Cerebra is the national charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with neurological conditions and their families. We provide vital research, support, and practical solutions that empower families facing complex challenges.
With an annual income of £3 million and a headcount of 68 employees, we have ambitious plans to double our income between 2025 and 2027, ensuring we can extend our impact, reach more families, and drive real change. To achieve this, we are investing in fundraising innovation, income generating ventures, and strategic partnerships, alongside enhancing our brand to increase our national recognition.
Our work is underpinned by our values ensuring that everything we do aligns with our mission to create a better world for children with neurological conditions.
This is an incredibly exciting time to join Cerebra, as we are preparing to launch our new strategy and brand. The COO is a vital leadership role that will support the drive towards even greater impact for children and families across the UK.
Our Services
Sleep Advice Service
Cerebra understands that if you have a child that doesn’t sleep, the whole family suffers. Many children with neurological conditions suffer from disrupted sleep. Our sleep advice service provides bespoke advice and support so that everyone can get a good night’s sleep.
Legal Rights Service
Our Legal Rights Service provides help and support to families of children with neurological conditions when they are faced with barriers and difficulties in accessing statutory support services they are entitled to. The service provides information on their legal entitlements.
Book and Toy Library Service
Our specialist postal lending library contains a wide range of books for both adults and children, plus a selection of sensory toys specifically chosen for children with a neurological condition.
Innovation and Product Design Service
Our Innovation Service designs and builds bespoke products that cater to the specific needs of children with neurological conditions. The aim of the service is to make products that are desirable and exciting, therefore promoting social inclusion, peer acceptance and enabling children to participate in everyday activities that are so often close to them.
Information Products
Cerebra publishes different information products to help families with a child with a neurological condition. Our information products offer comprehensive, up-to-date support and research-driven strategies to assist families with a wide range of issues.
Buzgi and Toy Adaptation Service
Cerebra designs and builds bespoke assistive equipment for disabled children, this includes creating custom mobility aids, switch‑adapted toys, and other innovative solutions to help children access play, learning, and independence.
The Bugzi - a mini powered wheelchair for children offers many children their first experience of independent mobility. It uses either a joystick or switches and adaptable seating for complex needs, and helps develop spatial awareness, confidence, and early mobility skills. The Bugzi is available through a national loan scheme.
Additionally, we operate commercial services (including a web shop) to supplement our income to support children and their families.
Our services are provided to families free of charge.
Job Title:
Chief Operating Officer
Reports To:
Chief Executive Officer
Direct reports:
3 senior managers (Finance (headcount of 3), HR (headcount of 1), IT (headcount of 5))
Purpose of the Role:
The Chief Operating Officer will play a vital role in supporting the Chief Executive Officer, Board and Leadership Team to deliver Cerebra’s vision and ambitious strategic aims. The Chief Operating Officer will provide strategic leadership and operational management across key areas within Cerebra including:
- Operational Systems
- Governance
- Compliance
- Finance and Growth
This is a pivotal executive leadership role, responsible for driving organisational performance, sustainability and growth. The COO will translate Cerebra’s strategic ambitions into effective operational delivery, ensuring robust governance, financial stewardship and a high-performing, values-led culture.
As a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board, the COO will lead core operational services and commercial activity, enabling the charity to maximise impact and generate sustainable income in support of its charitable objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Executive Leadership
- Partner with the CEO and Board to deliver strategic priorities, growth and long-term sustainability
- Collaboration with the Director’s Group to ensure strategic alignment across the charity. The Director’s Group consists of:
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications
Director of Research and Support Services
- Provide expert advice on finance, operations, commercial performance and organisational risk
- Lead organisational planning, business continuity, and operational resilience
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and inclusion
Finance, Commercial & Sustainability
- Lead financial strategy, planning and performance, ensuring long-term sustainability
- Oversee budgeting, forecasting, cashflow and financial controls
- Lead and develop Cerebra’s strategy for commercial income , ensuring alignment with charitable objectives
- Support funding growth through strong financial insight and business case development
- Ensure robust financial governance, audit and compliance
Operations & Infrastructure
- Lead and strengthen operational functions including HR, IT, governance and administration
- Ensure effective systems, processes and infrastructure that enable growth, efficiency and impact
- Oversee procurement, contracts, facilities, and organisational compliance
- Drive innovation and value for money across operations
People & Culture
- Champion a positive, inclusive and high-performing organisational culture
- Oversee HR strategy, workforce planning and leadership development
- Ensure compliance with employment law and best practice
- Promote wellbeing, engagement and organisational effectiveness
Digital & Technology
- Provide strategic oversight of IT, data and digital development
- Ensure systems are secure, resilient and aligned to organisational needs
- Leverage data and technology to improve insight, decision-making and organisational impact
Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Ensure effective governance frameworks, risk management and regulatory compliance
- Support the CEO and Board with high-quality reporting and strategic insight
- Lead safeguarding, data protection and organisational risk strategy
- Drive a strong culture of accountability and ethical practice
Leadership & Management
- Lead and develop a small senior team across finance, HR and IT
- Build capability, strengthen performance, and embed a collaborative culture
- Model Cerebra’s values and leadership behaviours
Key Attributes
- Strategic and commercially minded leader with strong operational delivery experience
- Strong financial leadership and business acumen
- Proven track record of driving income growth, sustainability and organisational performance
- Skilled in governance, risk and stakeholder engagement
Please see attached job description for the Person Specification.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Member Relationship Manager
Location: Home or hybrid option
Hours: 4 or 5 days a week
Salary: £36,791 (full time equivalent)
Accountable to: Head of Strategic Communications
Responsible for: Membership Officer X1
DBS Eligibility: Basic DBS check
Closing Date: 28th June 2026
Interview Date: 7th July
About the role
Join a charity that’s passionate about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. If you want your work to have a real-world impact, this is the role for you.
What You’ll Do:
You'll head up our Membership team, responsible for new and existing members. This is a front-line role where you’ll:
- Grow and develop membership by identifying, engaging and converting new member organisations, building a strong pipeline of opportunities and increasing membership income.
- Manage and strengthen member relationships to maximise engagement, retention and progression across Thirtyone:eight's tiered membership offering.
- Lead membership operations and performance through effective use of CRM data, reporting, budgeting, process improvement and line management of the Membership Officer.
- Champion the membership proposition by collaborating with internal teams, developing strategic partnerships and representing Thirtyone:eight at events, conferences and networking opportunities.
This role offers an exciting opportunity to combine relationship management, business development and strategic leadership to grow Thirtyone:eight’s membership community, strengthen engagement across churches and Christian organisations, and support the charity’s mission of creating safer environments for vulnerable people.
Why You’ll Love Working Here:
- Purpose-driven work: Everything you do helps protect children and vulnerable adults.
- Flexible working options: Balance your life and work with hybrid arrangements.
- Professional growth: Opportunities to learn, innovate, and lead.
- Supportive culture: Join a friendly, collaborative team that values your ideas.
If you enjoy delivering excellent customer service, handling detailed processes, and contributing to work that makes a meaningful difference, we’d love to hear from you.
Main Responsibilities
1. Lead the active recruitment of new members with a particular focus on decision-makers and leaders.
2. Build, manage and progress a membership pipeline, using proactive activity, referrals, events, partner networks and existing organisational data.
3. Use Thirtyone:eight’s membership database to identify prospective organisations, map trends and growth opportunities aligned with our tiered membership model.
4. Initiate and lead conversations with prospective members, articulating the value of membership clearly and confidently, responding to questions and handling objections appropriately.
5. Manage relationships with existing member organisations, ensuring they understand and experience the value of their membership.
6. Identify opportunities to grow value within existing accounts, including movement between membership tiers or increased engagement with services.
7. Work with the Head of Membership and Finance & Business Manager to develop systems and processes that support effective relationship management and growth.
8. Contribute to the ongoing review and development of Thirtyone:eight’s membership offer, ensuring it remains relevant, clearly articulated and aligned with member need.
9. Collaborate with internal teams to ensure a joined-up member journey from first contact through to ongoing engagement.
10. Ensure staff and volunteers across the organisation are well equipped and confident to promote the benefits of membership.
11. Represent Thirtyone:eight, its Christian ethos and safeguarding mission at external events, exhibitions, networks and conferences.
Specific Responsibilities
- Line manage the Membership Officer, providing supervision, support and clear objectives aligned to recruitment and relationship management priorities.
- Work with the Membership Officer to embed an effective membership account management structure that develops member relationships at the appropriate level with key clients.
- Work closely with the Communications Manager to shape and deliver member communications that support recruitment, retention and progression across membership tiers.
- Produce regular, insightful reporting on member recruitment,retention and churn, pipeline health and activity, and performance against agreed targets.
- Ensure staff and volunteers across the organisation are properly equipped to promote the benefits of membership.
- Work collaboratively as part of Thirtyone:eight’s management team to support the delivery of the organisation’s strategic objectives.
- Identify and develop opportunities to work with partners and networks that can support membership growth and visibility.
- With the head of department and finance team to set the annual membership budget and ensure all spend is within budget, appropriately accounted for, and that maximum return on investment is achieved.
Person Specification
A) Essential Personal Characteristics and Qualities:
- Humility - Having a modest view of your own importance.
- Integrity - The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
- Openness - Acceptance of, or receptiveness to change or new ideas.
- Collaborative - Involving two or more parties working together.
- Solution-focused - Concentration in problem solving or dealing with a difficult situation.
- Learning - Knowledge acquired through study, experience, or being taught.
- Creative - Having good imagination, thinking differently, or having original ideas.
- Fair - Treating people equally without favouritism or discrimination.
- Committed - Dedicated to a certain course, cause or policy.
- Passionate - Having or showing strong feelings or beliefs.
B) Essential Experience:
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Sales and marketing experience with good relationship/account management experience.
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Experience of using a CRM system to manage and analyses data and record activities. (Knowledge of MS Dynamics desirable).
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Relevant experience of managing and developing relationships with churches, Christian faith-based organisations, or charities, to increase engagement.
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Experience in developing and embedding of processes and procedures to ensure high levels of customer service are monitored and maintained across an organisation.
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Experience of line managing a team of staff and volunteers as well as working with external agencies.
- Comfortable working to targets and being accountable for outcomes.
C) Essential Abilities, Knowledge & Motivation:
These are the skills we regard as essential for the role:
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A strong working knowledge of churches, Christian faith organisations and charities.
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Ability to communicate professionally and effectively at all levels of an organisation.
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Motivated to continually improve on past success and to challenge the status quo.
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Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to engage an audience.
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Self-motivated, resilient and outward-looking
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Ability to build strong, professional relationships with contacts of the charity.
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Ability to work as a team member with colleagues and across departments.
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Good IT skills (MS Office applications as a minimum) with analytical capability.
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An ability to travel independently; both regionally and nationally as required.
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Knowledge and understanding of Equal Opportunity and Anti-discriminatory practice.
- Willingness to promote and participate in relevant training and CPD.
- Ability to identify with and accept the aims and objectives of the charity and statutory and other professional guidance as appropriate.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
Independent and thought-leading, we equip organisations, churches, other faith groups, individuals and government with safeguarding tools they need
