Chief Executive Officer

Encompass is a local charity based in and covering North Northamptonshire. The charity supports those facing poverty, homelessness and addiction, through the delivery of multiple services including two homeless accommodations, a rehab and aftercare, multiple foodbanks and a soon to be opened day centre.

With around 30 staff and nearly 100 volunteers across all the projects, this role is responsible for leading the people to deliver compassionate, responsive and impactful services. The post holder will help build and implement the strategic direction of Encompass, working with the Board of Trustees to fulfil its strategic and governance duties.

Encompass has grown significantly in the last five years. We began as a Christian organisation, we retain the ethos and embrace all faiths or none. The next few years are about achieving our priorities according to our strategic plan including another rehab and the opening of our Day Centre. The role will focus on ensuring the services being delivered are to a high standard, that the information and the way we collect information is effective and efficient, and that the staff have the resources and motivations to robustly deliver high quality services.

Encompass has a positive and inclusive approach to working with those with lived experience, whether that is through the development and improvement of services or supporting individuals to enter into volunteer work or paid employment within the Charity.

The post holder will be a compassionate, decisive and collaborative individual who will enjoy working with others to achieve the best possible service for those who are disadvantaged. They will welcome constructive feedback from staff, will seek the thoughts of others and will utilise the expertise within the staff team to achieve this.

The post holder will utilise their own skills to confidently work with others, building partnerships and nurturing existing ones. They will need to talk to funders, fill in applications for grants and improve the resources that are available to the charity. They will work closely with the Board to report and identify the risks to the charity and think creatively and curiously about solutions. They will not be afraid to try and will question the status quo.

Encompass is lucky to have a fabulous team of staff and volunteers, all of whom have different skills, experiences and knowledge. We are dedicated to drawing on those with lived experience to deliver our services, and the post holder needs to be committed to upholding this and improving it further. They need to be willing to draw on others’ experiences that are unfamiliar or unexpected to them and utilise this knowledge. They must be able to be sensitive around exploring the experiences of others and not taking for granted that one individual will have the same experience as someone else.

Encompass operates in a varied, unpredictable and ambiguous environment: we work with clients who are chaotic and vulnerable, and the questions that are posed are often not clear cut. The post holder will need to be confident making decisions or taking action on something with limited information, and be comfortable with things changing on a day-to-day basis and be willing to get stuck in.

We welcome applications from people who might not tick every box in the person specification, but who have some wonderful people skills, other experiences such as lived experience or who have worked in an environment similar to that described above.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Management

• Provide decisive and ambitious leadership for the team and the organisation in line with its vision, mission, and values.
• Collaborate with managers to ensure the effective management of staff, specifically adapting management and working practices to be inclusive to those with lived experience which can include those with criminal records.
• Ensure the culture of the organisation is positive, inclusive and respectful with a focus on working in a strengths based way for all staff, volunteers and clients
• Encourage collaboration and transparency across all levels
• Drive a continuous learning and development agenda across the organisation
• Oversee all HR processes, procedures and paperwork issuing with support from the outsourced HR provider.

Strategy and Business Planning 

• Ensure effective development and implementation of the strategic business plan and future plans.
• Develop and nurture relationships with external partners
• Promote the work of Encompass through delivering talks, networking and partnerships.
• Ensure the client is at the forefront of all decisions made by Encompass, that services are developed in line with need, with an attitude for constant constructive improvement.
• Ensure clear outcomes and services users are consulted and involved where possible
• Ensure effective marketing of Encompass’s work through social media, press releases and newsletters as appropriate.
• Identify new opportunities for existing and new services, produce business cases as required and appropriate financial modelling.

Finance and Monitoring

• Work with the Finance Manager to plan, monitor and deliver annual budgets, reforecasts and other financial reporting such as reports to funders, project budgets and Trustee reports.
• Regularly review Housing Benefit claims to ensure projects receive appropriate income.
• Work with Trustees to review and set financial policies and practices, such as annual salary reviews, and adequate reporting to the Board.
• Oversee the fundraising of the charity, deliver primarily applications to Trusts and Foundations and the support of local individuals through donations.
• Work to deliver budgeted fundraising income.

Compliance and Governance

• Ensure all legal and regulatory requirements are in place, reviewed and monitored.
• Take responsibility for all health and safety across all properties, ranging from high need accommodation to storage facilities.
• To maintain and develop effective human resource systems for the recruitment, management, support, training, appraisal and development of staff and volunteers.
• Manage the organisation with due regard to equal opportunities, safeguarding, the General Data Protection Regulations UK (GDPR), and the Data Protection Act
• Take overall responsibility for Safeguarding and associated monitoring and reporting.
• Regularly review and update policies and procedures with approval from Board
• Ensure appropriate standards, controls, systems and procedures are in place and updated accordingly.
• Ensure the organisation has the appropriate resources to operate as effectively as possible with high impact to clients.
• Play an active role in the recruitment and selection of managers across the organisation along with your line managers.
• Play an active role in the recruitment and selection of new Trustees.
• Fulfil reporting requirements to the Board of Trustees, including attendance at 9 Trustee meetings per annum plus exceptional meetings, providing comprehensive reports on activity of the organisation and performance.
• Assess and manage, with Trustees, the principal risks of the organisation.
• Ensure that Encompass maintains high standards of wellbeing, personal development and engagement.

The above is not a comprehensive task list but is illustrative of what the role will entail, and we reserve the right to change and review the job description and responsibilities. Job descriptions will be subject to review and possible change on an annual basis subject to project and charity priorities.