Chief executive officer jobs in Leicester, england

At S.A.L.V.E. we believe:

- No young person should have to live or work on the streets

- Young people who have lived and worked on the streets deserve the chance to fulfil their potential

- Young people on the streets should have trustworthy, supportive adults around them

With the generous help of our supporters, S.A.L.V.E. works with children on the streets of Jinja, Uganda, so they have the opportunity to leave their difficult pasts behind them and move forward, towards a brighter future.

We have Drop in Centres and Street Outreach services for children currently living on the streets. We offer short term residential care in our Halfway Homes or Drug Rehabilitation Centre to help children to transition off the streets, and follow up care and support for when a child has been resettled home to their family. We also offer educational support, and/ or business skills start up and training where assessed to be needed to help a child to settle home successfully and to ensure their family can thrive in the long term.

We are looking to recruit a new CEO who believes in our vision that there should be “No Street Called Home” for children living on the streets in Uganda and who wants to help us to grow this impact and further change children’s lives.

Our Journey

S.A.L.V.E. International was founded in 2008 by Helen Huthwaite and Nicola Sansom. Since then, we have gone on to resettle 978 street connected children with their families. We have also supported 378 young people through education, rehabilitated over 1000 street connected children at our Residential Centre and initiated 495 small businesses to support families. Over the years, our advocacy work has included being part of Small Charity Week in the UK parliament, and being part of a delegation to the UN with the Consortium for Street Children.

Today we employ 4 staff in the UK and 27 in Uganda. Our annual turnover is approximately £300k. New developments in our work include sports programming and a very promising tailoring course. We are well on track to achieve our 2022-27 strategic goals - reaching more children, expanding support for girls, strengthening families and improving our funding sustainability.

Looking forward, the demand for our services continues to grow, whilst charities in general are facing a very difficult financial position. We are looking for a Chief Executive Officer who will consolidate and develop existing initiatives and continue to diversify our provision. They must be able to enhance our efforts to improve our long-term financial sustainability. Working in collaboration with the Board, they will develop our next strategic plan in line with our vision and values.

Job Purpose

● To be a visionary who drives forwards and maximises the impact of the organisation. Working with the Board of Trustees to ensure that a strong vision with clear strategic planning is in place for the organisation to best benefit our service users.

● To work with the Ugandan and UK team to develop and improve our existing programmes of work for the organisation to best benefit our service users.

● To oversee the budget, finance and risk management of the organisation.

● To oversee our fundraising strategy and grow relationships with new and existing funders to a high standard ensuring that maximum potential support is achieved.

● To proactively identify prospects, approaching and winning resources from new partnerships in the wider community to best meet S.A.L.V.E.’s aims and objectives.

● To raise awareness of the work of S.A.L.V.E. International and oversee our advocacy and communications strategy and implementation.

Key Activities

The following activities are intended as a guide to the main responsibilities of the post and are not an exhaustive list of duties and tasks.  The post-holder may be required to undertake other duties that are not listed below, at the direction of the Board.  The job description may be amended from time to time after consultation with the post holder.

STRATEGY

• Lead the organisation by working collaboratively with our global team of staff, volunteers, and board members to ensure a strong strategic plan is in place, which is reviewed and improved over time to maximise the organisation’s impact.

FUNDRAISING

• Leading and championing our fundraising strategy. Helping to develop our one off and regular financial supporters through finding new opportunities and networks, giving talks, ensuring quality timely communications, and reporting to existing supporters.
• Supporting and co-working with our Development Manager to research new application prospects, and helping to maintain and develop the income from our existing network of corporate, organisational and Trust and Foundation partnerships and donors. This includes writing and reviewing funding applications and reports as needed.
• Lead on the drafting of larger or multi-year funding applications, with support from the Development Manager to finalise.

FINANCE

• Overseeing the budget and financial management of the organisation to ensure the organisation’s long term sustainability and sound financial management, including creating the annual budget for approval by the UK Board.
• Collaboratively reviewing the charity’s financial controls and performance, including a final review of the monthly accounts (UK and Uganda), and overseeing the internal audit of our accounts with the finance committee.
• Ensuring the organisation is financially compliant according to the Charities Commission and meets all statutory requirements.

HR

• Recruiting, training, developing and managing staff and volunteers in the UK to help to build the capacity of the organisation as needed. This currently includes line managing: Ugandan Country Director, Development Manager, Communications Manager
• Support the Country Director with recruitment in Uganda.
• Creating a strong sense of team spirit and a culture of appreciation and reliability within the team by reinforcing organisation values and ensuring accountability.

GOVERNANCE

• Working closely with and supporting our UK and Ugandan boards to ensure that the governance of the organisation is strong.
• Lead on creating, reviewing, and developing policies, procedures and systems, including but not limited to ensuring quality safeguarding and risk management for the organisation.
• Ensure the organisation is appropriately prepared for potential risks
• Ensuring the organisation is compliant according to the Charities Commission and meets all statutory requirements.

COMMUNICATION

• Overseeing the communications strategy of the organisation, ensuring the website, social media, newsletters, annual report and mailings out to supporters are kept up to date by supporting our Communications Manager. This includes drafting and checking copy and promoting and marketing events and campaigns for the organisation to raise funds and awareness.
• Being an advocate for the organisation, by seeking and maximising opportunities to represent the organisation, to help raise awareness and support for the work we do and the needs of street connected children generally.

PROGRAMMES and OPERATIONS

• Leading and collaborating with the wider team to develop and improve our programmes through regular evaluation and learning reviews.
• Support the Country Director to ensure the organisation operations function smoothy, and that the strategic plan can be implemented.

PARTNERSHIPS

• Representing S.A.L.V.E. in partnerships and networks such as the Consortium for Street Children to ensure that we are making the most of funding, partnership and advocacy opportunities.
• Manage relationships with key partners in the UK and internationally, to ensure we are collaborating to achieve the greatest impact.

SAFEGUARDING

• To be the Safeguarding Lead within the organisation, and continually strengthen safeguarding as a priority in all our work.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

• Support the Development Manager with the effective functioning of the organisations M&E system, Upshot. Ensure all team members are meeting their monitoring, evaluation and learning obligations and objectives.

SKILLS REQUIRED

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Fundraising and External Relations

• Proven and demonstrable track record of securing income from multiple sources, including Trusts and Foundations, corporate partners or institutional donors.
• Direct experience of preparing, writing, and managing significant funding applications, including multi-year or high-value proposals.
• Ability to represent an organisation confidently to donors, partners and external stakeholders, including through public speaking and networking.

Leadership and Management

• Senior leadership or management experience within the charity or social purpose sector, with evidence of leading teams, managing performance and developing organisational capacity.
• Demonstrable ability to build and maintain positive working relationships across teams and stakeholder groups.

Strategic and Operational Capability

• Proven ability to develop, review and implement strategies, organisational systems, policies and procedures that support growth, quality and compliance.
• Strong understanding of budgeting and financial oversight, with experience of interpreting financial information to inform decision-making.

Governance, Compliance and Safeguarding

• Knowledge of charity governance expectations and safeguarding responsibilities, ideally within organisations working with children or vulnerable groups.
• Commitment to good practice, ethical leadership and accountability.

Personal Attributes

• Highly proactive, solution-focused and resilient, with evidence of managing challenges constructively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Friendly, approachable and values-driven, with clear alignment to S.A.L.V.E.’s mission and work.
• Willingness to be ‘hands on’.

DESIRED CRITERIA

Fundraising

• Experience of cultivating and stewarding significant individual donors or corporate sponsors over time.
• Experience of delivering presentations, talks or fundraising-driven events to external audiences.

International and Cross-Cultural Experience

• Experience working in an African context or supporting programmes delivered within Africa.
• Previously lived or worked in Uganda, or having strong personal ties or lived experience relevant to the Ugandan context.

Leadership and Governance

• Experience of working collaboratively with a Board of Trustees or equivalent governance body.
• Experience of leading organisational change or growth phases.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Experience using programme data or M&E systems to inform fundraising proposals, impact reports or strategic decision-making.

Qualifications

• Relevant academic, management or professional qualification (e.g., international development, charity management, safeguarding, finance, leadership).

FURTHER INFORMATION

Reporting to: UK Board

Location: Remote, with travel in the UK and to Uganda

Working Hours: Full Time, 37.5 hours per week

How to Apply:

Please send your CV and a one page covering letter.

Your cover letter should clearly demonstrate how you meet the job specification above, and why this role is suitable for you.

Applications without a covering letter will not be considered.

Please note: You must already have the right to live and work in the UK to apply for this role.

Closing Date: Sunday 25th January 2026, 6pm

Note: Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a written task during the week commencing 2nd February.

Expected Interviews Dates:

- First Round (virtual): 10th and 11th February

- Second Round (in-person): Week commencing 23rd February

Anticipated Start Date: As soon as possible