Executive assistant to the chief operating officer jobs

Lead the operations, governance and compliance that enable Solving Kids' Cancer UK to deliver its mission and impact for children and families affected by neuroblastoma. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will play a critical role in ensuring the charity operates effectively, compliantly and sustainably.

This broad and varied leadership role spans governance, risk, HR, IT, data protection and organisational operations, supporting delivery of the charity's strategy through robust systems, policies and processes. Acting as Company Secretary, you will work closely with the CEO and Board of Trustees, providing advice on governance, regulatory requirements and best practice. As a member of the Leadership Team, you will oversee key operational functions, lead cross-organisational projects and deputise for the CEO where required.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a strategic, highly organised and values-driven leader with strong experience in charity operations, governance and compliance. You will have a track record of ensuring organisations are well run, compliant and effectively managed, with the ability to oversee multiple operational areas and support strong governance and decision-making at Board level.

You will be comfortable working across a broad remit, including governance, risk, HR, IT and data protection, and confident providing clear, practical advice to senior leaders and trustees.

Person specification

Key requirements include:

• Significant senior-level experience in operations, governance or compliance within a charity or similar environment. 
• Strong understanding of charity governance and regulation, with experience supporting boards and senior leadership. 
• Experience overseeing organisational functions such as HR, IT, data protection or risk. 
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and lead cross-organisational work effectively. 
• Strong judgement, integrity and the ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion. 

See our Recruitment Pack for the full role description and specification and for information about Solving Kids' Cancer UK. 

This is an opportunity to make a significant contribution at the heart of a small, ambitious charity where strong operations are a vital enabler of impact for children and families.

Location: Home-based, within easy reach of London, with regular travel to the London office and occasional UK-wide travel.

First-stage interview: Thursday 6 August 

Second-stage interview: Thursday 13 August

Deputy CEO and Creative Director Role

We are looking for a Deputy CEO/Creative Director to working alongside the CEO/Creative Director to contribute to the artistic vision, creative, entrepreneurial and strategic leadership of the charity.

For over 40 years, the organisation has co-created inclusive, artistic opportunities with diverse communities.

This work enhances wellbeing and celebrates culture and heritage. 

We call this Art for a Reason.

Position: Deputy CEO / Creative Director Role

Location: Manchester/Hybrid (3-4 days in the office, with one day being a Wednesday)

Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week

Salary: £43,869 plus a 7.5% employer pension contribution

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: Wednesday 8 July at 5pm

Interview Date: Thursday 16 & Friday 17 July

The Role

In this pivotal role, the Deputy CEO/Creative Director is responsible for working alongside the CEO/Creative Director to contribute to the artistic vision, creative, entrepreneurial and strategic leadership of the charity. Line managed by the CEO/Creative Director, you will lead on daily operations including governance, fundraising, marketing, embedding EDI across all aspects of the company’s operations and contribute to artistic programming to achieve our project objectives and strategic targets.

You will deputise as ambassador for the organisation and foster strong stakeholder relationships and will build relationships with the current major funders including the Arts Council England (the charity is not an NPO), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Garfield Weston Foundation. On occasion, you may be required to deputise for the CEO/Creative Director.

About You

We are looking for a leader with a proven track record in creative/cultural leadership, who can contribute to the implementation of an artistic programme, oversee complex budgets, and foster productive relationships with a Board of Trustees. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are embedded in the work with communities experiencing inequality, exclusion or barriers to participation.

About the Organisation

Join a dynamic participatory arts charity based in Rochdale, dedicated to using creative practice as a catalyst for social change. For over 40 years the organisation has co-created inclusive, artistic opportunities with diverse communities that enhance wellbeing and celebrate culture and heritage.  We call this Art for a Reason. Through a range of initiatives from Art for Wellbeing to community-led festivals, the team provide opportunities for people to explore their heritage, find their voice, and experience the transformative power of the arts. The vision is for a world where everyone has access and opportunities to create, participate and belong.

We particularly encourage applications from individuals who live in Rochdale and/or identify as being of the global majority, disabled, neurodiverse and/or LGBTQ+/and or non-binary communities. The successful candidate will be offered the post subject to an enhanced DBS check and references.

You may also have experience in areas such as Programme Coordinator/manager, Learning and Engagement, Director, Creative Director, Operations Director, CEO, Director of Creative, Joint CEO, Deputy CEO, Assistant CEO, Chief Exec, Assistant Chief Exec, Deputy Chief Exec. #INDNFP

PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.

Internal title: Executive and Governance Administrator

Location: Home (most meetings are online and we are largely a remote working organisation, however travel will be expected to central events at  least 1-2 times a year which will be paid for by the charity)

Salary: £34,453 Full Time

Hours: 35 per week (full time)

Closing Date: Sunday 19 July - 23.30

Contract: Permanent

About the role

This is a key support role at the heart of Housing Justice, providing high-quality, proactive and highly organised executive support to the CEO and senior leadership team in a fast-moving national charity environment. The postholder plays a critical role in enabling the CEO and Directors to operate effectively, requiring excellent diary management, strong judgement, discretion, and the ability to manage competing priorities and anticipate organisational needs. The role also involves coordinating meetings end-to-end, ensuring they are well-structured and outcome-focused, including preparing agendas, capturing accurate notes, maintaining action logs, and proactively following up to ensure timely completion.

About you

We are looking for someone with:

· Significant experience supporting senior leaders in a PA, Executive Assistant, or equivalent role

· Experience managing complex diaries across multiple senior stakeholders

· Experience of agenda setting and action tracking for a variety of senior management and trustee meetings

· Experience working in a fast paced, often changing environment

About us

Housing Justice brings together communities and finds solutions to homelessness by building personal connections, a sense of belonging, and creating justice in the housing system. We train and support volunteers to offer various accommodation options while building a network of local support. This includes providing personalised assistance to help individuals access relevant local services and address their other needs. Through compassionate, courageous, and collaborative action, we implement innovative solutions to tackle housing injustice, enhance the quality of housing, and elevate the voices and experiences of groups affected by housing injustice to both local and national governments.

This is a hands-on role that moves between two registers: structured qualitative research with proper analytical underpinning, and fast-turnaround reactive policy work. You will need to be genuinely comfortable in both able to run a multi-month thematic publication and turn around a tight briefing or consultation response within 48-72 hours when a policy window opens.

The role will lead The Difference's qualitative research and insight function, including research workstreams tied to the Difference Schools Partnership's annual thematic priorities, and our Harmful and Abusive Behaviours (HaB) workstream convening a sector council to build a shared framework for how schools understand and respond to peer-on-peer harm. You will produce briefings, evidence submissions and publications, manage external research partners, and work with the CEO, Head of Policy and Communications team to launch research with real impact. The role reports to the Head of Policy and works closely with colleagues across Strategy, Research and Programmes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead The Difference's qualitative research and insight function, running research workstreams tied to annual DSP thematic priorities and emerging strands on MAT inclusion and LA working
• Design and deliver qualitative research with schools, MATs and local authorities interviews, focus groups, school visits and thematic analysis  translating findings into evidence and policy recommendations
• Lead the Harmful and Abusive Behaviours research workstream, convening a sector council, producing briefing material and managing the route from convening to publication
• Produce timely, citable evidence for policy influence  including drafting briefings, consultation responses and evidence submissions on fast turnaround
• Project manage publication cycles from scoping through to launch, working with coalition and media partners to maximise reach and tracking policy traction post-launch
• Brief, manage and integrate the outputs of external research partners where commissioned (e.g. FFT Datalab, Pro Bono Economics)
• Capture and develop case studies from DSP schools and the wider Difference network

About The Difference

• Every day, the equivalent of 5,500 children are suspended from England's schools, doubling their likelihood of being NEET by 24. The Difference is a young education charity founded to change this story through whole school inclusion. We train school leaders, carry out our own research, and turn frontline insights into policy recommendations lobbying Ofsted and the Department for Education to improve funding and support for inclusion. Our vision is to see lost learning falling nationally by 2030.

About You

Essential

• Dual capability across reactive and structured research : comfortable producing tight briefings on a 48–72 hour turnaround and running multi-month qualitative publications
• Experience in education research, policy research or applied social research, with examples of published, commissioned or internally-influential work
• Strong qualitative research skills : interview and focus group design, thematic coding, framework development, synthesis across multiple sources
• Persuasive writing for mixed audiences : able to write clearly and concisely for policymakers, school leaders, the press and the sector, and comfortable ghost-writing for senior colleagues
• Project management discipline : able to run multiple workstreams in parallel, manage your own deadlines, and keep colleagues and external partners on track
• Comfortable working at pace in a fast-moving environment where priorities shift as policy windows open and close : self-directed, flexible and able to make good judgement calls under pressure
• Shared values with The Difference and personal commitment to improving life outcomes for young people

Desired

• Strong working understanding of UK education policy, particularly around inclusion, exclusion, SEND, accountability and school improvement
• Confident data literacy and basic quantitative analysis : comfortable interrogating population-level datasets and translating findings into accessible policy language
• Understanding of why language matters when writing about behaviour, exclusion and vulnerability, and the ability to frame behaviour as a signal of unmet need consistently across all work
• Lived experience or insight into the school experiences of marginalised young people
• Experience of working in or with schools, multi-academy trusts or local authorities
• Existing relationships in education research, policy or sector organisations

Please see the attached Job Description for full role details and person specification.

We are committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from under-represented groups in the charity sector. As part of our commitment to fairer recruitment, all applications will be assessed with names and protected characteristics redacted.