Full-Time Director / CEO Jobs

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF)

Operations Consultant – Commissioning and Procurement

Reports to: COO/Head of Grant Operations

Open to: Individual consultants or consulting firms with significant experience supporting organisations receiving and distributing public funding to strengthen processes and use of best practice.

Period: Start immediately, with aim to complete audit work by no later than August 2024.

Budget: YEF anticipates a budget of approximately £10,000 and typical day rates for consultants working for the charity range between £500-£650, depending on experience.

About the Youth Endowment Fund

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence. We do this by funding great initiatives, finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

To make this possible, YEF funds a wide range of organisations aiming to prevent young people from becoming involved in violence. This ranges from delivery organisations providing front line services to young people who need it most, evaluators working with those organisations to understand what’s working, research organisations focused on helping us deeply understand the context and problem, organisations supporting us to put this knowledge into practice, and a variety of organisations supporting our team to execute in the most effective way possible. We have several departments commissioning this work to external organisations and a variety of different processes and mechanisms to do so.

As the volume of work we commission increases across our various departments, we’re looking for an experienced individual or team to support ensuring consistency, compliance with our policies and procedures, and training across a number of different teams on best practice.

Key activities  

· Conduct a thorough desk review on YEF policies and guidance, regarding our commissioning and grant management practices across our programmes, evaluation, research and change departments. Interview a subset of individuals to get a sense of their understanding and comfort with the policies. Produce a written report on how this is going, highlighting any areas where we could improve in consistency or best practice.

· Advise the delivery operations team on how they can best support teams to commission effectively, including helping to clarify roles and responsibilities and ongoing training or support needs for teams.

· If needed, suggest revisions to YEF policies, guidance or agreement templates to support greater efficiency, compliance or best practice.

· Conduct a series of trainings across our different departments to ensure staff responsible for commissioning understand YEF’s policies and best practices for distributing and managing the use of public funding.

· Create a set of public facing materials to help external organisations understand YEF policies and processes for applying for funding, as needed.

Deliverables

· Provide a written report on how YEF is doing adhering to its own policies, ensuring consistency in practice across different teams and adhering to best practice.

· Conduct 3-4 training workshops to different YEF teams, taking into account their own commissioning and grant management requirements.

· Conduct regular, informal advising sessions for a subset of individuals responsible for overseeing commissioning across the organisation.

· Produce a set of public facing guidance on YEF commissioning practice relevant for organisations navigating applications for funding.

· As needed, produce revisions to policy, internal guidance, or agreement templates.

Key requirements

· Must have significant experience of commissioning and procurement within an organisation of comparable size, preferably with organisations receiving and distributing public funding.  

· Experience and proven track record working to improve policies, processes and practices within an organisation.

· Experience of charitable grant-making or research work in the UK, either as a grantee, a grant-maker, or a grant evaluator or researcher.

· A strong understanding of UK government guidelines and legal terms and conditions related to grants and contracts for services. This does not mean you need a law degree, but you must be very comfortable understanding and working with a variety of different agreement mechanisms.

· The ability to understand, collate and synthesise complex sets of information and use them to make informed recommendations.

· Ability to work independently, seeking input from relevant team stakeholders throughout.

Desired experience

· Prior experience working with a What Works Centre or other evidence-focused organisation.

To apply

Final applications will be due by Friday, June 7th 2024.

Your proposal should contain:

· CV and day rate of consultant(s) for the work

· A maximum 3-page cover letter containing:

o A description of how you would approach and deliver the work, including time scales

o Relevant experience of similar work

o Day rate(s) and total anticipated cost for the work

o Two references

Referees will only be approached with your express permission.

First round interviews will take place in the week commencing 17th of June with an appointment anticipated that same week.

It is 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.

We are working in partnership with Dogs for Good, a registered charity dedicated to advancing the boundless possibilities of what a connection between people and dogs can enable – in making everyday life fuller, healthier, and happier for everyone involved. They understand the extraordinary change dogs can enable when they form part of a social-care model centred on the needs of people and communities. With their new 2024-2028 strategy in place, it’s an exciting time to join the Dogs for Good team!

An Interim Director of Finance and Administration is sought to provide leadership and direction for the good financial management of the charity, working closely with other members of the Senior Leadership Team and colleagues to ensure the financial health and sustainability of the organisation.

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate:

• Accountancy qualification.
• Experience of financial administration in a company or charity, including bank reconciliation, the preparation of monthly management accounts, and preparation for audit.
• Leadership experience and ability to take a strategic view across all aspects of the charity’s work in terms of its financial efficiency, effectiveness, and viability.
• Experience of using the Xero software finance package.
• Experience of using computer databases.

We are seeking a strategic and operationally impactful individual, with excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills, and with the ability communicate effectively with a wide range of people.

For more information, please contact Katherine Anderson-Scott, Associate Director, Charisma Charity Recruitment. Your application should be submitted through the Charisma website and include your CV and supporting statement.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or other category protected by law.

Closing date: Sunday 2 June 2024

However, due to urgent need, candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates who are available immediately or within 1 month are actively sought.

Walk alongside our partners, to deliver excellence, build resilience and learn together.

In 2024, Embrace the Middle East celebrates 170 years of close partnership and relationship with local Christians who, through their churches and local civil society organisations, are serving some of the most marginalised and excluded communities in the Middle East.

Ours is a vision of faith, hope and love in action: where there is a need for refuge, a home however temporary, for education, for safeguarding, for economic empowerment, for justice and human rights – we, with our partners, want to respond. We do this by building strong and lasting partnerships, nurtured by mutual respect and a shared commitment to excellence.

We are looking to recruit a Director of Programmes, Partnerships and Advocacy to lead a team of high-performing programme and partnerships managers who guide our relationships with a portfolio of 45 local partners, supporting them in their social witness through a £2.4m programme of grants, and capacity support.

The Director will also lead the development of our advocacy work, collaborating closely with the CEO and Director of Fundraising to develop our policies, messaging and strategy to increase our reach through effective lobbying and campaigning consistent with our theory of change, and strategic vision and mission. This cross-cutting work will include working with our programme team, our communications team, and church engagement team as part of a shared approach to advocacy, campaigning, and public engagement.

Advocacy is a growing part of our work, inspired and guided by the voices of our partners – primarily speaking and acting in relation to:

• the presence and role of Christians in the Middle East
• issues of peace, justice and equal rights in Israel and Palestine
• refugees and internally displaced people across the Middle East

Informed by Christian voices from the Middle East, we engage with Bishops and church leaders, politicians, and with our engagement team seek to educate and mobilise the UK public. Resources will be available for the Director to recruit a dedicated advocacy team member to complement their skills and support them and the team to achieve Embrace’s advocacy aspirations.

We are looking for someone who can bring to Embrace a wealth of international development partnership and grant making experience, alongside their passion and skills to drive and develop Embrace’s public and private advocacy. Like everyone else at Embrace you will be fired up by our mission, and in tune with our values.

Naturally, you will be well versed in complex policy issues within sensitive settings, familiar with acting as a media spokesperson, and dedicated to engaging with communities experiencing injustice and marginalisation.

Finally, due to the Christian context of the position, it is subject to an occupational requirement under the Equality Act that you should be a practising Christian who shares our values and ethos at a profound level.

At Embrace, our team enjoys remote and flexible working arrangements. In addition, you will benefit from a generous holiday entitlement and a comprehensive package including a pension scheme, life assurance, retail discounts and a 24/7 employee assistance programme.

The role is home-based, with two to three days per month in High Wycombe.

Please apply online via the apply button. 

Closing date: 30 May 2024.

The Robin Cancer Trust is looking for a Head of Operations to help make our vision of reaching every young person in the UK with our life-saving cancer campaigns a reality. We are the UK’s germ cell cancer community, and our mission is to save lives.

We do this by:

• Educating young people with our life-saving cancer awareness talks.
• Engaging young people with our award-winning cancer campaigns.
• Empowering young people affected germ cell cancer, all across the UK.

Our values:

• Respect: Not only for the important work we undertake, but also the people who support our mission. We believe in open, honest, and empathetic communication between ourselves and to our community.
• ​Creativity: We are a small team with a big vision – in order to drive the change we want to see in the world, we must innovate, disrupt and experiment.
• Trust: We are accountable to each other & our beneficiaries. We are responsible for upholding these values and the quality of work we undertake – and will do so with integrity at all times.

If our mission, vision, and values inspire you and resonate with you, please apply to join our team – we want to hear from you!

Overview:

• Salary: £36,000
• Hours: 35 hours per week, flexible working (evenings and weekends as required)
• Location: Fully remote
• Contract type: Permanent

Staff benefits:

• Annual Leave - 33 days (25 days holiday + 8 public/bank holidays)
• Mental Health days (whenever you need them, obvs)
• Flexible working (around you, not us)
• Remote working (we all are)
• Work Laptop (+ whatever else you need to do your job)
• Work Phone (we like a Google Pixel)
• Health & Wellbeing initiatives (Health Cash Plan + Free Counselling)
• Employee Perks (Discounts & Exclusive Deals)

Our culture is the most important thing to us – we want someone to join our team with passion, creativity, versatility, and strategy. We are looking for someone to make this role their own, to help guide our charity through the next phase of our growth, and for someone who will learn and grow with us.

Key responsibilities:

To be responsible for the effective delivery of services in the communities we serve.

• Manage all aspects of operational performance of the services in line with KPI expectations.
• Accountable for the leadership, line management responsibility and operational direction of the service delivery teams.
• Take financial responsibility for the service delivery budgets through annual budget setting, monthly reviewing, and quarterly reforecasting. 
• Continually develop and review operational KPIs to ensure they drive performance and align with our strategic ambitions. ­­­
• Ensure the customer experience is measured, monitored and delivered with the expected values and behaviors across all teams.

To effectively lead, collaborate and influence to contribute to the success of Robin Cancer Trust and its people.

• Engage the teams with the vision, purpose, and strategic objectives of Robin Cancer Trust.
• Contribute to the development of strategy, business planning and prioritisation activities.
• Be an active member of the Senior Leadership Team and deputise for the CEO as needed.
• Attend and contribute to monthly board meetings.

Person specifications:

• Driven by the desire to help the germ cell cancer community.
• Professional, diplomatic, and able to make objective decisions in complex situations.
• Ability to analyse and translate performance data into operational actions.
• Ability to interpret strategic plans and models to understand their operational impact.
• Highly collaborative and confident to influence across different roles at all levels of the organisation.
• Highly motivated, resilient under pressure and able to flex and prioritise workloads.

Essential qualifications, skills, and experience:

• Strong and effective people leader.
• Experience of leading change initiatives that demonstrate operational impacts.
• Proven track record of successfully managing and flexing budgets with financial accountability.
• Experience of leading successful service delivery functions.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills that can be adapted for public and professional audiences.

Desirable qualifications, skills, and experience:

• Experience of working as part of a senior leadership or strategy team.
• Experience in the charity sector.

Please note:  the duties outlined in this job description are not intended to be exhaustive and may be subject to periodic review and amendment to meet the needs of The Robin Cancer Trust.

Closing Date: Friday 31st May 2024

We will provide all applicants with an outcome on your application, this will usually be within 1 week of the application window closing.

The Robin Cancer Trust is committed to being an equal opportunity employer, we recruit based upon capability and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

At The Robin Cancer Trust we know we are not as diverse as we want to be, so we are actively searching for people who share our passion for our mission, with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, to collectively make a difference.

If there is anything we can do to assist you in your application or preparations to be interviewed for this job vacancy, please let us know so we can ensure you have a positive and comfortable experience.

We are looking for a fantastic leader to join the KWMC Executive team and help us evolve as an organisation. We have been founder-led since 1996 and now, with CEO Carolyn Hassan’s retirement in March 2024, we are entering a new chapter; one that will both celebrate KWMC’s legacy of community led change-making and evolve to embrace new possibilities.

We are looking for a co-leader who works with generosity and care to make amazing things happen. We hope to welcome someone who brings extensive experience of developing innovative financial, business and operational models for mission and values-led organisations. You will work alongside Creative Co-Director, Martha King, to co-lead KWMC through a process of refocusing and on into the future.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

For over 40 years, Being There, a medium sized charity, has provided practical, emotional and social support to those affected by life limiting illnesses across much of Greater Manchester. The services of the charity are delivered by an enthusiastic cohort of volunteers managed by an established and capable management team.

After steering Being There though the Pandemic and the recent economic impact on charities, our long serving CEO, Karen Mercer, is retiring. We are therefore looking to recruit a new leader for our team.

We are looking for someone who can:

· Understand and navigate the challenges of charity funding in difficult economic circumstances.

· Lead, motivate and develop the management team, administration staff and volunteers to expand the service.

· Raise the profile of the organisation.

· Seek out and develop relationships with similar organisations, client groups, existing and potential funders.

If you are interested in this challenging and rewarding role, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Part time will be considered for the right candidate.

Being There is an equal opportunities employer and is proud to have been acknowledged as an Investor in People.

We anticipate holding initial face to face interviews at one of our office locations between Tuesday 4th and Friday 7th of June 2024.

Closing Date: Friday 24th May at 12 noon.

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. 

The British Asian Trust is one of the most exciting and innovative charities working in South Asia. They were founded in 2007 by His Majesty King Charles III and a group of British Asian business leaders to tackle widespread poverty, inequality and injustice in South Asia. In recent years they have experienced substantial growth, with income increasing from £1m to £22m.

An estimated 172 million children in India are considered ‘at-risk’ from various forms of harm and exploitation. Children are made vulnerable by a complex network of interconnecting factors such as high levels of poverty, gender inequality, unsafe migration, cultural norms and poor implementation of schemes and laws. The Child Opportunity Fund’s goal is to create more safe spaces to ensure that millions of children can live their lives to the fullest potential. To achieve this, they are aiming to raise $25m which will be matched by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, totalling a $50m fund.

We are looking for an exceptional philanthropic fundraising leader, with experience of leading an appeal and first-hand programme management skills, to undertake a one year maternity cover as the Interim Head of Child Opportunity Appeal. The postholder will be responsible for overseeing the appeal, working collaboratively with the team to reach their significant fundraising targets across HNWIs, trusts, institutional funders and corporate partners.

This is an incredible opportunity to join a dynamic team that is creating a lasting impact that will enable future generations to not only survive, but also thrive.

About the role

As Interim Head of Child Opportunity Appeal, you will:

• accelerate and coordinate fundraising for the Child Opportunity Appeal across a diversified range of high value income streams in the UK, India, Dubai and globally;
• drive and implement the fundraising strategy, ensuring KPIs are monitored and met;
• coordinate internal working groups as well as external senior volunteers to ensure a consistent and aligned approach to fundraising and new donor engagement;
• produce effective prospect research and robust donor pipelines to secure major donations at the 6 and 7-figure level from HNWIs, corporates, trusts, foundations and institutional funders;
• ensure all donors and partners receive first-class stewardship and relationship management, working closely with in-country, programmes and communications colleagues to produce compelling proposals, reports and updates;
• support the CEO to manage the partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation;
• develop and deliver strong engagement opportunities and leverage cultivation event and project visit opportunities;
• contribute to financial planning and reporting, and develop processes and systems for effective fundraising and stewardship.

About you

Ideal skills and experience:

• Demonstrable experience of operating in a senior philanthropic leadership role with a strategic mindset and high levels of ambition
• Exceptional project/programme management skills
• Experience of running a significant philanthropic appeal/campaign, or playing a senior role in the delivery of a large project in a complex organisation
• Experience of implementing a fundraising strategy and successfully meeting KPIs and targets
• Strong track record in securing high value gifts from warm and cold donors and partners, including demonstrable ability to independently manage the fundraising process from research/identification to closing the ask
• Exceptional communication and networking skills with the confidence to engage stakeholders of all levels (SMT, Trustees, senior volunteers, donors, partners and colleagues)
• Strong team leadership skills with a supportive and motivating approach to rally colleagues across the organisation to deliver on the Appeal
• Ability to be both strategic and operational
• Ambitious, a natural-analyser, trustworthy, calm and proactive

Employee benefits

• 25 days annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays and 3 days between Christmas and New Years
• 5% employer contribution pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to a well being platform

Our client is a small public services body which is seeking to recruit a Finance Director to lead the operational running of the organisation.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, this post will be responsible for providing financial and strategic guidance to the Board, overseeing the development of the corporate plan, and also crafting a robust digital strategy to enhance operational efficiency.  Of course, this will also include leading on financial initiatives, managing budgets, overseeing financial submissions, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, whilst upholding robust governance and compliance, and employing internal control and risk management mechanisms.

The successful candidate will be a CCAB qualified accountant with financial acumen, experience of managing budgets and complying with sector regulation.  Exceptional team leadership skills will also be important, with a key attribute being the management of multi-disciplinary teams.  Strong understanding of corporate management processes and digital technologies will also be required, plus first rate interpersonal skills and the ability to rapidly build working relationships across an organisation.

For the right candidate, this role represents the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the next stage of the organisation’s development.

Development Director

Main Purpose and Scope of the Role

The Development Director will be a key part of the Action4Youth Senior Management Team, contributing to strategic development of the whole organisation and taking responsibility for the leadership and management of all aspects of business development, sales, fundraising, marketing and communications.

The Development Director will ensure development to support the Strategic and Operational Plans in order to achieve growth, sustainability and stability and to support the Action4Youth core offer i.e.  programme delivery and outdoor education.

Because Action4Youth is a relatively small organisation, teams are small and this means that even senior members of the team like Directors may have to cover for a team member when on leave or generally help out as necessary to achieve targets. In this particular role, that could mean undertaking basic tasks like completing a funding bid to meet a deadline, updating a webpage, writing blog posts or handling sales calls. This job is unusual in genuinely being both strategic and hands on.

Networking is an important part of this role so the post holder will often be expected to attend out of hours events to represent Action4Youth and to develop valuable relationships and connections.

This role is key to the growth and successful development of Action4Youth

Location 

•  Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Position in the Organisation

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

Responsible For:

•  Developing and implementing ambitious strategies for fundraising, marketing and sales to increase     income, support and growth
• The line management of the Marketing, Fundraising and Sales teams, ensuring achievable but stretching targets are set and met
• Creating captivating marketing campaigns and activity to promote all areas of Action4Youth’s work and to support sales and fundraising activity
•  Managing external supply contracts for design, print, website and all communications
•  Developing and managing the fundraising, marketing and sales budgets
•  Achieving income targets
• Creating a positive culture within teams so all members can thrive
• Contributing to the charity’s strategic development
• Working With: The Senior Management Team

​   

Duties and Key Responsibilities

Development/Sales

• To identify opportunities for the growth of Action4Youth through sales, contracts or fundraising
• To increase sales of The Caldecotte Xperience
• To increase awareness and sales of The Inspiration Programme, The Breakout Programme and other A4Y programmes and offerings
• To identify and secure appropriate new contracts in line with the strategy and business plan
• To monitor and evaluate business development success

Fundraising

• Develop and implement a fundraising strategy to take account of economic conditions and to meet the needs of Action4Youth.
• To meet fundraising targets for both the fundraising team and personally
• To be responsible for building strong relationships with fundraising bodies and partner agencies.
• To ensure reports to funders meet requirements
• Monitor and evaluate the fundraising mix
• Achieve targets as set out in KPIs

Marketing and Communication

• To be Action4Youth’s brand guardian, protecting and extending the organisation’s reputation and profile
• To initiate and manage a communications and marketing strategy which supports and enhances Action4Youth’s profile, sales and fundraising
• Oversee the development of all communications in line with the strategy including the website, PR, social and print media
• To lead on Action4Youth’s aim to be a voice for and of young people, developing a significant platform in a wide variety of fora.

Leadership

• To be a key part of Action4Youth’s leadership team
• To be responsible for the recruitment, training and appraisal of the development, fundraising and marketing teams

General Responsibilities

•  To attend, where appropriate, local, regional and national meetings
•  Support the continued development of quality standards as specified by Action4Youth.
• ·To have regard for the vision of Action4Youth and to display a commitment to equal opportunities and to the   protection and safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
•  Report any behaviour, conversations or comments which are inappropriate within a setting for children and young people.
•  To carry out any other Action4Youth duties as required by your Line Manager, CEO or Directors.
•  Administering own workload which includes meeting targets and deadlines in line with the Action4Youth   Performance Management System.
•  Attending relevant CPD training events in line with Performance Management appraisal.
•  Undertaking responsibility, as part of the team, for all Health and Safety work related matters.
•  Working within the guidelines of Action4Youth policies and procedures.

Skills, Experience and Knowledge

• Business development experience to include bid writing, fundraising and contract management
• Full UK driving licence and access to own vehicle
• Proven experience of managing a staff team and motivating and developing the team over at least 5 years
• Proven record of achievement in a senior position
• Demonstrable financial management skills including budgeting and delivery of cost and income targets
• Highly organised, hard working and personally effective
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Extensive, demonstrable knowledge of marketing and communications channels
• Excellent IT skills and experience of using a CRM system ideally Salesforce
• Knowledge of the voluntary sector
• Educated to degree level or have relevant business related qualifications
• Focused, hardworking and effective
• Fundraising skills and experience in all areas of fundraising, especially in corporate and individual giving. 
• Strategic and creative thinker
• An excellent negotiator who can create and build long lasting partnerships with agencies/organisations
• Entrepreneurial, with the ability to identify and develop opportunities for growth.
• Confidence to present to, and coordinate large/small, formal/informal meetings.
• The ability to understand and deliver effective communications to diverse audiences.
• Ability to share information with other agencies and stakeholders

Key responsibilities 

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director is responsible for shaping and driving the work of the organisation, in line with its mission, vision, and strategic plan. 

The Executive Director has responsibility for the effective management and financial sustainability of the organisation; for leading the team and developing HRI’s strategic vision and operational plans; for representing the organisation to external stakeholders and the media; and for championing an inclusive and collaborative culture that foregrounds racial justice and diversity. The Executive Director must also fulfil all the legal, ethical, fiduciary and financial obligations of the role. 

The Executive Director’s key responsibilities are:

Organisational leadership and governance 

• Shape, drive and champion the organisation's vision, strategy and big picture thinking 

• Maintain HRI’s role and reputation as a leading international influencer and convenor in the field of harm reduction and human rights

• Provide strong, clear and proactive leadership on racial justice and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

• Champion an inclusive, collaborative, high performance culture that attracts, retains and motivates a diverse, expert staff team

• Build and maintain relationships with key external partners and stakeholders, including NGOs, networks of people who use drugs, donors, UN agencies, national governments, and opinion formers.

• Represent and promote HRI at its own and other conferences and networking events, United Nations fora, donor meetings, key civil society initiatives, and in the media.

• Facilitate the Board of Trustees’ active engagement in scrutiny, strategic planning, and resourcing and financial management

• Keep the Board fully informed of the overall health and performance of the organisation, and all relevant factors influencing this

• Ensure the smooth operation of Board meetings and maintain a strong, balanced Board, with effective succession planning

Financial Management and Fundraising

• Develop a realistic annual budget and operational plan for approval by the Board and prepare budget revisions as needed 

• Ensure provision of regular financial management, monitoring and reporting to the Board

• Provide financial risk assessment reports and mitigation strategies to the Board in a timely fashion 

• Ensure the financial sustainability of HRI and its capacity to achieve its strategic objectives

• Devise and implement fundraising strategies and plans to ensure that the organisation can meet its operational budgetary needs 

• Identify and engage with fundraising prospects and sources, and cultivate relationships with current and prospective funders

Operational and Management

• Oversee all aspects of programme planning development and evaluation

• Ensure that all programme components are strategically coordinated and contribute to overall organisational objectives

• Oversee further development of a communications strategy that positions HRI effectively, protects its reputation, and identifies opportunities to promote its key messages and activities

• Recruit and manage staff, and ensure appropriate organisational structures with clear roles and responsibilities 

• Ensure regular performance evaluations, feedback loops, and training and professional development and education for all staff

• Manage administrative matters relating to staff, including legal and health and safety requirements, and required policies and processes 

• Oversee risk management and legal activities: letters of agreement, contracts, leases and other legal documents and agreements

• Implement appropriate policies, including internal controls and accounting standards and procedures

Ivy Rock Partners is incredibly proud to be recruiting a new Chief Finance and Operations Officer for the Harris Federation. This is an amazing opportunity for a passionate finance leader who is looking to work within an organisation impacting children across London and the south east. Market leading salary and benefits on offer.

We welcome applications from all sectors, particularly applicants who have operated in highly regulated environments, and have led on ERP implementation projects.

Harris Federation seek to operate in areas with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage. In these places a high quality education is fundamental to the future success of the children they serve. They aim to disrupt the status quo, and free-up our teachers and leaders to focus on one thing and one thing only, providing an exceptional education for every child, where all children thrive and learn through engagement with an exciting, ambitious curriculum underpinned by excellent teaching.

Job Purpose

Finance

• To lead and manage the Harris Federation finance function so that Harris delivers its educational aims and objectives as well as meets all DfE and EFSA requirements

• To be responsible for the financial sustainability and development of Harris Federation and for the financial probity of the organisation

• To ensure the provision of an efficient, responsive, reliable, and effective financial service to the Harris Federation.

• To support the CEO in his role as Accounting Officer in line with the Academy Finance Handbook

• To provide strong leadership and direction to an established central finance team consisting of 35 staff), this being the led by a strong Financial Controller and the business partnering team led by a strong Head of Business Partnering

• To manage the Financial Controller and oversee the operational finance and accounts team

• To manage the Head of Finance Business Partnering and oversee relationships with key stakeholders across the academy network

Operations

• To work alongside the CEO and Directors to continue the development of an effective and efficient business model for the Harris Federation central services

• This will align with the Oracle roll out where the current operating model will require business change that will drive the efficiencies and benefits a new and sophisticated system like Oracle can bring

• To give strong leadership and direction to the central systems team (circa 6 staff), this team currently supporting the roll out of the Oracle system across HR, Payroll and Finance

• To ensure the provision of an efficient, responsive, reliable and effective systems support and development service to the Harris Federation

We are looking for a Senior Policy Officer who, in effect, will be the Campaign’s Deputy Director. You will be involved in all aspects of the Campaign’s work.

You will work remotely initially with some face-to-face meetings in London.  You must be able work from a London office in future

Main Responsibilities:

•  Assist in developing strategy and other key aspects of the Campaign’s work

•  Conduct and oversee research into FOI topics

•  Monitor FOI developments and decisions of the Information Commissioner and tribunal

•  Assist in drafting amendments to relevant legislation

•  Help publicise the Campaign’s work via social media and the Campaign’s website

•  Promote the Campaign’s work to the written and broadcast media

•  Advise requesters and contribute to training courses

•  Assist with funding applications

•  Supervise volunteers

The salary and role are likely to be enhanced in future.

Person specification

• Familiarity with the FOI Act and case law – or proven ability to rapidly acquire detailed knowledge of complex legislation and case law

•  Relevant full-time work experience

•  Excellent judgement

•  Flexibility to respond to urgent developments/changing requirements

•  Live in or close to London

•  UK citizen or person with right to live and work in the UK

•  Proven writing skills

•  Social media experience

Benefits

•  We pay a contribution to your pension

•  Friendly informal working culture

•  Small organisation – 4 staff at full strength

Application Process

Please submit your CV and a covering letter (no more than two pages), outlining your interest in the role and how your skills and experience meet the requirements.

Please include your UK address.  Applications from people living outside the UK are unlikely to be considered.

Applications will be considered before the closing date.

We are seeking an experienced Chief Executive to build on our history and unique strengths whilst at the same time taking us on a journey to the future where we develop services and partnerships that meet the ever-increasing demand for the services and programs that do, and can, deliver.

As experts in perinatal peer support, we believe that every parent deserves support, and every baby deserves the best possible start in life.

Our background:

Parents 1st UK is dedicated to enabling quality peer support to flourish during pregnancy, birth and beyond. The evidence is clear - effective and sustainable peer support nurtures the emotional wellbeing of mothers, fathers, partners, and babies, and builds strengths in communities. We work both locally and nationally to achieve this aim.

Our national work: Through an ‘open source’ online community platform, we provide all the resources necessary to set up a perinatal peer support initiative. Freely sharing all the tools that our local programme (Parents 1st Essex) uses in daily practice, from budget setting to volunteer training guides and impact tracking. Working with commissioners and providers, Parents 1st UK also provides consultancy and workshops to help build new perinatal peer support initiatives in communities.

Our local work: Parents 1st Essex currently operates in South and North Essex, delivering perinatal peer support to parents, through 1-1 or group support. Peer supporters engage and develop trusting relationships with parents during pregnancy, continue support through birth and the first few months afterwards.

Alongside this, Parents 1st UK also leads the Essex Peer to Parent Network, a peer support collaborative that aims to develop a hub of good practice across Essex. The Peer to Parent Network employs 4 Peer Support Link Workers who work alongside the local maternity units in Essex, helping parents to access peer support during pregnancy or anytime during the first year after birth.

All staff and volunteers are truly committed to our cause and are passionate about helping parents. 

The role:

As the CEO of Parents 1st UK, you will play a pivotal role in restructuring the organisation following a merger with an associated charity during 2023. Your leadership will be instrumental in fostering unity, creating operational resilience, and guiding the organisation towards sustained success in delivering vital services to parents, families and our partners.

The relationship between the CEO and the board of trustees is pivotal to the organisation's success. As CEO you will work closely with the board to drive our mission forward. More detailed information can be found in the recruitment pack.

 If you are an experienced Chief Executive who wants to make a difference and can demonstrate a passion for what we do, then we’d love to hear from you!

Closing date: Tuesday 21 May at 5pm

Interview date: Friday 7 June in Person (Venue to be Confirmed)  

Parents 1st UK embraces Equity, Diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all backgrounds and every community group.

This post is subject to a criminal record check with the Disclosure and Barring Service

Only full applications will be considered. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.