Chief executive officer jobs in exeter, devon

Relief International (RI) is a global humanitarian and development organisation working in over 14 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We partner with communities affected by conflict, climate change, and natural disasters to save lives, strengthen resilience, and promote long-term health and well-being. Our integrated programmes span health and nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), education, and livelihoods, with protection embedded as a core principle across all areas of our work.

This is a crucial time to join Relief International as we continue to invest in our HR function which is an integral part of delivering our global mission. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our people function and ensuring we can attract, support, and retain the talent needed to deliver our humanitarian and development programmes worldwide.

Global Human Resources Director
Relief International
Salary: Circa £80,000 plus benefits
Location: Remote

The role
Relief International is looking for an operational Global Human Resources Director to lead our global HR function. This is a unique opportunity for a senior HR professional to drive real, lasting impact across our international operations by strengthening the foundations of HR practice, enhancing team capability, and embedding consistency and compliance across global offices.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operations Officer, the Global HR Director will act as a trusted advisor to the COO and wider Senior Leadership Team (SLT) on all people and organisational matters.
This is a transformative role for a leader who combines vision with pragmatism, and who thrives on translating challenges into meaningful change. The successful candidate will:

• Modernise and harmonise HR policies and processes across country programmes and global support offices.
• Review and update staff handbooks and HR procedures to ensure relevance, clarity, and compliance.
• Restructure and lead an international HR team, clarifying roles and fostering a positive, collaborative culture.
• Ensure compliance with labour laws and international standards, mitigating HR-related operational and financial risks.
• Oversee the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance, development, mobility, and well-being.
• Support organisational change, guiding managers and teams through transitions with empathy and structure.
• Champion a culture of inclusion, respect, and accountability in line with RI’s values.
• Advise senior leadership on strategic HR matters, contributing to the overall success of the organisation.

About you

We are seeking a confident and values-driven leader with the following:

• Significant experience as an HR Director or senior HR Manager, ideally within an international NGO context.
• Background working in complex, multi-country organisations—including fragile or conflict-affected contexts.

• Deep expertise in HR policy design, implementation, and compliance.
• Proven ability to lead and restructure remote, international teams.
• Skilled in change management and supporting organisations through transitions.
• Strong knowledge of HR systems (e.g. BambooHR), staff handbooks, and performance tools.

• Strong communicator, capable of building relationships across cultures and levels.
• Fluency in English, French language skills are desirable but not essential.
• Current right to work in the UK.

How to Apply 

Further information, please review the Appointment Brief below. 
To arrange a discussion about the opportunity, please contact our retained advisors at Prospectus, Harjit Bola or Erica Ritchie.
 
Closing date:Sunday 16th November 
Interviews with Prospectus: w/c 17th November 
First stage panel interview with Relief International: w/c 1st December
Final stage panel interview with Relief International: w/c 8th December 

Position: Community Fundraiser – West / South-West England
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time (35 hours a week)
Location: Home Based (West / South-West England)
Salary: Starting from £26,384 per annum, plus excellent benefits
Salary Band and Job Family: Band 1, Charity 
*You’ll start at our entry point salary of £26,384 per annum, increasing to £28,033 after 6 months service and satisfactory performance and to £29,682 after a further 6 months.

About us

We make sure people living with MS are at the centre of everything we do. And it’s this commitment that unites us across the UK.

Our strategy is based on what people affected by MS have told us is important to them. It gives us a clear and determined focus.

Our work is based on the hopes and aspirations of our MS community. Together we campaign at all levels, fund ground-breaking research and provide award winning support and information.

Our people are our greatest asset and the key to our success. We offer a vibrant, progressive working environment where you'll be able to make a difference.

About this job

Are you a natural connector who loves working with people and making a difference in your community? 

Do you enjoy building relationships, inspiring others, and creating opportunities for positive change? 

If so, we’d love to hear from you! We’re looking for a Community Fundraiser to join our team in West/South-West England. 

In this role, you’ll be at the heart of our work in local communities—supporting individuals, groups, and businesses to raise vital funds to enable the MS Society to continue to support people living with MS. You’ll help people turn their passion into action, guiding them through their fundraising journey and celebrating their success. 

Whether you come from a background in community engagement, sales, customer service, or events, what matters most is your ability to connect with people, spot opportunities, and bring energy and creativity to everything you do. 

What you’ll be doing: 

• Building strong relationships with supporters, volunteers, local businesses, and community groups across West/South-West England. 
• Supporting individuals, groups, and organisations to plan and deliver successful fundraising activities—offering guidance, encouragement, and celebrating their achievements. 
• Identifying new opportunities to grow income and engagement in your region, including partnerships with local trusts and businesses. 
• Ensuring excellent stewardship by providing consistent, friendly, and professional support throughout each fundraising journey. 
• Working collaboratively with internal teams to contribute to regional fundraising strategies and develop innovative approaches to community fundraising. 
• Representing the MS Society at local events and meetings, raising awareness and inspiring people to get involved. 
• Required to travel throughout the region which will include the geographical areas of  Shrewsbury and Telford, Hereford, Worcester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Swindon, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth and Bournemouth.  Regions can be amended to meet business needs. 

What we’re looking for: 

• A confident communicator who enjoys meeting new people and building lasting relationships. 
• Someone proactive, organised, and motivated to achieve targets and outcomes. 
• Experience in fundraising is welcome—but not essential. If you’ve worked in sales, community outreach, or any role where you’ve inspired and supported others, we’d love to hear from you. 
• A full driving licence is essential, as you’ll be out and about in your region. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a supportive and ambitious team, with the flexibility to shape your role and make a real impact. If you're ready to take on a new challenge and help us grow our community fundraising, we’d love to hear from you. 

Closing date for applications: 9:00 on Monday 17th November 2025 

Interested?

PLEASE PRESS THE 'HOW TO APPLY' BUTTON FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Equal Opportunities 
We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and or from ethnic minority backgrounds.

We’d be grateful if you downloaded and completed the equality and diversity monitoring form and submit it with your application. 

Disability Confident Employer 
We’re a Disability Confident Employer and we’re committed to promoting equality and diversity.

You can ask for reasonable adjustments as part of both our recruitment and new starter on-boarding processes.

If you need any help or adjustments to apply for this role, please contact us. You can also ask for the application materials to be sent to you in a different format. Such as for them to be sent to you by email or in a larger word format.

More about our employee benefits:
We have a wide range of employee benefits including (but not limited to): 

Encouraging work life balance

• 39 days paid annual leave (including bank holidays), pro-rata for part-time
• More annual leave entitlement, based on length of employment
• Smart working options (with the opportunity to work remotely and find a smart working pattern that suits both you and us) 
• Flexible working options 

Caring for you and your family 

• Generous sick pay entitlement
• More sick pay entitlement, based on length of employment 
• Opportunity to buy and sell annual leave in each calendar year 
• Free access to a GP virtually 24 hours a day/7 days a week allowing you unlimited advice, reassurance and where appropriate diagnosis 
• Enhanced leave for new parents 
• Free access to a confidential 24 hours a day/7 days a week helpline service for both you and your family with a specialist range of support and information
• Special leave options (such as up to 5 days paid leave for domestic or personal emergencies a year)
• 10 days paid disability leave a year, pro-rata for part-time 
• 10 days paid carers’ leave a year, pro-rata for part-time 
• Cycle to work scheme 
• Death in service scheme
• New family-friendly benefits, including paid leave:
  • In the event of miscarriage or still birth 
  • To support fertility treatments
  • For antenatal appointments for both parents

Thinking about your finances 

• Enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme
• Discounted season ticket loan and interest-free emergency loans
• Give as you earn to support other charities of your choice before tax
• New employee portal including lifestyle savings vouchers and personal wellbeing

Enriching your life at work

• Personalised development plans with a wide range of training courses and opportunities to source additional training options with your line manager
• Yearly internal apprenticeship opportunities
• New, modern offices that embrace working together both in-person and remotely 
• Various opportunities to influence how we internally operate (including surveys, and focus and committee groups) 
• Active and supportive internal employee networking groups for collaboration and peer support 
• 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering for MS Society activities during normal working hours (such as fundraising events, or campaigning in the local community) 
• 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering with other charities during normal

Safeguarding 
We’re committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone who uses our services and we come into contact with.

This is regardless of Gender, Race, Disability, Sexual orientation, Religion or belief, Pregnancy, Gender reassignment.

We recognise our particular responsibility to make sure vulnerable adults and children are protected.

We have measures in place to protect everyone we come into contact with from abuse and maltreatment of all kinds.

Your right to work in the UK 
You must have the right to work in the UK to work in paid employment with us. You’ll need to share documents showing you’re eligible to work in the UK if we offer you employment.

You can find the UK visas and permits granting you the right to work in the UK on the UK Government website. We currently don’t have a Sponsor Licence agreement with the Home Office and aren’t able to support you with your visa applications.

No agencies please.

Location: Remote with travel across the UK.

About the role  

It’s an exciting and important time for our charity as we work to help more people out of homelessness and poverty as part of an ambitious strategy. 

The newly created role of Federation Development Lead will sit within the Partnerships and Federation Development directorate, to support the delivery of key charity and federation-wide objectives, as part of our mission to empower people affected by homelessness and poverty to change their lives for the better while using our voice to achieve social change. 

The principal responsibility will be to support our ambition to become a best practice national body, responsible for leading on and supporting the development of key projects within Emmaus UK and the wider federation.

This will include providing leadership to support Emmaus communities across the UK to prepare and respond to the introduction of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act, you will require an understanding and commitment to best practice and legislative requirements related to the provision of supported housing, with the ability to translate regulatory requirements into user friendly support, training, guidance and policies and procedures

The role will also provide a critical role in the implementation and delivery of Emmaus UK’s ambitious plans to seek registration as a provider of social housing. You will provide the project management and technical skills required to support the successful delivery of the application process, ensuring that risk and regulatory requirements are considered and acted upon at each stage, maintaining strong communication with key stakeholders externally and across the federation.

As the Federation Development Lead, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the growth and development of the Emmaus movement within the UK, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement, and supporting the overall success of the federation. Your role will involve supporting the development and delivery of strategic plans, programme design and implementation, stakeholder management, and continuous evaluation and improvement of developed initiatives.

Working with the Director of Partnerships and Federation Development and wider Senior Leadership Team, the role will be central to the delivery of strategic objectives related to the development of the movement.

About Emmaus UK

We understand that a home is more than just a roof over your head; it’s somewhere to belong, where you feel part of a community, and that’s what Emmaus offers. 

Emmaus is a unique, secular organisation supporting homeless and socially excluded people by providing a home for as long as it is needed, meaningful work in a social enterprise and a sense of belonging. 

There are currently over 30 Emmaus communities across the UK, stretching from Glasgow to Dover and Norfolk to South Wales. Collectively the Emmaus federation supports more than 1,000 people with experience of homelessness. 

How To apply 

To apply for the role, please complete our application form and equal opportunities monitoring form and email us. The email address is in the Application Pack with applications needing to be submitted by 9am on Thursday 13th November 2025. 

Please ensure you download the job pack and refer to the job description and person specification when completing your application form.

Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview conducted via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 27th November 2025. Second interviews to be held on Friday 5th December 2025. 

If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please email us. Email address can be found in the Application Pack.