Assistant to the deputy chief executive jobs
Lead with compassion. Inspire through purpose. Shape the future of Hospiscare.
Hospiscare has been at the heart of our community for over 40 years, providing outstanding specialist end-of-life care and support to people and their families across Exeter, Mid and East Devon. As we look to the future, we are seeking an exceptional Chief Executive Officer to lead our charity with vision, empathy and strategic strength.
The opportunity
This is a pivotal leadership role — guiding a much-loved local charity through a period of challenge but also opportunity. You’ll work closely with a dedicated Board of Trustees and an experienced Leadership Teams to shape and deliver our strategic goals, ensuring Hospiscare remains resilient, sustainable, and true to our founding values of care, compassion, and dignity.
You’ll be the public face and voice of Hospiscare — inspiring confidence among our staff, volunteers, supporters, healthcare partners, and the wider community. Your leadership will ensure we continue to deliver the highest standards of specialist palliative care while innovating to meet the changing needs of our patients and our community.
About you
You are an accomplished and compassionate leader, able to inspire and unite people around a shared purpose. With substantial senior leadership experience — ideally gained in the charity or health and social care sectors — you bring a track record of shaping strategy, managing complex budgets, and achieving sustainable results.
You’ll understand the challenges facing healthcare and charitable organisations and bring creative, collaborative solutions. You are confident working with a Board, comfortable in the public eye, and driven by a genuine commitment to making a difference to people’s lives at the most profound of times.
Key strengths you’ll bring
- Strategic vision and proven experience leading organisational change and growth
- Strong understanding of governance, finance, and regulatory environments
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills — connecting easily and authentically with people from all walks of life
- A leadership style that combines compassion, clarity, and courage
- A deep alignment with Hospiscare’s mission and values
Why join Hospiscare?
At Hospiscare, you’ll find a community of extraordinary people — staff and volunteers dedicated to providing the very best care and support when it matters most. This is more than a leadership role; it’s an opportunity to make a lasting impact on a vital local charity and the lives of countless people in Devon.
We are working with Charity Recruitment Consultant, Jackie Dawkins of Shine Charity Recruitment,who is supporting our search. For further details about Hospiscare, please read the Recruitment Pack
Key Dates:
- Closing Date – 26th January 2026 at 5pm
- First Interview with Jackie Dawkins (via Zoom) – 2nd/3rd February 2026
- Shortlisted candidates informal meeting with Chair – 23rd February 2026
- Interview and Assessment Day at Hospiscare – 24th February 2026
The Organisation
The Open SU serves the interests of around 170,000 part-time and distance-learning students spread across the UK, continental Europe and beyond. Our role is to represent and support the interests of this vast and diverse community of students. The Open SU is an independent registered charity, governed by elected student leaders. Our team of vibrant, friendly and dedicated professional staff provide the vital support needed to deliver our ambitious strategy. Here at the Open SU we are committed to a positive team culture to enable and empower all members to be their very best.
The Job
In this role, you will play a vital part in supporting the delivery of our Volunteering Strategy helping to ensure every student has the chance to connect, contribute and belong. Working closely with the Volunteering Manager, you will:
· Provide high quality administrative support which includes responding to volunteering enquiries, supporting at meetings, producing volunteer communications and maintaining volunteer records.
· Act as a first point of contact for volunteers, offering guidance and support throughout their journey, and assist with recruitment, onboarding and recognition.
· Help deliver engagement and appreciation events, share inspiring stories through newsletter and volunteer spaces and gather volunteer feedback to improve services.
· Champion good data practices, maintaining accurate records and ensuring information is handled responsibly. Above all, promote inclusive, safe and accessible volunteering across all activities.
The Person
This role is a great opportunity for an organised and proactive administrator who enjoys supporting others and being part of a friendly, collaborative team. You will also enjoy working with and supporting volunteers, helping to spark new ideas, create great experiences and build a real sense of community and belonging along the way. You’ll be passionate about creating and supporting the development of volunteer communications and storytelling to inspire others to get involved.
You will be comfortable using Microsoft 365 tools such as Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and Forms and will bring a flexible, can-do approach to your work. Above all, you will value inclusion, accessibility and team work, and will be committed to learning, growing and contributing to an open, supportive and sustainable community.
How to apply
Please send over your CV and a supporting word document answering how you meet the below criteria in no more than one page of A4:
1. Please describe your experience of providing administrative support as part of a team.
2. Tell us about a time you supported people from a range of backgrounds or with different needs (for example students, volunteers, service users or customers)
3. Please give an example of how you have supported a project, programme or event, and how you contributed ideas, solved problems and worked with others.
Please email your CV and supporting statement over to where you will receive confirmation of receipt within a couple of days.
The Open University Students Association is committed to equal opportunities for everyone in education and employment and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Closing date for applications: Monday 19th January, midday
Our mission is to make a positive difference to all OU students – it's the foundation of everything we do.



Director of Operations
Lead with Purpose. Shape the Future of Christian Care.
Pilgrims’ Friend Society has been providing Christian care to older people for over 200 years. Today, as the UK faces an unprecedented ageing population, we are growing to meet the challenge and we need an exceptional leader to help us deliver our vision of fulfilled living for older people.
We operate 12 care homes and 9 housing schemes across England, with ambitious plans to expand to 15 homes and beyond. Our mission is clear: to provide outstanding care rooted in Christian values, and to partner with local churches so that older people experience dignity, community, and the love of Christ.
About the Role
As Director of Operations, you will:
- Lead and oversee our portfolio of established care homes and housing schemes.
- Ensure regulatory compliance, quality of care, and financial sustainability.
- Drive operational excellence, innovation, and efficiency through systems and processes.
- Work closely with our Executive Team to deliver our Growth and Renewal Programme, including new builds and acquisitions.
- Inspire and develop a talented team of managers and operational leaders.
This is a senior leadership role with significant influence on the future of our organisation and the lives of hundreds of older people.
About You
- We are looking for a strategic, values-driven leader who brings:
- Significant experience in adult social care operations or a closely related sector.
- Strong knowledge of regulatory, Health & Safety, and compliance frameworks.
- Proven ability to deliver quality and financial targets at scale.
- A collaborative leadership style, with a commitment to developing people and culture.
A personal Christian faith and alignment with our basis of faith(a genuine occupational requirement under the Equality Act 2010).
Why Join Us?
- Be part of a growing organisation with a clear vision and calling.
- Influence how society values older people and supports churches in ministry.
- Work in a culture that prioritises prayer, faith, and excellence.
- Competitive salary, generous holiday, pension scheme, and life assurance.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Location: Homebased or Southwest Area Office, BS3 2NS
Contract: Part time, two days/14 hours per week, fixed term until 31 December 2026
Salary: £10,600 per annum, pro rata (£26,500 full time equivalent)
Closing Date: 18 January 2026
Interview: w/c 26 January 2026
Are you a Training Support Officer looking for a new opportunity?
The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is the leading maritime charity for youth development and lifelong learning. We are a vibrant and growing charity inspiring young people to achieve their potential through challenge and nautical adventure and enabling seafarers and maritime professionals to realise their potential through learning and career development. Working with our employees, cadets, and volunteers, we have built a strong vision and five-year Future Ready strategy to meet the growing demand for what we provide, both for young people, seafarers and maritime professionals – and the thousands who aspire to be the sea cadets and marine professionals of the future. It is also about equipping them to achieve their potential and thrive in a rapidly changing world, while growing our charity to benefit even more people – including those from under-represented or marginalised groups.
We are currently looking for a Training Support Officer to join our team.
About the role
This role provides tactical and targeted support to our District teams as we seek to enable our volunteers to deliver training to both cadets and volunteers in line with the Sea Cadets Learning Strategy. This post is responsible for supporting the delivery of the district training, including Royal Marine Cadet (RMC) training activity at Troop level. The work location can be flexible (home or office-based) requiring regular evening and weekend working supporting our volunteers by attending virtual meetings and delivering online training.
Responsibilities
- To provide functional support to our area Training Managers and District and RMC Troop Teams, ensure the district training plans are delivered, amended as necessary throughout the year, to the training plan and in line with identified training needed to best support the delivery of the Sea Cadet Experience.
- To support specific District Teams including the District Training Officer (DTO), District Recreational Officer/ Deputy District Officer (DRO/DDO), District Staff Officers (DSO), and RMC Troop Commanders (Trp Cdr) identified as requiring support under our change management process.
- To work closely with all District Officers to increase the number of certificated, current and competent instructors, and develop the capability and capacity of District Instructors to deliver training to cadets and volunteers across all Districts.
- To support the ATOs/DTOs/RMC Troops in all training matters (including uniformed and unit management teams) with a specific focus on Districts/Troops that need support.
- Support our Programmes and Virtual Training Manager with the co-ordination the of delivery of appropriate MSSC and other approved training packages (including BTEC, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award) appropriate to the age and experience of cadets across the organisation.
- Work under the leadership of our Assistant Director Sea Cadet Learning monitor performance against set targets set by the National Support Centre to ensure equitable access for cadets and adults to the Sea Cadet Experience.
Requirements
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- Experience in working with youth groups and awareness and understanding on the challenges young people face.
- Experience in coordinating and supporting a programme of training activity.
- Experience in coaching and mentoring volunteers.
- Experience of drawing data to create support plans for delivery of activity.
- Experienced trainer with the ability to deliver engaging and impactful training.
Benefits
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- 25 days annual leave per annum, pro rata for part time employees, increasing with length of service
- Hybrid working for many roles
- Volunteering Leave
- Life assurance (4x salary)
- Private medical insurance
- Generous pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access to the Marine Society Digital Library
- Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
- Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.
Additional Information
MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.
We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire.
All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo pre-employment checks including a criminal record check.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.