Jewish Women’s Aid has appointed Alison Rosen to fill its CEO vacancy following the departure of the long-serving Naomi Dickson.

Ms Rosen — who will join JWA in March — qualified as an accountant and has held a variety of communal posts, including chief executive of Wizo.

At special-needs charity Langdon, she set up its Borehamwood community and oversaw the development of its New Chapters bookselling social enterprise.

As chief executive of the S & P Sephardi Community, she was instrumental in attracting lottery funding for the heritage project at the historic Bevis Marks Synagogue.

In the wider world, Ms Rosen was CEO of the Griffin Institute, a leading surgical training and medical research charity.

She currently co-chairs the Bushey branch of Nisa-Nashim, the Jewish Muslim Women’s Network, and is a founding trustee of Polly for Women CIO, which operates a free and confidential helpline. Ms Rosen said she was joining JWA at a time when “women across the breadth of the Jewish community really need help.

“I am looking forward to working again within the Jewish community and getting to know the various organisations in the wider sector dealing with violence against women and girls.”

She aimed to grow its income “so that the ever-increasing need for services can be met, ensuring that no Jewish woman needs to face domestic abuse and sexual violence alone”.

JWA co-chairs Madeleine Abramson and Caroline Ratner said Ms Rosen had “an impressive track record, bringing with her strong leadership skills, communal knowledge and significant fund-raising experience.

“Alison has a passion for the work of Jewish Women’s Aid and an understanding of what we need to do to drive the charity forward and meet the growing demands placed on us as awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence grows in our community.”