Manager (Chief Executive) – Chorlton Good Neighbours
Location: Chorlton, Manchester
Salary: £35,000 - £40,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent, full time
Could you be the steady, friendly, hands-on leader who helps more people in Chorlton feel connected, fulfilled and valued?
About Chorlton Good Neighbours
Chorlton Good Neighbours is a small, well-loved neighbourhood charity with roots back to the late 1960s, working to reduce loneliness and support older people across Chorlton and adjacent neighbourhoods. Our work is local, practical and volunteer-led: befriending, home visits, transport, weekly activities, monthly teas, intergenerational groups and occasional day trips are all delivered with warmth and care.
Our volunteer base is extraordinary - around 100 volunteers support drivers, befrienders, activity leads, admin roles and trustees - and in 2024–25 we supported 474 people in total. Funding is a mixed model of public grants, local donations and modest earned income and the charity holds healthy funds to deliver our work.
This is a practical, hands-on, delivery-focused leadership role: you will lead a neighbourhood organisation through planned transition, preserving the community culture that makes CGN trusted, while introducing proportionate systems and succession approaches that secure its future. You will also spend substantial time supporting and supervising volunteers and facilitating activities alongside strategic duties.
As our next Manager (Chief Executive), you will:
• Strategy & Impact: Lead the development and delivery of a clear long-term strategy that sustains CGN’s neighbourhood impact and reduces social isolation amongst older people.
• Governance & Finance: Strengthen proportionate financial controls, grant monitoring and reporting while working closely with trustees including the Treasurer.
• Operational Leadership: Manage day-to-day delivery of volunteer-led services and introduce accessible procedures and safeguarding arrangements.
• Income Generation: Support fundraising and bid activity to secure multi-year funding and diversify local income streams.
• Community & Partnerships: Act as CGN’s visible ambassador, maintaining and developing relationships with Manchester City Council, NHS partners and local organisations.
• Volunteer Development: Recruit, induct and support volunteers and facilitators, building a resilient volunteer pipeline and clear role pathways.
• Brand & Profile: Promote CGN’s offer across local channels to maintain footfall, attract new supporters and celebrate members’ stories.
• Premises & Risk: Work with trustees on lease and premises issues and maintain a robust risk register to protect continuity of service.
Who you are
• An experienced, hands-on manager with significant experience of running small, community-facing charities or local services and a hands-on approach to operational delivery.
• Demonstrable expertise in recruiting, supporting and retaining volunteers, with confidence in DBS/safeguarding practice and volunteer supervision.
• Highly organised with strong event/activity planning skills, practical problem solving and attention to detail.
• Financially literate - comfortable with budgeting, grant monitoring and basic financial controls and able to work with volunteer finance leads.
• An excellent communicator: approachable, diplomatic and skilled at building trust with older people, volunteers, trustees and statutory partners.
• Values driven, emotionally resilient and committed to inclusivity and dignity in later life.
• Desirable: experience of Age-Friendly programmes or befriending schemes and local credibility or knowledge of Manchester/South Manchester.
Why Chorlton Good Neighbours?
• Meaningful local impact - lead a well-regarded neighbourhood charity with deep community trust and a broad activities programme.
• Strong volunteer culture - join an organisation supported by around 100 committed volunteers and an engaged trustee board.
• Secure footing to build from - healthy funds and a clear focus on securing multi-year funding and premises.
• Hands-on role with strategic scope - keep delivery at the heart of the job while developing proportionate systems and succession planning.
• Supportive transition - trustees have planned a careful handover and you will be supported through induction and the subsequent recruitment of a part-time assistant.
For full details of the role including how to apply, please download the full appointment brief. For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Jenny Hills at Harris Hill via the apply button with times to speak and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile which will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 13th April 2026
As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.
Thank you!
CEO
- Salary for FTE: £62,000 - £75,000 dependant on experience
- 38 hours a week over 5 days (flexibility for right candidate)
- Home-based with travel for events and meetings
Reporting into the Board of Trustees, we are seeking an inspirational CEO for the PDA Society, who can lead with humility and curiosity, empowering and supporting our staff along the journey. They will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity and its staff and volunteers, and will oversee the development of our training products, research and support services, whilst ensuring sustainable growth in impact and income.
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a trusted enterprise within the PDA community with a strong mission and a committed, values driven team. The successful candidate will be passionate about improving the lives of PDAers and their families. You will be energetic, creative and bring new ideas for enhancing the charity’s reputation, through nurturing existing relationships and developing new ones to achieve the charities goals. Our ideal candidate will have lived experience of autism, PDA or other neurodivergence although this is not essential.
Closing date for applications: Midnight on 22nd April 2026
Interviews with Trustees: April / May 2026
Registered Charity
11 - 20
Our mission is to improve the lives of PDA children, PDA adults and their families. We are working hard to build awareness and understanding.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
You will be building great relationships with our Corporate members and involving them with the work of the trust and inspiring them to support our range of inspiring projects. You will use your networking skills at events to proactively find new corporate supporters, and retain our existing supporters by running corporate events on our nature reserves across the county. You will further develop our corporate volunteering offering, working closely with our land management team, creating great days out for our supporters’ employees that they’ll recommend to their colleagues.
You will be an active member of the Fundraising team, sharing skills and ideas at regular meetings. The role will require extensive travel throughout the county, visiting networking events and arranging relationships between corporates and our wildlife projects, such as the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. You will have a creative and innovative approach to the role, working on new ways to secure support from businesses from across the county. You will enjoy getting involved in fundraising events that include that whole fundraising department to create new income streams for the trust.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We exist so that future generations can experience the joy and well-being that comes from connecting with nature in Sussex
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.