88 Director of operations and volunteer management jobs

Are you passionate about improving the life chances of SEND families?

We are looking to recruit a highly skilled and experienced Director to lead our Charity.  The successful candidate will have overall responsibility for the management, strategic direction and sustainability of Reaching Families.

Director – Reaching Families
Salary £50,000 FTE, 21 hours per week, 6.6 weeks holiday   
Remote/home flexible working with some travel across West Sussex

Reaching Families was established by parent-carers in 2008 to empower, inform and support parent-carers and families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in West Sussex. We achieve this through the delivery of a range of services including information, training, benefits advice and peer support.

The charity offers the support to families that they desperately need but are often unable to find elsewhere.  Since Covid the charity has grown exponentially and today provides services to over 3,000 families across West Sussex. However, there is still so much more to do.

This is a crucial time for us as we look to appoint a new Director. We are seeking a passionate candidate who shares our vision and values and has the skill to lead our committed team into the future.

At Reaching Families we put families first by responding to the needs they tell us they care most about. Our team is our greatest asset and all our staff have lived experience of caring for a child with SEND. We are committed to delivering high-quality services at the best possible value to optimise the number of families we can support.

If you share our vision, and have the experience and skills we are looking for, we would welcome your application.

Person Specification (essential)

Knowledge 

• Up to date knowledge of charity law and best practice in fundraising and charity management
   

Skills & Attributes

• Passionate about improving the life chances of children and young people with SEND, their parent-carers, siblings and extended family
• A highly motivated self-starter with a flexible approach to working life
• A strategic and creative thinker with the vision to lead Reaching Families through the next phase of its development
• Excellent people management skills and the ability to inspire and lead staff and volunteers through a period of change
• Ability to manage a diverse and highly demanding workload
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills and comfortable working with people from a wide variety of  backgrounds
• Excellent writing and editing skills applied in a number of different mediums including fundraising, communications and impact reporting 

Experience

• Extensive experience of fundraising in particular from charitable trusts and foundations, the national lottery and statutory grant makers
• Experience of managing services in the voluntary and community sector preferably gained in a small to medium sized charity
• Experience of business planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting against strategic objectives 

Education & Training

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent

Please see attached job description for further details and full criteria 

We welcome applications from all members of the community and value diversity in the organisation. Please contact us if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made to the application or interview process due to any disability or health requirements. 

Closing date for applications: 30th November 2026

Interviews:  Two-stage interviews commencing from 7th January 2027

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK