Director

The UK Maths Trust (UKMT) is the leading British charity that advances the education of young people in mathematics. The Trust achieves this primarily through UK-based mathematics competitions for school-aged young people, but also by other means (including mathematics camps, mentoring programmes, publications and the production of videos). The Trust also supports teams of children to compete overseas in mathematics competitions, including the annual world championship: the International Mathematical Olympiad.

UK Maths Trust is looking to recruit its next Director.

The Trust is in a strong position: our work is sustained by long-standing and growing demand for our competitions, with over 630,000 competition entries in the UK the last year. UKMT has built its finances to a position of stability, and with a new five-year strategy in place, we are implementing plans to grow our reach and impact even further, while building financial reserves both for future projects and for safety.

The Trust seeks a new Director who will lead the Trust through this next phase of development.

The Director reports to the Chair and Board of Trustees. They will oversee the Trust, its activities, administration, staff and finances in accordance with the strategic priorities and the budget set by the Board.

What are we looking for?
We are looking for an experienced leader who combines strategic ambition with sound judgement, operational capability and emotional intelligence. The director must be comfortable operating at Board and executive level while remaining approachable and connected to the people and volunteers at the heart of our work.

List of major responsibilities:

• To prepare the Annual Operational Plan and Budget for consideration of and approval by the Board. To ensure that the objectives in the approved Annual Operational Plan and Budget are achieved.
• To inform the Board immediately of any matter the resolution of which would fall outside The Director’s authority or needs the immediate involvement of the Board.
• To manage the relationships between the internal stakeholders of UKMT (staff, volunteers, Members, Trustees, participating children and their teachers) and external partners including donors and sponsors, international colleagues and other charities engaging in related activities.
• To inspire and manage high-performing teams.
• To work with academic mathematicians, teachers and young people interested in mathematics.
• To ensure that management structure supporting the Trust’s operations is fit for purpose and adequately staffed by people with an appropriate range of skills and experience.
• To line manage the senior staff of the Trust.
• To ensure that there are adequate operational and financial controls to avoid events having a significant adverse impact on the Trust.
• To monitor the operation of the controls and take prompt action if a weakness is identified.
• To ensure compliance with all Board Policies and to inform the Board of any significant breaches of compliance.
• To prepare a regular Management Report as required by the Board.
• Support the Trust with its relationship with donors and sponsors. Note that the primary responsibility for fundraising lies with the Board of Trustees, not the Director.

Essential Knowledge / Experience

• You should be educated to degree level or have equivalent or relevant experience.
• Demonstrable understanding of the regulatory context of a charity working with young people, including an overview of the main principles and regulatory requirements in the areas of: company law, charity law, health and safety regulations and child safeguarding.
• Previous experience of working effectively with a Board of Trustees (or similar authority) and an understanding of charity governance, accountability and compliance.
• Proven experience of effectively leading teams, facilitating cross-team and cross-stakeholder collaborations and working with stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience of preparing and presenting management information and other reports to a Board of Trustees.
• Demonstrable understanding of the principles of financial control.
• Strong line management and people management skills, with proven coaching skills. Ability to oversee working of teams in a hybrid working environment.
• Ability to handle a diverse and varied workload, with the capability to manage both projects and operational tasks concurrently.

Desirable Knowledge/Experience

• STEM experience, especially in mathematics, and knowledge of school-age education.
• Experience of bookkeeping software such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and similar.

The UKMT office is based in Leeds. Hybrid working is supported but this post is not offered for job share or for majority home working. A minimum of 2 days per week is required at the office site.

The role involves travel in the UK from time to time, and requires the flexibility to attend occasional evening or weekend events.