Director / CEO Jobs

The Organisation

Muscular Dystrophy UK is the leading charity for over 110,000 people in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions.

We connect our community of people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions, and all the people around them, friends and family, healthcare professionals and scientists, so that everyone can get the healthcare, support and treatments needed to feel good, both mentally and physically.

We support people through every stage of their life, from the point of diagnosis to living the best life possible.

• We share expert advice and support people to live well now.
• We fund ground-breaking research to understand the different conditions better and lead us to new treatments.
• We work with the NHS towards universal access to specialist healthcare.
• Together, we campaign for people’s rights, better understanding, accessibility, and access to treatments.

The Role

With financial stability, diverse income streams, strong external networks and a high-quality, supportive, and constructive Senior Leadership Team, trustee board and Chair, Muscular Dystrophy UK presents a truly excellent opportunity for an experienced leader to build on the solid foundations and outstanding achievements of the organisation to date.

The Chief Executive provides overall leadership in terms of the strategic development and operational management of Muscular Dystrophy UK. The key purpose of the Chief Executive role is to inspire and lead the charity to support ground breaking research to drive the development of effective treatments and cures, to ensure access to specialist NHS care and support, to provide excellent direct services and promote opportunities to enable individuals and their families to live independently with the best possible quality of life.

The Chief Executive will ensure the charity is a high performing organisation with clear strategic objectives that engages widely and works effectively through partnerships to achieve its goals. The Chief Executive oversees and develops the financial performance of the charity which underpins the pace of strategic developments.

Person Specification

The ideal candidate should possess a multifaceted skill set with a demonstrable commitment to the vision and values of Muscular Dystrophy UK.

You must be a strategic thinker, capable of collaborating with the Board to define a clear organisational vision and effectively communicate it both internally and externally.

You should also demonstrate a mature understanding of charity governance, ensuring effective financial planning, tight controls, and risk management. You must possess high financial acumen to monitor income trends, identify areas for efficiency, and reduce costs while inspiring, motivating, and managing staff and volunteers to ensure coordinated activities across the organisation.

Additionally, you need to be an empathetic listener, with high levels of emotional intelligence, engaging a diverse group of stakeholders. You should demonstrate strong communication skills, resilience in problem-solving, and a coaching/mentoring style at all levels, while maintaining clarity, openness, and determination to achieve agreed objectives.

Experience:

• Significant leadership experience gained at senior level in a complex environment, ideally with good, first-hand knowledge of the research or health sectors, working with patients, families or vulnerable people.
• Evidence of leading the development and delivery of organisational strategy, key targets, service improvements and management of change.
• Solid track record of effectively managing resources and budgets, with experience of delivering long term financial sustainability and stewardship of valuable resources.
• Ability to forge and nurture effective partnerships and collaborative relationships with a range of organisations both inside and outside the research, healthcare and/or charitable sectors and also with patients and their families.
• Demonstrable evidence of strategic development and leading and inspiring people / organisations and developing effective partnerships.

Additional Information

For comprehensive information about Muscular Dystrophy UK, and for the complete Role Description and Person Specification, please download the Candidate Information Pack.

How to Apply

If you are interested in the opportunity to lead this amazing organisation and build on the fantastic achievements to date, please provide the following with your application:

• An up to date CV with details of two referees (we will not contact them without your prior permission)
• A support statement (no longer than two A4 sides) which addresses how you meet the main criteria and explains your motivations for applying

The next steps:

Closing date for applications: Monday 3rd June 2024
Preliminary interviews with Russam: Thursday 13th & Friday 14th June 2024
Interviews with Muscular Dystrophy UK (in London): 8th, 15th, 16th July 2024 (dates TBC

Key Impact Areas

 Maximise Giving

You will implement a philanthropic giving strategy that significantly shifts the museums approach towards the generation of substantial philanthropic income and that supports the Museum's vision and mission. You will work collaboratively with the Executive, Board of Trustees and senior leadership team to establish a long-term plan and supporting fundraising strategies that align and help the museum move forward with its objectives.

 Cultivate and Steward Donors

You will actively cultivate and steward relationships with potential and existing donors, for major new, repeat and legacy gifts, significantly raising the profile of Beamish, generating excitement and a desire to support Beamish now and into the future across a range of projects.  These will be supported by stewardship plans that foster mutual trust to secure ongoing support. 

Reputation and Engagement

You will build the profile of the Museum through donor engagement.  You will personally manage a portfolio of prospective donors, guiding them through the cultivation process, and ultimately securing new funding. You will work closely with the CEO building new networks, opening new doors and linking with communities in support of the museum's philanthropic goals and furthering its reputation and that of the sector.

Successful Philanthropy Team

You will ensure a high performing team is in place that supports Beamish’s Philanthropic strategy, imbuing a culture of innovation and enterprise across the museum. The team will ensure day to day delivery of the function, including to trusts and grants, provide excellent customer service, and produce timely data to support and measure the impact of all giving.  The team will champion equality, diversity and sustainability and creating a strong culture of philanthropy throughout Beamish. 

Essential Qualities, Experience and Knowledge

• Significant experience working at a senior level, building strong relationships with supporters who can give at a six/seven figure level.
• Demonstrable extensive networks, including trusts and foundations, corporate partners and high net worth individuals.
• Personal track record of securing six figure donations from Trusts and Foundations
• An excellent communicator who can inspire staff, volunteers and colleagues in taking our philanthropic strategy forwards.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills including tact, sophistication and gravitas 
• ·Able to work collaboratively, engaging with colleagues to design robust project proposals and reporting, monitoring and evaluation systems
• Skilled in utilising financial information including project budgets
• A commitment to Beamish’s mission, objectives and guiding principles.
• Strong intellectual curiosity and the ability to articulate the museums range of programmes and strategies in a compelling way
• Tenacious, self-starter, who thrives in a fluid, entrepreneurial context
• Have, or be able to build, local knowledge quickly
• Knowledge and understanding of the legal, regulatory and ethical environment of fundraising

Desirable Qualities, Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of managing successful partnerships with significant grant givers including The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council
• Experience of high value fundraising in the following areas: community action, arts and culture, health & wellbeing, Education programmes, museums and collections, the environment / conservation
• Outstanding research and written skills
• Experience of working with a fundraising database to maximise relationship development

About the Youth Endowment Fund 

We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.  

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children becoming involved in violence. We do this by funding great initiatives, leading cutting-edge research and working for change - scaling up and spreading the practices that make a difference. 

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) has a critical role in ensuring we succeed in this work. You have a key leadership role in overseeing the overall health of the Fund in partnership with the Executive Director. The role oversees our finances, people management and – for the right candidate –much of our grant-making and project management. 

Key responsibilities 

You’ll lead on key organisational governance processes and ensure the Fund makes wise decisions, by:  

• Being a leading member of our Directors’ team, overseeing all elements of the Fund’s work.

• Ensuring that the Fund operates as efficiently and effectively as possible by prioritising the right activities and matching resources to deliver on our mission.

• Ensuring we have the right long, medium and short-term financial plans in place and that we maintain close control over our financial decisions and spend. 

• Informing our Board and our Risk and Audit Committee on our financial performance and risk.

• Ensuring the Fund’s investments are well managed through supporting the Endowment Investment Committee (this does not require investment experience). 

• Managing our Grants and Evaluation Committee (this decides which evaluations we should fund) and ensuring it operates effectively. 

• Ensuring that any ambiguities in the organisation are identified and removed. 

You make sure that the Fund has the people, tools and resources in place to excel. This will require us to:  

• Hire, develop and inspire the very best people: Managing our Head of People, you will ensure that we hire the best possible staff, compensate them appropriately, provide necessary and effective training, maintain a strong focus on staff well-being, manage and develop staff effectively and address poor performance when required. 

• Provide staff with the tools they need to perform: Managing our Head of Grant Operations, you will ensure that we have the tools we need to deliver, including management information, databases, systems and processes and office facilities. 

• Track performance: Track performance against our goals efficiently and effectively, championing a system of accountability and action to review, identify and empower the right people to act on delivering according to the plan. 

Working with colleagues, you’ll ensure we award grants, manage grantees and oversee evaluations efficiently and effectively. This will require us to: 

• Make excellent decisions about our grants: Working with – and potentially managing1 - the Assistant Director for Programmes, Impact and Partnerships, you will help to ensure that our processes for assessing funding applications achieve our organisational priorities for evidence generation. This requires you to understand what partners are trying to do, whether it’s likely to work, whether it will help us build an accessible and trusted body of knowledge, and whether we can build on it to make long-term change happen. 

• Evaluate our programmes: Working with - and potentially managing - the Assistant Director of Evaluation, you will help to ensure that we select and partner with high-quality evaluators to understand how well different activities work.

• Ensuring the team maintains effective monitoring processes: Working with your team, you will develop the necessary skills, processes and decision-making processes to identify when things aren’t going to plan and respond accordingly.

• Build strong relationships with your external partners: You and your team will build strong, trusting relationships with the projects the YEF funds and the evaluators that we work with. Your team will be known for being attentive yet assertive and measured and efficient in the reporting information we expect. You will become well connected in the sectors that we are working in.

• Identify opportunities to scale up projects: You will be proactive in identifying projects that would benefit from capacity development support or that may be ready to scale up their work, collaborating with Impetus to deliver on this. 

In support of these goals you will also 

• Lead and build a team that is so much more than the sum of its parts: Working with your direct reports you will build a culture that brings the very best of the different skill sets and approaches in your team. You will lead this team, providing exceptional direction, culture and clarity. 

• Make it easy to be effective when working in your team: You will bring clarity, lean processes, clear accountabilities, timely decision-making and effective systems so that people working in your team comment on how easy it is to get things done. 

• See your primary team as the Directors team: As a core member of the Directors team, you will be part of making the most important decisions about the short-term and long-term strategy of the Fund. You will build and model the culture and values that we need to make a real difference. You will leave ego at home and look to make the rest of this team a great success. 

Person specification 

• You are excellent at leading on finance in an organisation: You find it easy and straightforward to develop and oversee, large organisational budgets and ensure timely preparation of management accounts. You’re excellent at financial forecasting and understand how to make judgements and recommendations based on future scenario planning. You have experience reporting to Boards on financial performance and health, and leading on organisational external audits.

• You are strategic about finance: You’ve got real skill in distilling complex financial information into simple, easy to understand reports and presentations that enable good decision-making. You see your knowledge of finance as a way to serve Director-level colleagues with overall decision-making. You also understand how to navigate competing priorities and how to calculate and articulate risk and reward, knowing few decisions are straightforward.

• You get teams to use data well: You understand that accurate data and excellent management information tools enable good decision-making. You understand how management information databases (like Salesforce) work and would be able to maintain and build a culture of recording data and maintaining data quality within big teams. Ideally, you have experience working directly with Salesforce.

• You get things done and are brilliant at improving things: In previous jobs, you have held significant responsibility for ensuring challenging projects are delivered on time. You like finding ways to make things operate better for everyone. You are excellent at designing and putting in place effective systems and processes.

• You are a low ego and effective leader: You have a track record of building and leading effective teams. You are thoughtful about how to get a team working well and people tend to warm to you and respect you. You are not afraid of managing someone brighter and better than you or of addressing poor performance. You leave ego at home. You work very well in a team. You like taking responsibility for things. You can balance the task, the individual and the team. 

• You are interested and experienced in both staff development and financial planning: You are equally at home thinking about the processes and approach we need to recruit and develop great staff as you are thinking about how we control our expenditure and report our finances.

• You learn fast but remain humble: You are quick at getting your head around things. It wouldn't faze you to have responsibility for organising things that are new to you as long as you have an expert to ask advice from. You like learning and developing. You know how much you don't know as well as what you do.

• You are interested and thoughtful about grant-making and evaluation: You may not be an expert in grant-making, but you have experience of how charities think and approach applications for money. You have enough cynicism to know how these things can go wrong, but not so much that you can’t make them go right. You may not be an expert in evaluation, but you care about finding out what works.

• You are an excellent strategic thinker: People say that you are good at seeing the big picture as well as the detail. You have experience of wrestling into place a strategy for a project or organisation. You would be able to describe the strategy of the work you are leading at the moment. You are able to see things from different points of view. 

While it’s not a criteria, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence. 

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well. 

Additional benefits include 

£1,000 professional development budget annually, 28 days plus Bank Holidays, four half days for volunteering activities. 

If you’re interested  

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, and complete the monitoring form click on "Apply for this job" button by 5pm, Friday 31st May 2024. 

We will plan to host the first round of interviews the week commencing the 3rd June 2024. 

You’ll be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at the interview stage.  

Your data 

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area. 
 
The people we are looking for do not discriminate and we believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background. 

My client is a charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children in the UK. Funding and supporting charities working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, they work to ensure everyone gets the right support to succeed in education, work and life.

At present they are looking to appoint an interim Director of Finance & Operations to oversee a broad portfolio and lead on a number of key projects:

Key responsibilities:

• Working effectively with the CEO and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to contribute to the organisation’s strategy and financial management.
• Leading and directing the operations function including Finance, HR, IT and Facilities.
• Oversight of the delivery of the statutory accounts and annual report.
• Lead on office lease negotiations and/ or potential office relocation.
• Executive oversight on the implementation of a new people plan, including a pay and rewards review.

The successful candidate will be a fully qualified accountant and have previous experience of working at board level within a charity. Comfortable with leading teams outside of your financial expertise, you will be an empowering leader with strong coaching skills, and the ability to develop and inspire others.

My client offers a flexible hybrid working policy, with 2 days a week in their central London office.

King’s College London offers an intellectually stimulating environment, where staff are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning in the service of society. We are a multi-faculty institution, providing high-quality research, education and innovation across the social sciences, humanities, health, law, dentistry, and sciences. As a member of the Russell Group, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in research and education.

The Finance, Procurement, Strategic Planning and Analytics directorate, led by the Chief Financial Officer / VP (Finance), comprises c.150 roles located across our campuses in central London.  The Finance department of c.100 roles provides various accounting, assurance, advisory, decision support and financial processing functions for the whole university.

The Director of Finance Business Partnering (Operations) is a critical role within the Financial Strategy, Planning & Performance division that will lead, develop and deliver high quality finance business partnering and decision support to all the central services of the university, including providing financial planning, reporting and insight across revenue and capital funded activity. 

You will support the senior Director of the Financial Strategy, Planning & Performance function in development and improvement projects. Examples include the development of a professional competencies framework to support career progression and performance at all levels, supported by learning and development opportunities, improving key processes, resource allocation and financial planning methodologies, and reporting on financial performance.

As part of the function’s senior management team, this role will lead a team of finance business partners who will provide outstanding partnering services to our central services including large functions such as Estates and Facilities, IT, Students & Education, Research Management and on other crucial ‘head office’ activities. Working closely with the corporate reporting team on the provision of management accounts, you will lead on financial performance support in-year and across our three-year financial planning framework. You will also undertake and provide professional support to your team on business partnering skills, financial modelling, business case development and financial appraisals. You will play a wider role as a senior member of the finance leadership team on cross-college initiatives and be asked to deputise for the senior Director of the division or their peers.

It is an exciting time to join the university as we are making a step change in our support and advice, particularly to directorate heads and our Senior Vice Principal (Operations), and onwards through the leadership roles across the central service directorates where financial and operational decisions are made.

This is a full time post (36 Hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract. We work in a hybrid way and there is an expectation of being able to work at least three days a week in our offices to help facilitate a collaborative working culture.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Professional Accountancy Qualification

2. Highly resilient with the ability to run multiple objectives, large senior teams and complex political processes concurrently

3. Exceptional understanding of running and leading financial planning, monitoring, forecasting and business partnering in a complex and large organisation

4. Exceptional leadership skills and a service approach in your professional work

5. Ability to operate and deliver change and improvements in a complex organisational environment

6. Exceptional business case financial appraisal and modelling skills

7. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in the written word and in person in a variety of formats including committee presentations and policy documentation

8. Numerate and IT literate with the ability to use the standard suite of office software together with excellent knowledge of one or more corporate finance/ERP and reporting systems

9. Significant recent experience of leading business partnering, financial support and advice functions and services

10. Experience of designing, delivering and improving capital planning and reporting processes

11. Leading teams to achieve complex and competing objectives over a variety of time horizons in partnership with other technical leads and partnered areas.

12. Ability to build and manage internal and external relationships

13. Self-management and ability to work independently to meet deadlines

14. Attention to detail and working to a high-level of accuracy

Desirable criteria

1. Degree level qualification

2. Leadership of technical / professional staff who manage their own work and activities

3. Experience of having worked in or with the university sector

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. We have a strong equality, diversity and inclusion agenda and would expect the post holder to demonstrate these values. 

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. The deadline for applications is Sunday 19th May 2024. If you would like to discuss the role, please get in touch with Bryony Thomas via the Allen Lane agency website.

Shortlisting will complete late May and may include an initial conversation with Allen Lane, our recruitment partner for this role. First stage interviews with King’s College London are planned for early June.

We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates for this role who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.

CARE International is a leading humanitarian organisation fighting global poverty. Founded in 1945, we seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live in dignity and security. Today, we operate in over 100 countries around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. We place special focus on women and girls, because women’s rights are human rights, and we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE is non-religious and non-political, allowing us to deliver humanitarian and development assistance to anyone in need regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, political view or sexual orientation.

With a refreshed organisational strategy and a new Chief Executive, it’s a great time to join CARE as we embark on an exciting period of growth and change. After a period of challenge and transition we are in a stronger position. Your work reforming the risk and control environment, and delivering a long-term financial strategy, and a comprehensive Financial Improvement Plan, will create the enabling environment for the organisation to achieve its strategy goals. Your commercial acumen and financial analysis and planning ability will support ensuring we diversity our income and create a sustainable financial base, whilst driving a locally led development agenda.

We are looking for someone who is excited by the opportunity and challenge to deliver these improvements and can offer a clear vision and drive the creation of an efficient strategic value add finance, compliance, and governance department. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team and a key organisational leader, you will also have a strong role to play in building a positive, enabling, anti-racist, inclusive culture alongside your SLT colleagues and the Board of trustees.

A strong CARE International UK is needed now more than ever to influence for change in the UK and support our mission around the world.

Recruitment timings:

· Application deadline: Sunday 26th May

· Shortlisting:  Monday 10th June

· 1st stage interviews: w/c 17th June

· 2nd stage interviews: w/c 24th June

To apply please send your CV and supporting statement by Sunday 26th May via the link. The supporting statement should be 2-3 pages maximum addressing the person specification and your motivations for wanting to join CARE International UK and make it the best it can be.

We are proud to exclusively partner with Allen Lane on the recruitment of this role. Please visit the Allen Lane site to find out more. For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Bryony Thomas via the agency site.

The Biochemical Society and its wholly owned publishing subsidiary Portland Press Ltd (PPL) are seeking an experienced and influential leader to join us as our new Chief Executive, from January 2025 on the retirement of the current postholder Kate Baillie. You will play a crucial role in shaping and delivering a new strategy to increase our income, partnership, and growth potential.

The Biochemical Society was founded in 1911 and currently has around 5,000 members. It is a learned society that is at the forefront of advancing molecular bioscience, promoting its importance as a discipline, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise, and supporting molecular bioscientists across all career stages.

We are looking for a Chief Executive who can continue to grow our profile and positive reputation. To us, this means continuing our excellent work with our trustees, staff, community and stakeholders, enhancing our growth and building new partnerships.

As our new Chief Executive, you will lead us to empower individuals by developing and diversifying our income, providing inspiring leadership to our committed, expert and established team, and acting as an effective advocate and ambassador for the Society.