Chief Executive Officer
Salary: £49, 282 - £54,495 per annum
Location: Gorse Hill Studios, Trafford, Manchester (Some remote working will be considered)
Contract Type: Full time, permanent
About Gorse Hill Studios
Gorse Hill Studios is a dynamic and ambitious youth and community arts charity. At the heart of our organisation is a belief that all young people deserve to feel valued, supported and inspired. We work with young people to build confidence, creativity and community connections, ensuring they have the opportunities and encouragement they need to thrive.
We believe that creativity can transform lives, and we are committed to placing young people at the centre of everything we do. Their voices, ideas and experiences help shape our programmes, partnerships and strategic direction.
We are entering an exciting phase of growth and development. Our team currently includes 20 core staff and a wider network of volunteers and creative practitioners, delivering a diverse portfolio of youth arts sessions, community engagement projects, creative wellbeing initiatives and partnership-led activity with local schools and organisations. The CEO will play a pivotal role in leading this portfolio, strengthening our impact, championing youth voice and ensuring young people continue to shape our future direction as we move into the next chapter of our development.
About the Role
As CEO, you will provide strategic, compassionate and visionary leadership, ensuring Gorse Hill Studios delivers its mission to empower and inspire young people. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, you will hold overall responsibility for the organisation’s performance, culture, operations and long-term sustainability. This role calls for someone who demonstrates strong strategic insight with the ability to influence and inspire others, using emotional intelligence and collaborative leadership to build positive internal and external relationships.
A fundamental part of this role is your commitment to embedding young people’s voice in decision making. You will champion their perspectives, ensuring programme development, strategy and organisational culture reflect the needs and aspirations of the young people we serve.
You will also be an ambassador for the charity, building trusted relationships with young people, partners, funders and the wider community. This role requires a leader who is values led, resilient and passionate about supporting young people through the arts and creative engagement.
Roles and Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Governance
- Lead on the development and delivery of the charity’s long-term strategy, with young people meaningfully involved
- Ensure compliance with all statutory, regulatory and governance requirements, including Charity Commission expectations and safeguarding duties
- Provide clear, timely reporting to the Board
- Support the Board to operate effectively
Financial Management and Income Generation
- Oversee budgeting, financial planning and responsible management of all funds
- Lead a diverse income generation strategy
- Identify sustainable opportunities for organisational growth
Operational Management and Programme Delivery
- Oversee day to day operations and ensure systems are effective
- Ensure programmes are high quality, inclusive and reflective of young people’s needs and feedback
- Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead, or ensure robust safeguarding practices across the organisation
People Leadership and Culture
- Inspire, support and lead a dedicated staff and volunteer team
- Champion a positive, inclusive and collaborative working culture
- Oversee recruitment, wellbeing and performance management
External Relations and Advocacy
- Act as the primary spokesperson and ambassador for Gorse Hill Studios
- Build strong relationships with partners, funders and stakeholders
- Advocate for and with young people locally and nationally
- Represent the charity confidently at events and in the media
Skills and Experience
Essential:
- Senior leadership experience in the charity, youth, arts or wider non-profit sector
- Strong financial management skills
- Proven success in fundraising or income generation
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement
- Knowledge of safeguarding practices in youth settings
- Experience leading teams and developing positive organisational cultures
- Strategic leadership experience
Desirable
- Experience in the youth arts or creative community sector
- Understanding of the Trafford community landscape
Values and Commitment
We are committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from individuals who share these values and are passionate about empowering young people.
An enhanced DBS check will be required.
Application Details
To apply, please submit your CV and covering letter.
Closing date: 19 January
Interview date: 23 January at Gorse Hill Studios
Interviews will include a stakeholder panel and a formal interview.
REF-225 658
Thank you!
This role would suit a professional individual with solid current trade union knowledge, with excellent communication skills, with proven experience of implementing projects to diverse international and multi-cultural environments and fundraising in a global context.
The Head of Union Building will lead a team at head office and work collaboratively with Union Building related staff in our regions to develop and deliver the ITF’s ambitious Union Building programme and its growth path. This includes the development, implementation and monitoring of strategies to ensure that Union Building portfolio and funding grows, and that Union Building projects achieve their agreed objectives and are coherently reported in line with TUSSO standards. The role will also contribute to the strategies required to fulfil the ITF’s overall objectives.
Due to the international aspects of the organisation’s work, a good working knowledge of another language would be an advantage. Proficient in using standard office equipment and other relevant software.
ITF offers a highly competitive defined benefit pension salary scheme, a flexible hybrid working model, enabling staff to work from home as well as the office, as well as the opportunity to work in a state-of-the-art modern office building in central London.
Non Charity Employer
101 - 500
Every day transport workers keep the world moving – connecting millions of people across our cities and countries
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Why this role exists
We deliver practical legal support that changes lives. To grow responsibly, we need a COO to build operational excellence and keep systems ready to scale.
What you will lead
• Financial leadership — Build, manage and monitor the annual budget; lead forecasting and cashflow; produce reports; oversee accounting, payments, payroll and invoicing; maintain strong controls and compliance; track restricted funds; support grant bids and donor reporting.
• Day-to-day operations — Maintain efficient systems across casework, admin and volunteers; design policies, SOPs and QA; oversee IT, digital tools and case management; ensure GDPR-compliant data handling; lead operational responses to risk and regulation.
• Strategy and organisational development — Work with the Executive Director on strategy; lead service development, scaling projects and national expansion; improve volunteer pathways, client experience and internal processes; provide data-driven insight for the Board.
• People, volunteers and HR — Support recruitment, onboarding and retention; develop clear HR processes and documentation; ensure supervision, wellbeing and safeguarding frameworks.
• Governance, risk and compliance — Manage risk registers and mitigation plans; lead internal audits and quality reviews; prepare Board papers; ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and charity requirements.
You’ll thrive here if you show
• Ownership and follow-through: you take responsibility and land the work.
• Planning under pressure: you bring order, rhythm and clarity.
• Bold, informed judgement: you improve systems based on evidence, not habit.
• Entrepreneurial drive: you simplify, standardise and scale what works.
• Inclusive practice: you design operations that are easier to use and safer to deliver.
• Clear communication: you turn complexity into simple actions and updates.
• Team-building and collaboration: you help staff and volunteers succeed together.
• Constant learning: you refine processes and leave usable documentation.
What you will bring
• Significant operational leadership in a non-profit, legal, community or mission-driven setting.
• Strong financial management across budgeting, forecasting, reporting and controls.
• Ability to build robust systems in a small but scaling organisation.
• Strategic, organised and analytical working style.
• Confident people leadership and clear communication.
• Understanding of governance, safeguarding, risk and regulatory compliance.
• Commitment to trans equality, dignity and client-centred practice.
Helpful extras
• Experience in legal services or legal operations.
• Managing grants or donor-funded programmes.
• Experience scaling an organisation or building new infrastructure.
• Knowledge of trans community needs and support services.
Practicalities
• Hours: part time, with occasional evenings or weekends around live moments.
• Location: Central London base with sensible hybrid flexibility.
• Reporting line: Executive Director.
• Salary: based on experience and time commitment.
The Co-Founders Mindset
We are building a trans rights revolution at the Trans Legal Clinic. We deliver work that changes outcomes for people, case by case and system by system. That calls for a particular mindset. We call it the co-founder mindset. Co-founders take the mission personally, set the pace, turn ideas into working services and campaigns, bring others with them, and make change you can point to. Co-founders are entrepreneurial: they spot openings others miss, move decisively, and create momentum. Co-founders build teams, drawing in volunteers who believe in our mission, care deeply about our clients, enjoy working with us, and keep one another going. Co-founders are bold: they are willing to innovate, to be first, and to change the status quo; they check the source, avoid assumptions, solve problems, make firm, collaborative, evidence-based decisions, and take responsibility for results. Co-founders are pioneers. If you want responsibility, pace, and the chance to pioneer new routes to justice and public impact, this is the place to build your career.
Our Recruitment Criteria
Ownership and follow-through
You are a self-starter who owns tasks and takes responsibility without waiting to be asked. You carry your work through to a tangible result. You define the problem, set a course, keep the right people informed, and deliver what you said you would.
Bold, informed judgement
You are willing to change accepted practice when the evidence supports it. You check primary sources rather than rely on assumptions, weigh real options and risks, make a clear, evidence-based, collaborative decision, and stand behind it.
Entrepreneurial drive
You spot openings other people miss and turn ideas into useful services, processes or campaigns. You move decisively and get others working on the plan alongside you with clear roles and timelines.
Planning under pressure
You keep priorities straight when time is tight. You organise people and tasks, set simple checkpoints, communicate early when plans shift and always deliver.
Inclusive practice
You design work that is easier for others to take part in with people who face barriers in mind. You identify what is getting in the way, make practical changes that remove those barriers, and check the effect with the people involved.
Clear communication
You write and speak in plain English and adjust tone and detail to suit clients, volunteers, partners and the public. You choose the right format for the moment and make it easy for people to act on what you say. You like feedback, don’t get offended and see it as a chance to improve.
Team-building and collaboration
You bring people with you and help groups perform well together. You draw in volunteers who believe in the mission and care about our clients, set shared expectations, handle disagreements well, and leave relationships stronger.
Constant learning
You improve your own practice and the system around you. You reflect honestly on what worked and what did not, learn quickly, and turn that learning into simple tools or habits that make future work better.
• Team-building and collaboration: you lead creatives and volunteers well.
• Constant learning: you test, measure and iterate.
What you will bring
• A strong portfolio showing strategy-led creative across static, motion and copy.
• Three or more years in creative communications or campaigns (agency, newsroom, charity or in-house).
• Confident in Adobe Creative Cloud and either Figma or similar; comfortable with short-form video editing and basic motion.
• Platform literacy across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube, and working knowledge of analytics and paid promotion.
• Clear writing and an ear for tone; calm leadership and useable feedback.
• Sound judgement on reputation, privacy, GDPR and consent.
• Commitment to trans-led practice and the communities we serve.
Helpful extras
• Clinic or not-for-profit experience.
• Familiarity with gender recognition, healthcare advocacy, discrimination, housing and employment.
• Basic SEO and email automation.
Practicalities
• Hours: full time, with occasional evenings or weekends around live moments.
• Location: Central London base with sensible hybrid flexibility.
• Salary: £25,000.
• Reporting line: Executive Director.
The Co-Founders Mindset
We are building a trans rights revolution at the Trans Legal Clinic. We deliver work that changes outcomes for people, case by case and system by system. That calls for a particular mindset. We call it the co-founder mindset. Co-founders take the mission personally, set the pace, turn ideas into working services and campaigns, bring others with them, and make change you can point to. Co-founders are entrepreneurial: they spot openings others miss, move decisively, and create momentum. Co-founders build teams, drawing in volunteers who believe in our mission, care deeply about our clients, enjoy working with us, and keep one another going. Co-founders are bold: they are willing to innovate, to be first, and to change the status quo; they check the source, avoid assumptions, solve problems, make firm, collaborative, evidence-based decisions, and take responsibility for results. Co-founders are pioneers. If you want responsibility, pace, and the chance to pioneer new routes to justice and public impact, this is the place to build your career.
Our Recruitment Criteria
Ownership and follow-through
You are a self-starter who owns tasks and takes responsibility without waiting to be asked. You carry your work through to a tangible result. You define the problem, set a course, keep the right people informed, and deliver what you said you would.
Bold, informed judgement
You are willing to change accepted practice when the evidence supports it. You check primary sources rather than rely on assumptions, weigh real options and risks, make a clear, evidence-based, collaborative decision, and stand behind it.
Entrepreneurial drive
You spot openings other people miss and turn ideas into useful services, processes or campaigns. You move decisively and get others working on the plan alongside you with clear roles and timelines.
Planning under pressure
You keep priorities straight when time is tight. You organise people and tasks, set simple checkpoints, communicate early when plans shift and always deliver.
Inclusive practice
You design work that is easier for others to take part in with people who face barriers in mind. You identify what is getting in the way, make practical changes that remove those barriers, and check the effect with the people involved.
Clear communication
You write and speak in plain English and adjust tone and detail to suit clients, volunteers, partners and the public. You choose the right format for the moment and make it easy for people to act on what you say. You like feedback, don’t get offended and see it as a chance to improve.
Team-building and collaboration
You bring people with you and help groups perform well together. You draw in volunteers who believe in the mission and care about our clients, set shared expectations, handle disagreements well, and leave relationships stronger.
Constant learning
You improve your own practice and the system around you. You reflect honestly on what worked and what did not, learn quickly, and turn that learning into simple tools or habits that make future work better.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.