Executive director jobs in chigwell, essex

About us

We’re Breast Cancer Now, the research and support charity. We’re the place to turn to for anything and everything to do with breast cancer. However you’re experiencing breast cancer, we’re here. 

The brightest minds in breast cancer research are here. Making life-saving research happen in labs across the UK and Ireland. Support services, trustworthy breast cancer information and specialist nurses are here. Ready to support you whenever you need it. Dedicated campaigners are here. Fighting for the best possible treatment, services and care for anyone affected by breast cancer.

About the role

This is an pivotal time to join us as we continue to roll out support services for people with incurable breast cancer.

This role leads on the further development of Breast Cancer Now’s secondary breast cancer services across the UK and online, building on the success of recent growth and exploring new opportunities. As a member of the services leadership team, you’ll make a full contribution to the leadership, strategic planning and development of Breast Cancer Now’s support services, working collaboratively with other heads and managers across the organisation.

About you

You’re an experienced, empathetic and clear-thinking leader who’s able to demonstrate how you’ve achieved stretching targets, preferably in a service delivery environment. Skilled at getting the best out of people, you’ll be able to support your team through growth and change, whilst ensuring the quality of our support services remains high.

You’ll understand the challenges faced by people living with secondary breast cancer. And have a strong commitment to improving their quality of life. Relationship building and excellent communication skills will be second nature to you, with a confident, articulate approach and the ability to relate to people at many different levels and across teams. You’ll be determined to achieve our ambitious vision for the future and turn this into reality, showing resilience and creativity in overcoming any challenges.

Job description and benefits

Please download the job description and our attractive benefits package.

Primary location of role and hybrid working

This role can be primarily based in either our London or Sheffield office. Our hybrid working model allows you to work up to 3 days per week at home.

When applying

We hope you choose to apply for this role. Please refer to the essential criteria on the person specification and clearly provide as much information as you can with examples, to demonstrate how and where you meet the criteria. If you’ve any immediate questions please contact us.

Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

We’re committed to promoting equity, valuing diversity and creating an inclusive environment – for everyone who works for us, works with us, supports us and who we support.

Closing date 9.00am on Thursday 22 May 2025

1st stage Interview date Monday 2 June 2025

2nd stage Interview date Friday 6 June 2025

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys being at the heart of an organisation’s operations—helping to keep the corporate services team running smoothly, so that our Education and Supporter teams can focus on delivering impact through our programmes. 

Both nationally and internationally, public discussion and political debate are increasingly polarised and divided. Social media, fake news and new technologies such as AI can create echo chambers, where claims pass unchallenged, and different views are hard to find. The English-Speaking Union shows that there is a more constructive and collaborative path.  The ESU was founded in 1918 to build greater understanding and friendships between people and nations. We are an educational charity with international reach, with an ESU in over 50 countries. Today our work is focussed on training young people in oracy – speaking and listening skills, in critical thinking and self-expression - to build skilful communicators and engaged citizens and leaders.  

The English-Speaking Union and our work is more important now than ever.  

The Corporate Services team provides essential strategic and operational support across the organisation. Our governance function oversees compliance, risk management, and performance frameworks. The finance team manages budgets, financial planning, and reporting. All of this contributes to effective decision making. We are also responsible for looking after our properties, which includes maintaining oversight of two commercial leases, and maintaining Dartmouth House which is a grade II* listed events venue and our Head Office in Mayfair. 

Purpose of this role  

The Business Support Administrator will provide high quality support to the Board of Trustees and its sub-Committees, and the Chief Operating Officer. This role will work closely with the Executive Assistant to the Director General. 

Responsibilities and Expectations  

• Provide high-quality administrative and organisational support to the Chief Operating Officer, helping to ensure smooth day-to-day operations. 

• Coordinate the preparation and timely circulation of agendas, papers, minutes and action logs for Board and Committee meetings. 

• Monitor and report on progress against Board and Committee actions, ensuring timely follow-up and delivery 

• Support the delivery of the annual Board effectiveness review, gathering feedback and helping to implement improvements. 

• Assist with the planning and delivery of the annual external audit, working with colleagues and auditors to meet key deadlines. 

• Maintain key registers including the Gift & Hospitality Register, Declarations of Interest, and compliance trackers. 

• Facilitate due diligence checks as needed, liaising with legal advisors to ensure accuracy and compliance. 

• Maintain the organisation’s contract register, tracking review dates and supporting internal contract reviews and renewals. 

• Deliver one-off projects and provide flexible support across the Corporate Services team as required. 

Skills and Experience  

• A track record of providing secretariat support, including minute taking. 

• Excellent administrative skills, highly organised with very good attention to detail. 

• A tactful and conscientious individual who can navigate through complex situations 

• Understands the importance of maintaining confidentiality

• A good understanding of charity governance. 

• Strong written and oral communication skills. 

• A motivated self-starter who can quickly translate issues into solutions. 

• A team player who can quickly build trusted relationships at all levels. 

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills. 

• Can confidently and professionally challenge and hold people to account. 

• The ability to manage several projects simultaneously whilst working at a high standard.

• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office. 

Location: London (remote working within the UK is possible)

Hours: Full-Time or Part-Time (5 days or 4 days per week pro rata)

Remuneration: £80,000 -£100,000 depending on experience

Role overview 

This is a new role within FILE, providing dedicated thought leadership internally and externally with respect to our land use and nature strategies. You will support our partners to accelerate a transition to sustainable food production, secure and enforce sustainable frameworks for extraction of transition minerals, and contribute to safeguarding key global ecosystems, including through enhancing and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

You will work closely with the Director of Program Strategy, Regional Directors, and other portfolio leads to ensure land use and nature strategies are developed and integrated throughout our funding portfolios. Externally, you will build and maintain relationships with some of the world’s leading climate and biodiversity lawyers and campaigners, as well as with aligned philanthropies.

Our land use and nature work mainly supports partners working on protecting habitats in biodiversity rich areas of Africa, South America and South East Asia, including by challenging harmful practices of corporations based in the Global North. Its scope may shift over time, including as the successful candidate refines our strategy going forwards.

We seek to protect the rights of, and support partnerships with, indigenous people and local communities. Key strategic outcomes pursued include confronting supply chains of major corporates that drive greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and violate the rights of local communities, and securing regulatory changes to drive finance towards cleaner, more equitable alternatives.

Key Responsibilities

Each of these is conducted in close collaboration with relevant colleagues across FILE’s strategy teams, as well as FILE’s Research, Impact, and Learning, Grant Management, and Philanthropic Partnerships teams: 

• Lead the development of FILE’s land use and nature strategies, including a focus on legal and narrative and movement-building approaches, as well as on enhancing and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities 

• These strategies will set out a well-considered approach to sectors and themes including exploitation of transition minerals, deforestation and biodiversity loss driven by industrial agriculture, addressing rights violations in global corporate supply chains, etc 

• Work in close collaboration with strategy, grant making and fundraising leads within FILE to increase access to funding sources and the resilience of partners working in the field

• Developing, maintaining and convening external partnerships and networks with partners and practitioners working on and use and nature strategies 

• Provide leadership to the wider philanthropic and donor community on the need for legal interventions in pursuit of FILE’s land use and nature strategy, and support fundraising for FILE as well as directly for our partners 

Key Outcomes 

• FILE has a well-considered land use and nature strategy, including a focus both on legal and related narrative and movement strategies, which is integrated throughout our funding portfolios

• Increased funding is made available to partner organisations working on land use and nature, via FILE or directly from other philanthropies

• FILE colleagues and external partners have a trusted thought partner and collaborator on developing and implementing land use and nature legal strategies 

• Overseeing / establishing high quality convening(s), with support of FILE’s Convening Manager, and networks of civil society and relevant legal practitioners and peers working in this area, to catalyse innovation and strengthen connectivity 

• An engaged group of funders, ready to deepen their support for our partners’ work on land use and nature strategies 

About you 

We know that long lists of criteria can be discouraging and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the relevant criteria, we still encourage you to apply.

We also recognise that skills and experience can be gained in unexpected places, so we welcome applications from candidates who feel they have relevant skills for the role, gained from a wide range of professional, lived and learned experiences.

Essential criteria 

• A strong commitment to protecting the environment, reforming corporate and financial governance, strengthening government ambition, and prioritising the rights of indigenous peoples, marginalised groups, and other communities most affected by climate change and environmental harms 

• Experience of and expertise in developing and / or delivering legal strategies to advance systemic change on land use and nature 

• Demonstrated experience in linking legal strategies to effective communications, campaign, and/or movement strategies to advance systemic change 

• An ability to strategically manage projects, including prioritisation and forwards planning

• An ability to work equitably and effectively with multiple perspectives and build trust with diverse partners, and understanding of funder positionality and responsibility. 

• A willingness to travel from time to time (at least four times a year, more if working remotely) to meet FILE staff and partners 

• An ability to work flexibly as part of a team spread across many time zones, which will involve some meetings outside of standard working hours 

• A professional standard of written and spoken English

Desired criteria 

• A current or past qualification / bar admission as a lawyer 

• Experience of working as a lawyer on strategic litigation against governments, corporations, or financial institutions 

• Demonstrated experience of building and / or maintaining external networks, bringing expert practitioners and / or civil society together 

• Experience working with communities adversely affected by climate change, environmental harms, and/or related human rights violations, particularly in the Global South 

• Existing relationships with NGOs, lawyers, and / or philanthropic partners working on relevant land use and nature strategies 

• An ability to communicate with partners in other relevant languages, including Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Bahasa Indonesia, would be a bonus but not essential 

About FILE

The Foundation for International Law for the Environment (FILE) is a not-for-profit philanthropic organisation working to accelerate legal action on climate change. 

Through grant-making and in-house legal expertise, we empower our partners to deliver strategic, innovative legal interventions and we support lawyers in their own countries to bring their own cases. 

Legal action can unlock the systemic changes in finance, policy and social systems needed to protect all of us from climate change. The power of the law is both direct (changing policy and practice) and indirect (signalling the wider shifts taking place across these systems).

FILE is a ‘regrantor’ - this means we do not bring legal action in our own name. We receive grants from our philanthropic donors (a small group of like-minded climate foundations) and make onwards grants to partners who align with FILE’s charitable aims and purposes. We do not seek to make any profit from our activities either in a relevant financial year or in the longer term.

Working for FILE

FILE is a collaborative community of individuals who share a passion for climate, nature, and justice. We bring together knowledge and experience to support our mission.

Our people are empowered to lead their work both individually and as part of a wider team in order to make impactful change. As a relatively young organisation with the ambitious mission to change global systems, our roles are ideally suited to those who are highly strategic, flexible and adaptable, and open to growing in line with the Foundation.

FILE is committed to challenging inequality and values diversity, equity and justice in all areas of life. Our mission, work and impact is global, with staff and partners from across the world and a range of lived experiences. We firmly believe that we are strengthened by the diversity of our partners and staff.

At FILE, we actively work to create an inclusive culture where colleagues feel welcomed, heard and supported to succeed and thrive.

Location

FILE has offices in London and the Netherlands. We are advertising this role for candidates based (and with the right to work) in the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil or South Africa but will also consider applications from other locations where we are able to do so.  

Please note, therefore, that you will see this role advertised in multiple locations but that we are only hiring for one position. Please apply to the job post for your preferred location. 

How FILE supports its staff 

FILE is committed to creating a workplace that supports our staff to do their best work and develop professionally. FILE offer a generous annual leave policy and additional time-off work to support wellbeing. Amongst other benefits, FILE offers private healthcare and a contribution to a pension scheme.

FILE is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and encourage candidates who can contribute to the diversity of our team to apply.
Join us in making a tangible difference in the fight against climate change by creating spaces where diverse voices come together to drive impactful solutions.

Applications 

Please apply on our website and upload your CV. This role is open for applications immediately and we accept applications on a rolling basis. If you are interested, we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible. The role will remain open for at least four weeks from the date of advertisement.
 

Diversity & Inclusion

As an equal opportunities employer, FILE is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join FILE. We are committed to continually learning and improving our diversity and inclusion practices, which can best be done if we are as diverse as the people of the world we’re working to protect. 

Are you a skilled leader with a drive for investment and sustainability in housing?

We're seeking a dedicated Head of Reinvestment and Sustainability to join the St Mungo’s Assets team. This role is crucial in driving forward our investment and sustainability initiatives, ensuring our properties are safe, well-maintained, and ensuring compliance with PAS 2035 and relevant standards.

Reporting to the Director of Property Services, you will lead multiple improvement projects across our diverse housing stock. Your strategic and operational leadership will be key in delivering high-quality properties and improving the lives of our residents. You will work closely with internal teams, residents, and external partners to drive innovation and collaboration within the Reinvestment and Sustainability function.

Additional responsibilities in the role of Head of Reinvestment and Sustainability:

• Lead reinvestment, disposal, energy efficiency, building safety, sustainability, and planned maintenance programmes.
• Prepare capital budgets, revenue forecasts, and programme schedules.
• Oversee the design, procurement, and delivery of construction proposals for planned maintenance programmes.
• Develop effective relationships with partner organisations, including the GLA, Homes England, and Local Authorities.
• Manage projects and contracts for reinvestment and retrofit initiatives.
• Drive design excellence and contribute to policy development related to property design and sustainability.
• Ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory expectations in building and fire safety, landlord health and safety, and energy efficiency.

In this role you will be required to work flexibly for at least 2 days per week from our Central Office in Tower Hill, London or on site. This allows for training, in person collaboration, team building, line management and other relationship building opportunities. We support a flexible approach to work with opportunities for agile working for the rest of your week; from home, or other St Mungo’s London or regional locations. 

About You
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced professional who is passionate about enhancing housing standards and sustainability who has the ability to drive impactful reinvestment and retrofit programmes.

To succeed in this role, you will bring:

• Proven success in managing reinvestment and retrofit programmes with significant budgets, preferably in social housing or local authorities.
• Advanced knowledge of construction, JCT contracts, Building Regulations, and key legislation.
• Expertise in PAS 2035, ECO funding, SHDF, and energy efficiency schemes.
• Hands-on experience collaborating with Retrofit Coordinators, Assessors, and Designers to ensure best practices.
• Exceptional team leadership and staff management skills.
• Outstanding stakeholder engagement, communication, and interpersonal abilities.
• Sharp project management, negotiation, and influencing talents.
• Strong financial appraisal and risk management capabilities with a focus on efficiency.
• Relevant qualification (RIBA, RICS, CIOB) or equivalent experience in the built environment.

How to Apply
To view the job description and guidance on completing your application form, please click on the ‘document’ tab on the advert page on our website.

To find out more and apply, please go to the St Mungo’s careers page on our website.

Closing date: 10am on Tuesday 23 May 2025

Interview and assessments will be held on 4 - 5 June 2025 

We are working hard to create a diverse and fully inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and we welcome applications from all under-represented groups, particularly Global Majority candidates who are underrepresented at this management level.  

What we offer

• Excellent Development and Growth Opportunities
• A Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
• Great Pay and Other Benefits

Partnership Experience Manager (Maternity Cover)

Salary: £38,814 - £44,581 pro-rata (depending on experience and FTE)

Contract: 12 months fixed-term contract (Maternity Cover- might be potentially extended)

Start Date: Date to be agreed (potentially August)

Location: This is currently a blended-working role with two in-office days (Tuesday-Thursday) during term time and the flexibility to work from home during school holidays. Occasional travel to schools and events will be required. 

We will consider reduced office days for a successful candidate based in one of our target regions across the North and Midlands. If this might be relevant for you we are happy to explore in a conversation with you before or during the recruitment process. 

We are currently based at Resource for London near Holloway Road station, however, our office will be moving to another location in London in the coming months. 

Working Pattern: 37.5 hours per week. Our core hours are 09:30 - 16:00 from Monday to Friday. This role can be either full-time or part-time (0.8 FTE minimum) and we are open to flexible working requests. 

Benefits of working for Challenge Partners

• Work-life balance

• Annual leave

• Employer pension contributions

• Health and wellbeing support

• Training and development

• Family-friendly policies

• Connection and celebration

About the role

You will play a key role in driving the continuous improvement and growth of our national partnership through deepening the quality and impact of our local collaboration hubs. You will also oversee the day-to-day running of hubs of our schools and trusts, which includes holding responsibility for the operations of the Partnerships Team and working closely with the Partnership Lead to ensure that all hubs, schools and trusts have an excellent experience with Challenge Partners. 

You will also oversee the implementation of the organisation’s Account Management strategy, working closely with members of the Leadership Team  to implement our strategy for effective partnership experience (our term for account management and customer service) for our partner schools and trusts. This includes holding some key strategic relationships, representing the organisation at external meetings and overseeing partner experience operations.

Key Responsibilities

The Partnership Experience Manager will have the following key areas of responsibility and will be expected to undertake other responsibilities commensurate with the role as requested:

Strategic Leadership and Management  - Hub Quality and Impact

• Develop and lead our strategy to improve the quality and impact of Challenge Partners’ Hubs, continuing to develop high performing hubs and supporting rapid improvement in new and emerging hubs

• Deliver, grow and evaluate the impact of our hub-led programmes: Middle Leaders’ Quality Assurance Review and Leadership Residency Programme

• Oversee the continuous improvement of national Knowledge Exchange and Areas of Excellence

• Lead a Hub Quality and Impact team, including all central team hub owners and executive hub links, through providing clarity on the Hub Quality and Impact strategy and operations.

Strategic Leadership and Management - Partnership Experience and Communications

• Develop and lead the implementation of our Account Management strategy ensuring that accounts are given the attention needed to ensure a smooth experience and high satisfaction rates

• Oversee Customer Care processes across the organisation, guaranteeing that any issues are resolved in a professional and timely manner 

• Oversee whole partnership communications, including half termly partnership newsletters

• Develop and maintain effective stakeholder relationships (Senior Partners, Hub Managers, trust CEOs) with your allocated key accounts to ensure that regular dialogue with them informs the strategy and continuous improvement in our support of hub quality and partner experience

• Act as an ambassador for Challenge Partners, representing the organisation externally where required

• Lead an Account Management approach through providing clarity on the account management strategy and operations.

Oversight of partner experience and hub management operations 

• Line management of the Partnership Lead and one or two Partnership Co-ordinators

• Team leadership of the Hub Quality and Impact and Account Management teams, delegating tasks appropriately 

• Work closely with the Partnership Lead to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of all hubs 

• Act as a point of escalation for any issues across hubs

• Identify hubs at risk, and lead on creating sustainable solutions with team members

• Work closely with the Finance Team to facilitate our invoicing processes for each academic year 

• Oversee hub funding processes across all hubs, proactively considering any changes needed in line with Hub Quality work

• Oversee Pricing Governance processes

Leadership Responsibilities for all Managers

• Foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture.

• Provide coaching and mentorship to develop team members’ potential.

• Drive innovation and professional development, aligning with Challenge Partners’ vision and growth strategy.

• Collaborate with Managers across teams to align efforts, ensuring a seamless experience for our school and trust partners.

• Contribute to organisational strategy, future planning, and priorities as part of the middle leadership team.

General Responsibilities

• Champion Challenge Partners’ vision, values, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Take ownership of personal development and actively contribute to team learning.

• Work flexibly, undertaking additional duties as required.

• Maintain high standards of health, safety, and welfare for yourself and others.

• Attend events and external meetings, which may require travel and occasional overnight stays.

Person Specification

• Strong commitment to Challenge Partners vision and mission.

• Proven track record in strategic leadership and managing key external relationships.

• Knowledge and experience of the education sector.

• Excellent interpersonal skills used to build positive relationships with diverse stakeholders.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience in leading teams and developing others (formal line management experience is not required if transferable people management skills can be demonstrated).

• Proactive in improving processes, identifying risks and solving problems.

• Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and adapt to changing needs

How to apply

Please submit your application on Applied by 10am on Monday 19th May 2025. You will be asked to upload your CV and answer five competency and scenario-based application questions.

• First round of interviews (remote)- wlc 26th May 2025 (Specific dates TBC)

• Second round of interviews (face-to-face)- wlc 2nd June 2025 (Specific dates TBC)

A note on AI 

At Challenge Partners, we are committed to a fair and inclusive recruitment process. We don’t use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for recruitment - applications are reviewed by members of the team and we use blind shortlisting to mitigate potential bias and ensure all candidates are considered on merit.

Whilst we recognise that AI can be a useful tool for tasks like proofreading, we encourage you to share genuine examples from your own experience so we can better understand your unique skills and perspective. Authenticity is important to us and we want to hear your voice throughout the application process.

DEI Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to further enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our team and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. 

Safeguarding Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, beneficiaries and staff. We expect all employees, consultants and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment or contracts with us are subject to a satisfactory DBS check and references. 

No agencies please.

Insights Analyst - Charity - FULLY REMOTE

Understanding Recruitment NFP is delighted to be partnering with Animals Asia, a leading charity dedicated to creating positive change for animals across Asia, to find a talented Insight Analyst. This is a fantastic opportunity to join their dedicated Data, Technology and Insight team and play a key role in data-driven decision-making across the Supporter Engagement Department.

As an Insight Analyst at Animals Asia, you'll be instrumental in analysing complex datasets, identifying actionable insights, and delivering strategic recommendations that contribute directly to their impactful mission. You’ll collaborate closely with colleagues to build insightful dashboards (primarily using Tableau) and communicate key findings to stakeholders across the organisation. Your expertise in SQL and data visualisation will be crucial in driving Animals Asia's vital work.

Key Skills:

• Proficient in SQL for querying and manipulating data to extract meaningful information.
• Strong experience in working with data visualisation tools such as Power BI or Tableau to create clear and impactful reports and dashboards.
• Familiarity with the Google suite, Google Sheets, Google Meets, etc.
• Proven ability to work effectively with colleagues of all technical abilities, translating complex data into understandable insights and reports.

Contract Details:

• Position: Permanent (Fully Remote)
• Salary: £40,000 per annum
• Location: Home-based, ideally UK

This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic team within a truly impactful organisation.

To find out more about this opportunity and the recruitment schedule, please contact Harry Bullock at Understanding Recruitment NFP.