of expertise

• Learning disability rights and inclusion
• Health inequalities for disabled people
• Social care funding and provider sustainability
• NHS access and annual health checks
• Employment for people with learning disabilities
• Charity sector leadership and service delivery

Notable achievements

• Invited to give evidence to Lord Darzi's independent review of the NHS (September 2024) as a sector representative on social care and learning disability health inequalities. Source ↗
• Launched Mencap 2030, a new organisational strategy, in January 2026. Source ↗
• Previously held CEO roles at UNICEF UK, Crisis UK, and Scope before joining Mencap in 2024. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “Learning-disability nurses are too often the only people making sure someone is properly heard, understood and supported in healthcare settings. But far too many people are going without that support when they need it most, because services are overstretched, unavailable at key times, or simply don't have enough specialist nurses.”

  Chief Executive, Mencap · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Lack of learning-disability nurses in UK is an ‘absolute crisis’, says union ↗

• “The true legacy of this inquiry will not be measured by the publication of a report but by the actions that follow. People's experiences inside Muckamore must never be forgotten and the harms they experienced must never be repeated.”

  Chief Executive of Mencap · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘Mistreatment became normality’ at Muckamore Abbey hospital, inquiry finds ↗

Source references

1. Lack of learning-disability nurses in UK is an ‘absolute crisis’, says uniontheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. ‘Mistreatment became normality’ at Muckamore Abbey hospital, inquiry findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-sparkes-obe-526b1847published here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.mencap.org.uk/about-us/leadership/our-executive-team
• Press office phone02076965414published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.