Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Overview
Change Grow Live are a charity dedicated to the belief that we can make a difference to our Service Users lives, offering support and respect in a safe environment, treating each user as an individual and working with them to find the right treatment and care options.
Our core values are ‘Be open, be compassionate and be bold’ and our team members apply these daily to achieve our mission of helping people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential.
Join our growing Recovery Team at HMP Channings Wood. We're looking for caring, motivated people who want to make a positive difference in the lives of others. No prison or substance misuse experience is required. Full training provided, excellent development opportunities, and exciting future growth as our service expands ahead of the prison's planned expansion in 2027. Apply today and start a career with purpose.
Location: HMP Channings Wood
Hours: 37.5 per week
Contract: Permanent
Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours
Responsibilities
What if your next job could change a life?
Every day at HMP Channings Wood, you'll support people to overcome challenges, build confidence, and take positive steps towards recovery.
We're looking for compassionate, motivated people who want a rewarding career helping others. You don't need experience in substance misuse services or prisons. If you can build relationships, listen without judgement, and genuinely care about people, we'll provide all the training and support you need.
Looking for a Rewarding Career?
You don't need extensive experience in substance misuse services to apply. If you are caring, resilient, a good listener, and passionate about helping others, we would love to hear from you.
This is a fantastic opportunity to start or develop a career in support work. We provide training, guidance, and ongoing professional development to help you succeed in the role.
Why Join Us?
This is an exciting time to join our team. HMP Channings Wood is preparing for a significant prison expansion, creating new opportunities as our service grows to meet the needs of a larger prison population.
Join us now and you'll become part of a growing team with exciting development and progression opportunities ahead.
What You'll Do
- Provide one-to-one and group recovery support.
- Build positive relationships with people using our service.
- Encourage engagement with treatment and recovery programmes.
- Work closely with healthcare and prison colleagues.
- Help individuals achieve their goals and make lasting positive changes.
What We're Looking For
You might be a great fit if you:
- Enjoy helping and supporting others.
- Communicate well and listen with empathy.
- Stay calm and professional in challenging situations.
- Are reliable, resilient, and eager to learn.
What We Offer
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
- Paid weekly Wellbeing Hour.
- Pension scheme and employee wellbeing support.
- Discounts on shopping, travel and entertainment.
- Ongoing training and career development.
Please ensure that when completing your application form and supporting statement, you reflect on the details outlined in the job description. This will help us understand how your skills and experiences align with the requirements of the role.
A note about using AI in your application
AI can be a really helpful tool when putting together your application, and we're happy for you to use it. However, what we're most interested in is you.
We want to understand your experiences, achievements and strengths, so please make sure your application reflects your own story and clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria and the impact you've made in previous roles.
There's no need to write in a particular style. The strongest applications are those that are authentic, specific and clearly demonstrate your skills, experience and potential. We look forward to learning more about you.
Direct applications only — we will not be engaging agencies for this vacancy.
Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. For applicants with time-limited visas, unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Salary Range (pro rata if part time)
CGL points 20 to 21 (£26,296.03 - £27,165.10)
Closing Date
20/9/2026
This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Our mission is to help people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential.
Thank you!
An exciting opportunity!
This is a rare and genuinely exciting opportunity to lead the UK's only dedicated charity supporting children, adults and families affected by MPS, Fabry disease and related lysosomal storage disorders. Following the current Chief Executive's planned move to become Managing Director of Rare Disease Research Partners (RDRP) in January 2027, the incoming CEO will take the helm of an organisation with over forty years of history, a trusted national reputation and a growing role on the international rare disease stage. The successful candidate will shape the strategic vision for more than 1,800 families, oversee the close partnership between the Society and its research subsidiary RDRP, and champion the patient and family ethos that sits at the heart of the organisation's work. It is an opportunity to combine ambitious strategic leadership with deeply meaningful, human impact, working alongside a committed Board, Senior Leadership Team and wider community of clinicians, researchers and pharmaceutical partners.
As our next Chief Executive, you will
- Define and deliver the MPS Society’s strategic vision.
- Provide confident oversight of governance, finance, compliance and reporting.
- Effectively manage the operational alignment between the MPS Society and RDRP.
- Always keep the members and family voice at the heart of strategy, service design and decision-making.
- Build and maintain senior-level relationships with statutory bodies, government agencies, pharmaceutical partners, clinical expert centres and other key stakeholders to support the Society’s objectives, influence policy and practice, and protect its professional reputation.
- Act as a visible and credible public voice to raise awareness, improve visibility, support, treatment access and outcomes for people affected by MPS, Fabry disease and related conditions.
- Collaborate with other rare disease bodies, patient organisations and other key audiences.
- Lead and empower the senior leadership team through effective delegation, early involvement in strategic discussions, clear accountability and support for individuals to flourish.
- Encourage an open, supportive work environment allowing creativity and building staff confidence.
- Help shape the future of the MPS Society.
About you
- Self-motivated, with the drive to lead the organisation through a period of change and transition.
- Unquestionable probity and personal integrity, given the trust placed in the CEO by families, trustees and partners.
- Exemplary written and verbal communication skills, able to convey complex scientific and clinical information to audiences ranging from clinicians to families with no prior knowledge of MPS disorders.
- Strong self-awareness, with insight into their own leadership style and impact on others.
- Emotional resilience, able to sustain performance while supporting a community facing life limiting conditions.
- A collaborative and empowering leadership style, able to build trust, delegate effectively and help individuals across the organisation flourish.
- Genuine passion for the Society's mission, with a family and member-first ethos.
- Confidence to build relationships across a wide range of stakeholders, from beneficiaries and Trustees to politicians, media and pharmaceutical partners.
- A proactive, positive approach, comfortable reacting to change and organising their own work to meet deadlines.
- Confidence speaking publicly on behalf of the organisation and the people it represents.
Why join us?
A close-knit, values-led culture. With just over thirty staff across the Society and RDRP combined, this is a place where the CEO can know the team personally, work closely with families day-to-day, and see the direct results of decisions rather than managing at a distance through layers of bureaucracy.
- Genuine autonomy to shape direction. The Board is explicitly looking to the new CEO to bring fresh thinking on technology, AI, and digital tools, and to give real freedom to modernise fundraising, services, and engagement rather than simply maintaining what already exists.
- A stable foundation to build from over forty years of track record, trusted relationships and a strong national reputation mean the incoming CEO can focus energy on vision and growth rather than firefighting or rebuilding credibility from scratch.
- Proximity to cutting-edge science: the Society's close relationship with RDRP gives the CEO regular exposure to advances in rare disease research and treatment access, while day-to-day research leadership sits with the RDRP Managing Director, allowing the CEO to focus on strategy, people and sustainability.
- A high-visibility, high-influence platform. Regular contact with government, pharmaceutical companies, clinicians and international rare disease bodies offers strong opportunities to build a public profile and personal network well beyond the charity sector.
- A team that already shares the mission. Staff are described as passionate about the Society's aims, and as having a family-first ethos, so the new CEO inherits a culture to lead and empower rather than one that needs to be built from the ground up.
- Work with a different kind of return. Beyond salary and career progression, this role offers the less tangible reward of knowing that strategic and financial decisions translate, into better support for families facing some of the rarest conditions in the country.
Benefits
Join us and you will be working for a caring charity offering:
- A competitive salary
- Generous annual leave
- Extra leave between Christmas and the New Year
- Contributory pension
- Life assurance (subject to the conditions of the scheme)
- Employee assistance programme offering support 24/7
Further information
The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the UK.
The main duties, responsibilities and requirements of this role can be viewed in the job description on our website.
Salary to be agreed depending on experience and will be pro-rata for part time hours.
This is an essential car user post. The applicant must hold a current UK driver’s licence, with no more than 6 points, have access to a car and be able and willing to drive UK wide as required.
This senior role requires flexibility in working hours and location. It is primarily offered on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in our Amersham, Buckinghamshire, office each week. As part of the role, UK and overseas travel is necessary, which may on occasion include early morning and/or evening working and sometimes overnight stays. We have policies in place to ensure that any unsociable hours worked over the weekend are fairly compensated through TOIL.
This role will require an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check (DBS) details of which can be found in the job description.
For an informal discussion about the role or the work of the MPS Society, please contact Dr Fiona Stewart. Contact details can be found on the full job description. Kindly note, meetings with other relevant people will be available to shortlisted candidates at interview stage.
Please include your CV with a supporting statement of no more than 800 words. Your supporting statement should include an answer to the question below:
The MPS Society supports individuals and families affected by mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) and related disorders. What interests you about coming to work in this area, and what motivates you to contribute to supporting individuals and families affected by these conditions?
Registered Charity
21 - 50
To transform lives through specialist knowledge, support and advocacy, and research.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.