We are seeking a compassionate, visionary, and strategic Chief Executive Officer to lead Mermaids through the next stage of its evolution, dedicated to improving the lives of gender-diverse children and young people, and those who are important to them. As CEO, you will be responsible for driving the charity’s mission, shaping its strategic direction, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, affirming support services. You will act as a visible and credible advocate for trans and
gender-diverse youth, build strong relationships with stakeholders, and influence public policy and sector practice. Working closely with the Board of Trustees, you will oversee a small committed team, ensure robust financial management with the Chief Operating Officer, and lead fundraising efforts to secure a sustainable future. This is a unique opportunity for a values-driven leader who brings both strategic acumen and a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and lived
experience.
Service Delivery:
• Provide strategic and operational leadership across all service delivery areas, including support line services, group work, advocacy, external communications, and policy.
• Ensure services are high quality, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of trans and gender-diverse children, young people and the special people in their lives.
• Lead the continuous improvement and development of service delivery models, ensuring impact, effectiveness, and alignment with the charity’s mission.
• Champion a culture of safeguarding, accountability, and young person-centred practice throughout all service delivery.
• Act as the organisation’s Safeguarding Lead, with oversight of on-call, safeguarding training, and ensuring appropriate escalation mechanisms are in place.
• Oversee the design and implementation of advocacy and policy activities, ensuring the charity’s voice is informed by lived
experience and is impactful at local and national levels.
• Act as a visible and hands-on leader for frontline teams, providing support, supervision, and inspiration to staff and
volunteers.
• Monitor performance, outcomes, and feedback to ensure services are meeting objectives and delivering positive change
for beneficiaries.
Governance:
• In partnership with the board of trustees, set and articulate our vision, mission and strategy, and keep this under continual
review.
• Lead the development and implementation of Mermaid’s strategic plan, ensuring sustainability and growth.
• Liaise with the board of trustees to ensure the charity’s governance, structure, policies and procedures are appropriate
and effective, taking remedial measures and implementing change as necessary. This includes supporting board
development.
• Work closely with the Chair and Board of Trustees to support strong governance and informed decision-making.
• Provide accurate and timely reporting on organisational performance, risks, and impact.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory guidance and legislation, including the Charity Commission and the Fundraising
Finance & Fundraising:
• Working with the Chief Operating Officer and the Board of Trustees, ensure Mermaids has robust, deliverable fundraising
and finance strategies in place, and subsequent action plans are embedded throughout the organisation to support their
delivery.
• In partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, ensure Mermaids has robust finance, HR, IT, data privacy and governance processes and procedures are embedded.
People and Culture:
• Line manage senior staff including the COO and service delivery managers.
• Foster a positive, collaborative, inclusive internal culture that values lived experience and wellbeing.
• Continue work to embed a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion across the organisation, as well as a focus on accessibility.
• Work to define and drive trans-centred leadership across the organisation, including ensuring that the organisation is a trans-positive, supportive employer.
External Engagement and Advocacy:
• Represent Mermaids publicly, including acting as the key spokesperson and strategic policy stakeholder, ensuring
organisational awareness of the external landscape and the changing needs of trans children, young people and their
families, and advocating for these needs to be met.
• Lead communications strategy, and lead press engagement by responding to media inquiries, interviews, press conferences and media events.
• Lead on stakeholder engagement, including with funders, supporters, community partners, and policy influencers.
• Advocate for the rights and needs of trans and gender-diverse children, young people and the significant others in their lives at a national level.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
North West Air Ambulance is a hugely reputable and remarkable charity, which provides enhanced pre-hospital care needed to make a lifesaving difference. They quite simply bring the hospital to the patient, regardless of their location across the North West!
“There’s no doubt the North West Air Ambulance Charity saved my life. Without the care they provided so quickly at the scene, before airlifting me to the Royal Preston Hospital, it’s unlikely I would have survived.” (patient)
Do you want to Join a lifesaving crew and form part of the passionate, driven and talented Income and Engagement team that raise funds to keep this life saving service running?
The Role
This is a fantastic opportunity to deliver the community fundraising strategy in the South Lancashire region. You will report into the Senior Regional Fundraiser and focus on building strong relationships with existing supporters, as well as recruiting new support to maximise fundraising activities and income.
Main duties and responsibilities:
- Develop and implement a local fundraising plan to maximise income generation across the designated geographic area.
- Ensure all activities are delivered within budget, achieving agreed ROI and making sure they are in line with the organisation’s values and ethos.
- Support the wider team to achieve income budgets and agreed objectives in line with the overall fundraising strategy.
- Research, identify and develop long term partnerships with appropriate groups and associations, individuals and volunteers at a local level, offering excellent donor stewardship
The Person
We are ideally looking for someone who has experience in a Community Fundraising role with previous knowledge of working to targets. However, NWAA are flexible and will consider applicants with the relevant transferable skills.
Most importantly you should have excellent written and verbal communication skills, be able to build long lasting relationships, and have the ability to engage with a wide range of audiences. In addition experience in developing and delivering plans, managing budgets and financial forecasting would be advantageous as well as working with databases.
The team at NWAA are motivated, with an ambitious can-do attitude. If you think you can make a difference and be part of the inspirational team that drives the future growth at NWAA, we would love to hear from you!
Please note that this role will require a full UK driving license, and access to your own vehicle.
Why NWAA?
NWAA is a widely recognised charity that has a huge impact on saving lives. Now is an especially important time, as the charity celebrates its 25th anniversary and moves forward with its future 5-year strategic plan. This role offers the opportunity to build a career within the charity. There will be huge scope to learn and grow as part of an incredibly supportive, collaborative and fun team.
On top of this, the charity’s benefits include:
- 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
- Can buy up to an additional 5 days annual leave (once passed probation)
- Extra days holiday up to an additional 3 days based on length of service (must qualify by April for leave provision)
- 6% Employer Contribution to pension – Royal London is the provider
- Sick pay
- Cash Back Scheme which includes cash back for dental treatment and a range of medical treatments as well as staff discounts with a range of retailers
- Life Assurance
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- On-site parking
- Site Induction and yearly staff conference
- Medicash and Perk at Work also come through Medicash
- Blue Light Card
If this sounds like the type of environment that would suit you for the next phase of your career, then get in touch! The role is permanent and full-time (although flexible working patterns will be considered) and offers the opportunity to work flexibly from the charity's offices based in Knowsley and Barton, as well as across the region, and from home.
If you think you could be the right person to fulfil the exciting responsibilities of this role, apply here, or get in contact with Charlie or Leanne at Charity Horizons for more information,
Please note: If you would like to submit an application or express your interest in an alternative format such as audio or video upload or require any adaptations for your initial engagement with us, please contact either Charlie or Leanne who will be happy to advise on this.
Please also be aware that we use anonymous recruitment methods when submitting shortlists for all our roles and we only work with organisations that are happy to engage with us in this way.
Charity Horizons is an equal opportunities employer and as such actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable candidates irrespective of age, disability, hidden disability, race or national origin, religion or belief, gender, gender expression, political view, sexual orientation, medical condition and pregnancy.
Are you an outstanding Christian leader with a track-record of collaborative international working? Are you looking for the next opportunity to use your skills and experience for the benefit of a global organisation? If this is you, then you are invited to apply for the role of Chief Finance Officer at Open Doors International.
The global Chief Financial Officer of Open Doors International has a key leadership role both within the line-managed Open Doors International entity, and more widely across the Global Finance Network of development and field offices. The CFO reports to the CEO and works closely with other executives on all strategic and tactical matters as they relate to Financial Planning & Analysis, Financial Accounting (including transactional management and audit), Risk & Compliance, Treasury & Cash Management, Financial Data & Systems, Field Finance, Development Finance and Transformational Programs.
The CFO ensures Open Doors International is known for its excellent stewardship by delivering world-class and well-coordinated financial functions that contribute to excellent operations, risk management, forward-planning and mature governance.
You will:
- Be an experienced CFO with a strong track record of operating in international organisational structures, with exposure to developing markets, complex treasury and money transfer functions, and high-risk environments.
- Have experience of leading strategy formation, team supervision and timely delivery in a complex network or matrix style structures.
- Enjoy and have a matured gift of forward-planning, helping the Board, Executive Leadership Team and colleagues benefit from transparent budget plans in a dynamic missional context that will demand agility.
- Employ wise risk assessment in a context of faith, so that Open Doors can, with effectiveness and great sophistication, deliver its ministry in very challenging and at times restrictive environments.
- Bring a servant-hearted leadership gifting, including the ability to lead through influence and build consensus amongst divergent senior stakeholders; inspire trust; and take a highly relational and capacity-building approach with their colleagues.
- Have excellent communication skills - written, verbal and able to deliver insights with data; effective with a range of audiences from local staff to Board level
- Exhibit grace, to patiently but persistently mature a complex organisation moving through significant phases of growth in a rapidly evolving external environment
Your responsibilities are under the following headings (for a full explanation, please read the attached pdf):
- Strategic Financial Leadership
- Management Reports & Communication
- Accounting & Financial Controls
- Treasury and Cash Management
- Risk Management & Compliance
- Innovation & Transformation
- Leadership and People Management
Person Specification
KEY QUALITIES
Open Doors believes that spiritual maturity, character and behaviour are as important as financial competence, therefore the CFO is:
- A devoted follower of Jesus with a heart to strengthen persecuted Christians.
- Prayerful and able to take financial decisions, founded on faith in God.
- Able to build strong relationships across national cultures.
- Able to empower others and intentionally develop future finance leaders.
- Prepared to make difficult decisions and have honest conversations with grace.
- Active in a local church that supports their vocation and provides spiritual support.
- Emotionally intelligent and aware of the impact of their leadership on people.
- Experienced in negotiating and influencing at a senior level, combined with strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.
KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES
- A highly skilled Finance professional, who demonstrates an appetite for continued learning and personal development.
- Approximately 15 years of senior finance operational leadership experience prefered in multi-national commercial sector and/or international charity sector.
- Significant team management experience, including remote working across different time zones.
- Proven ability to lead change, including working well across many operational disciplines (Field programs, IT, Legal and HR teams, for example).
- Oversight of a complex treasury function providing financial access across geographical locations.
- Experience communicating and providing reports to Board Audit & Finance Committee.
Open Doors International will offer a competitive salary for the post. We are open to applications from anyone who is suitable for this role, regardless of their current location, with a willingness to be located within -6hours/+2 hours Central European Time zone for ease of communication within a dispersed global ministry.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an MS Teams Interview with the Open Doors International search panel. Finalist Candidates will be asked to come to Netherlands for in-person interviews on 5 September. The Open Doors International search panel members are very aware that this is a two-way discernment process, therefore we encourage each applicant to pray to the Lord and consult their trusted and closest fellow Christians as they consider this opportunity. The successful candidate will be expected to take up the post of CFO as soon as is reasonably possible.
Thank you for taking the time to prayerfully consider this opportunity and to learn more about the work of Open Doors International.
Your application should comprise:
• A mandatory covering note of not more than two pages outlining your motivation and relevant experience for the role. This covering letter should also include the names of your three referees and one of them should be your pastor or a church leader who knows you well. Please note – these referees will not be contacted until late in the process and with your prior agreement.
• A full CV/Resume, including educational and professional qualifications, a full employment history showing the more significant positions, responsibilities held and relevant achievements.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.