Mr Keen took over the troubled organisation on an interim basis last year after it fell into severe financial difficulties and after a police investigation was launched into the running of the charity by a former chief executive.
He said that he was now ‘very confident’ about the future of the charity following a series of fundraisers and financial restructuring to turn its fortunes around.
‘We have had loads and loads of help from Islanders and we are in a stable position now, to the extent we are looking for a permanent replacement for me as chief executive,’ he said.
‘I only went in on an interim basis, so we are interviewing for someone to take over permanently and I think I should be finished there by Christmas.
‘We must have had 25 or so inquiries and that ended up being 20 applications and six interviews. We will be finished next week and hopefully able to make an announcement in early September.
‘Hopefully we will get someone who understands what the JSPCA is trying to do. The thing about charities is they are always unfinished business – you’re only as good as your last fundraiser and you have to keep doing things.’
Mr Keen said that morale was ‘rock bottom’ when he took over at the charity.
‘There are people at the JSPCA who really make things happen – they are dedicated and it has been a pleasure working with them,’ he said.
‘I have worked in lots of different places and you always find these people right at the core of things that just keep going. You need to help them fulfil their potential.
‘Sometimes it’s a case of doing a bit to convince them that things can get better and the original objectives of the organisation are still valid and it is still possible to do things. For the JSPCA morale was pretty much rock bottom and they thought the place was going to cease to exist. And it took some time for people to believe actually we could get through this.’
He added that the police investigation was still continuing.
‘It is frustrating but these things have to take their course. We have to trust the police to do their job and there’s nothing much more you can do about it,’ he said.
‘There isn’t anybody in the charity now who is subject to that investigation and we just have to move on and focus on the future.’
