Academic director jobs
Benefits: 39 days annual leave (including bank holidays), company pension
Lead. Inspire. Serve. Transform Lives.
Are you a Christian leader with a heart for young people and a passion for community transformation?
Do you believe in the God-given value and potential of every person?
Are you ready to guide one of the country’s oldest and most trusted Christian youth movements into its next chapter?
YMCA North Staffordshire is seeking an exceptional Christian Chief Executive Officer to lead our mission, embody our values, and continue shaping a movement that is transforming the lives of thousands of young people and families.
With a proud 160-year history and an award-winning campus at the heart of Stoke-on-Trent, this is a rare opportunity to lead a charity that is deeply rooted in Christian faith, committed to radical inclusion, and driven by a vision where all young people can belong, contribute and thrive.
Our Christian Vision and Values
YMCA North Staffordshire is an inclusive Christian movement.
Our mission flows directly from our faith and is grounded in four core values:
PROTECT
We provide sanctuary and safety, ensuring every young person feels seen, valued, and respected.
HOPE
We see young people not through the lens of their past, but their God-given potential.
PERSEVERE
We walk with young people through challenges, setbacks, and breakthroughs.
TRUST
We act with integrity, accountability, and belief in the dignity of every human being.
Because these values are Christian in origin and practice, and because the CEO is the guardian of our mission, this role has a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) for the postholder to be a practising Christian.
About the Role
Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the CEO will lead an organisation of 130 staff, a £5m+ budget, and a £35m estate, helping strengthen community through youth development, education, housing, healthy living, and social responsibility.
The next CEO will:
- Provide strategic leadership to deliver the 2026–2029 Business Plan
- Champion youth voice and empowerment in all areas of work
- Sustain and grow financial strength, partnerships, and social enterprise
- Uphold and deepen our Christian identity, ensuring values-led practice
- Drive innovation, digital transformation, and organisational development
- Represent YMCA NS locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally
- Be a visible advocate for young people in Stoke-on-Trent
- Strengthen our “village” culture: welcoming, relational, rooted in Ubuntu and Asset-Based Community Development principles (ABCD).
Purpose of the Role
To lead YMCA North Staffordshire in fulfilling its Christian mission, as described in the Associations charitable objectives
We develop young people; they develop their world.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic leadership in alignment with Board governance
- Upholding Christian ethos, values, and culture across the organisation
- Financial stewardship, compliance, and sustainability
- Community development and partnership building
- Youth advocacy and empowerment
- Oversight of housing, programmes, and impact measurement
- Staff leadership, pastoral care, and organisational culture
- External representation and communications
Person Specification – Summary
Knowledge
- Housing, youth services, and community development
- Charity law, governance, safeguarding
- Understanding of Christian ministry, mission, and values
- Organisational development and change leadership
Experience
- Senior leadership in values-led or Christian settings
- Track record of strategic development and organisational growth
- Experience working with young people, housing, or community sectors
- Experience nurturing Christian ethos across a diverse organisation
Skills & Abilities
- Inspirational leadership and people development
- Strategic planning and delivery
- Excellent communicator and ambassador
- Partnership building and stakeholder engagement
- Ability to articulate and embody Christian faith
- Deep commitment to Christian values and the Aims & Purposes of the YMCA
The Leader We Are Looking For
The landscape for young people is changing — and so must we.
We need a CEO who is:
- Faith-filled and prayerful
- Values-driven and courageous
- Relational, compassionate, and community-minded
- A champion of excellence, innovation, and good governance
- Grounded in Christian mission and committed to radical inclusion
- Able to inspire hope, build trust, and persevere through challenge
As George Williams, YMCA’s founder, said:
“You are not alone, and you can be more.”
Our next CEO must believe this not only for themselves — but for every young person we serve.
How to apply
An application pack can be found at the YMCA North Staffordshire website. This role is subject to enhanced DBS and reference checks.
Key Recruitment Dates
- Closing Date: 18th January 2026
- Interviews: Week commencing 9th February 2026
We are a safe recruitment Organisation and an Equal Opportunities Employer, we run the disability confident guaranteed interview scheme.
We are an organisation with Christian values, committed to Equality and Diversity in the Workplace. YMCA is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – The Eveson Trust
Location: Worcester (minimum two days per week in the Trust’s office; travel across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands)
Salary: circa £75,000
Contract: Permanent, 35 hours per week
Are you a judicious, outward-looking leader who can sharpen strategy and raise the profile of a regionally rooted grant-maker with a significant endowment?
About The Eveson Trust
The Eveson Trust is a Worcestershire-based, place-focused grant-maker established from the bequest of Violet Mary Eveson. With an endowment of approximately £100 million, the Trust supports an annual grants programme of around £5–6 million and in 2022 modernised its legal structure by becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation while retaining strong local roots.
We exist to relieve need and enhance quality of life across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands, prioritising support for people with disabilities, mental-health needs, children and young people in need, older people, those experiencing homelessness, and users of hospitals and hospices. Our next CEO will be central to translating stewardship into measurable local impact and sustainable grant practice.
As our next Chief Executive Officer, you will:
- Strategy & Impact: lead the development and delivery of a refreshed strategic plan and grant-making framework that focuses resources where they will make the greatest measurable difference.
- Governance & Finance: support and advise the Board and sub-committees, ensuring robust governance, high-quality committee papers and sound financial stewardship of the endowment.
- Operational Leadership: strengthen internal systems and processes, make effective use of Salesforce, and propose a right-sized resourcing model to deliver the Trust’s ambitions.
- Income & Investment Oversight: work with the investment advisers and Trustees to balance spending policy, long-term capital protection and responsible investment principles.
- Community & Partnerships: build regional funder partnerships, increase reach in under-represented areas and foster strong relationships with grantees and local stakeholders.
- Grants Quality & Safeguarding: ensure rigorous due diligence, proportionate monitoring and consistently high standards of safeguarding and risk management.
- Brand & Profile: establish and deliver a communications plan that raises the Trust’s visibility across urban and rural communities.
- Team & Culture: lead, mentor and develop a compact team and oversee high standards in HR, data protection and operational compliance.
Who you are
- A seasoned senior leader with demonstrable experience in grant-making, philanthropy or a closely comparable mission-driven setting.
- Financially literate and confident with investment reports, annual accounts, budgets and risk analysis.
- Experienced in modern grants processes, due diligence and impact-focused monitoring.
- Comfortable advising and constructively challenging Trustees, producing concise, evidence-based committee papers.
- A strong relationship builder with a track record of partnership development and external representation.
- Skilled in strategic analysis, clear judgement and using data (for example Salesforce reporting) to inform decisions.
Why The Eveson Trust?
- A rare leadership opportunity to steward a significant endowment and shape a strategic grant-making approach across a diverse regional footprint.
- A respectful, detail-focused Board and a compact, capable team who value proportionate, evidence-based practice.
- The chance to expand the Trust’s presence in under-represented boroughs and to develop meaningful funder partnerships.
- Competitive salary, defined-contribution pension, flexible working and a supportive, mission-focused culture.
- The role offers clear scope to design the team and systems needed to deliver a more impact-focussed future for the Trust.
For full details of the role including how to apply, please download the full appointment brief. For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Jenny Hills at Harris Hill at via the apply button with times to speak and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile which will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 2nd February 2026
As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Could you lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver excellent casework and oversee the production of high-quality evidence to drive lasting systemic change for those impacted by harmful health practices in immigration detention?
About Medical Justice
Medical Justice works to uphold the health and associated legal rights of people in immigration detention and provides medical evidence, so the devastating health harms of detention are understood and acted on.
About the role
Casework and clinical evidence are at the heart of everything Medical Justice does. We assist vulnerable people mistreated in immigration detention and the evidence we produce forms the basis of our advocacy work to secure lasting change.
As Head of Clinical Evidence & Casework, you will play a key role in strengthening and developing our ability to reach more people in detention. Leading a team of Caseworkers, employed and volunteer Clinicians and Interpreters, you will oversee the development of high-quality medical evidence, facilitate access to healthcare for people in detention, and collaborate closely with our Advocacy team and external organisations to challenge and end medical mistreatment in immigration detention.
For full role information and the person specification please see the candidate pack.
Recruitment at Medical Justice
Medical Justice has an organisational commitment to improving the representation of people with lived experience. We recognise that some potential candidates who bring lived experience that we need may have had less opportunity to develop a track record in these roles. We are keen to look beyond the traditional review of your qualifications and work experience. Whilst the fact that your lived experience will be of relevance, there will be no expectation that you talk about your personal experiences.
We are part of the Experts by Experience Employment Initiative. The network supports inclusive recruitment of people with lived experience of the UK asylum or immigration system. If this is your experience, you can find useful resources on the Experts by Experience Employment Initiative website.
How to apply
Please read the Candidate Pack and when you are ready to apply, click the CharityJob Apply button below. You’ll be asked to submit a CV and answer a few application questions about your relevant skills and motivation.
Closing date Tuesday 20 January 2026, 23:30 GMT.
First round interviews will take place w/c 9 February, second round interviews w/c 23 February.
We look forward to receiving your application.
The decision to short-list you will be based on the information you provide in the application form. You need to show how you meet the requirements of the job description and person specification. You may find it helpful to draft of your answers to the application first.
The person specification in the candidate pack describes the skills and experience needed for the role. You should address as many of the criteria as possible. We suggest give specific examples which show that you have them.
If you have gaps in paid employment, your job history may be less important than some other responsibilities or experience which you have had recently. Make sure to include experience gained outside full time employment.
We uphold health rights of people in immigration detention and provide medical evidence, so the devasting health harms are understood and acted on.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Job Purpose:
Women in Prison’s Project Workers deliver high-quality, trauma-informed, independent advocacy for women in communities and in prisons, which focuses on early intervention, and holistic provision as part of a ‘whole system’ multi-agency response that looks to address the root causes of women’s offending. The primary purpose of this role is to provide in-depth, ongoing support to a caseload of women in the community of Greater Manchester.
Key Responsibility Areas:
- Provide high-quality, trauma-responsive support to women in contact with, or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.
- Monitor case management systems to ensure accurate and timely data recording, aligning with contract KPIs and WIP policies.
- Develop and maintain effective partnerships with statutory and voluntary sector services to ensure coordinated, multi-agency support for women.
- Contribute to organisational development and personal growth through innovation, self-care, and professional learning.
For the full job description, please download the recruitment pack.
Terms & Conditions:
Start date: TBC
Salary: £26,650 per annum
Location: Manchester & Trafford, based at the WomenMATTA women’s centre.
Working hours: 35 hours – Full time
Contract: Permanent
The Chief Programmes and Outreach Officer is a member of the Executive Team and a key advisor to the Board and the CEO, responsible for evidence-based pedagogy and practice, partnership development and adoption of innovative methodologies.
This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of Holocaust and antisemitism education in the UK at a pivotal moment in history. We are undoubtedly at a crucial juncture in Holocaust education and remembrance. Our work faces two profound challenges: the international backdrop of rising antisemitism, Holocaust denial and distortion, alongside the inevitable loss of the remaining survivors and the need to develop effective new educational models that no longer rely on live testimony. In this challenging context, this post’s work will be critical in ensuring we carry the legacy of Holocaust survivors forward through innovative, impactful programmes that reach diverse audiences across the UK.
The post is accountable for the strategic vision and operational excellence of all the Trust's educational programmes, developing and delivering innovative, historically sound, educationally robust learning programmes that are recognised nationally and internationally as best practice. A key focus of the role is driving greater technological excellence in both teaching and operations, particularly digital testimony preservation and the use of educational technology.
The post’s success is the continuous improvement of both programme reach and impact, engaging new and diverse audiences and demonstrating meaningful long-term impact in line with the Trust’s mission and vision.
Key Responsibilities:
- Organisational leadership, as a member of the Executive Team
- Team Management and Development
- Financial Management
- Programme Innovation, Development and Delivery
- Partnerships and External Relations
- Impact, Evaluation and Learning
- Safeguarding and Quality Assurance
For the full Job Description, Person Specification, and details on how to apply, please follow the link to our website.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Job Purpose:
For the full list of responsibilities, please download the recruitment pack.
Terms & Conditions:
To Apply:
We are happy to invest in developing the right person, so you are welcome to apply even if your professional experience does not fully meet the job description or person specification.
- Is restricted to women only as a genuine occupational requirement
- Requires the right to work in the UK
- Is subject to an Enhanced + Adult Barred List DBS check
- Is subject to successful HMPPS enhanced vetting
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.