Director UK Resilience
Location: UK Wide, Flexible (Hybrid)
Salary: £83,116 - £116,838 per annum, dependent on experience
Hours: 35 per week
Contract: Permanent
Are you ready to lead the British Red Cross’s crisis resilience across the UK - helping to prevent suffering, save lives and uphold dignity when it matters most?
This is a rarely advertised, high‑impact leadership opportunity to play a defining role in how the British Red Cross delivers its humanitarian mission across the UK. As Director of UK Resilience, you will lead at the moments when people are most vulnerable - shaping how communities prepare for crises, respond in emergencies, and recover with strength and dignity.
You will set the strategic direction for a coordinated, UK‑wide approach to emergency response, recovery, preparedness and community education, working in close partnership with government, emergency services, local authorities and the voluntary sector. Your leadership will ensure the British Red Cross is ready to act swiftly and effectively in an increasingly complex and unpredictable crisis landscape.
Embedded within UK Operations, you will provide national strategic leadership at scale, enabling the organisation to mobilise staff, volunteers and partners rapidly and with confidence. Operating within a complex matrix environment, you will bring together multidisciplinary teams and senior leaders, harnessing the depth of expertise across our workforce and volunteer network to deliver trusted, well‑coordinated humanitarian responses.
With the reach, credibility and experience of the Red Cross Movement behind you, you will help deliver large‑scale, integrated responses alongside statutory responders - meeting immediate humanitarian need while strengthening long‑term community resilience. Representing the organisation nationally, you will build influential partnerships, support delivery of our 2030 Strategy, and help ensure our crisis response continues to evolve in line with our Fundamental Principles.
At the heart of this role is a deep commitment to humanity. If you are motivated by purpose, ready to lead at national level, and driven to make a tangible difference in people’s lives when they need it most, this is your opportunity to help lead the Red Cross mission in the UK.
What will a day in the life of a UK Director of UK Resilience involve?
- Providing overall national strategic leadership for the British Red Cross’s UK resilience mission, shaping how we prepare for, respond to and recover from crises across the UK.
- Setting the direction and ensuring delivery of a nationally coherent, evidence‑based UK Resilience offer, aligned to the organisation’s 2030 Strategy and humanitarian mission.
- Leading a large, multidisciplinary directorate across Strategy & Performance, Product, Business Services and Operations, creating clarity of accountability and empowering teams to deliver at scale.
- Acting as the organisation’s professional authority on humanitarian resilience, ensuring British Red Cross expertise informs national policy, standards and practice.
- Building and sustaining strategic partnerships with government (including devolved administrations), statutory responders, civil contingencies partners and the voluntary and community sector.
- Ensuring resilience activity across the UK is effective, consistent, financially sustainable and grounded in operational delivery, with a clear focus on communities most exposed to risk.
- Working closely with operational leaders and volunteer teams to maintain readiness and the ability to scale quickly during crises.
To be a successful UK Director of UK Resilience, what will you need?
- Knowledge of national resilience systems, including preparedness, response and recovery arrangements operating across the UK.
- Senior-level experience of leading or influencing complex, multi-agency and multi-stakeholder environments, with the ability to work effectively across sectors.
- Experience of developing and delivering strategy at national or system level, including translating strategic intent into priorities and outcomes.
- Experience of building and sustaining strategic partnerships with government, emergency responders and voluntary and community sector organisations.
- Experience of operating with senior stakeholders, including producing high-quality strategic documents and Board-level papers.
- Understanding and experience of how risk, vulnerability and impact from crises differ across communities, and how this shapes effective resilience planning and delivery.
We understand that no candidate will meet every requirement. If your experience looks a little different but you feel you can bring value to this role, we would strongly encourage you to apply.
Interested? Apply now!
Please submit your application via the British Red Cross website. You’ll need an up-to-date CV and supporting statement as part of your application.
The closing date for applications is 23.59 on the 5th July 2026.
We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation and we value different experiences and the perspectives that lived experience brings. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in leadership.
In return for your commitment and expertise, you’ll get:
- Flexible working: Remote and hybrid working, flexitime, compressed hours, and job sharing.
- Holidays: 36 days annual leave (including bank holidays) + option to buy 5 extra days.
- Pension scheme: Up to 6% contributory pension.
- Learning & Development: A wide range of career and learning opportunities.
- Discounts: Blue Light Discount Card, Tickets For Good & employee benefits platform.
- Wellbeing Support: Peer Supporters, CiC (EAP) & Headspace App.
- Cycle2Work: Lease a bicycle through the scheme.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident & Carer Confident employer.
We are dedicated to building an inclusive, equitable and wellbeing‑focused culture where everyone feels safe, valued and can thrive. Guided by our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy, we foster belonging, psychological and physical wellbeing, and work to remove barriers to fair opportunities. Grounded in compassion and anti‑racist practice, we listen to diverse voices, value lived experience and create environments where staff and volunteers can succeed.
Together, we are the world’s emergency responders.
Registered Charity
More than 1000
To mobilise the power of humanity so that people can prepare for, respond to, and recover from crisis.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
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Location: Fully remote with flexible working arrangements
Salary: £51,500 FTE
Contract: This role is part time for 3 days a week (0.6FTE).
Closing date for applications: 5th July
Due to high numbers of applications, prior to interview we plan to carry out initial screening calls with prospective candidates before selection for interview. We will be asking about your reasons for applying and how you think your skills and experiences align to the role.
Screening calls: 16th/17th July
Panel interviews: 22nd July
Start Date: ASAP
About the Warm Welcome Campaign
Founded in 2022, the Warm Welcome Campaign wants everyone in the UK to find a place of belonging and reconnection at a Warm Welcome Space near their home. We have a bold ambition to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.
We resource, connect and champion a network of over 6,300 Warm Welcome Spaces and bring together a growing coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy. By working together, we can unlock the power of community spaces made by and for everyone, creating a thriving network of hope and reconnection fueled by human warmth.
We’re working hard to reach everyone with the message that a Warm Welcome is waiting for them just around the corner, all through the year.
Throughout all our work and within our team we live out our values of being inclusive, collaborative and courageous and our personality that is friendly, adventurous and uplifting.
It’s an important moment for us – we are now in our second year of our five year strategy which shows a clear picture of the path we have set ourselves ahead to continue to deliver and deepen our impact. We now have approximately 3.5 million visitors to Warm Welcome Spaces each year. In January we delivered a hugely successful second ever Warm Welcome Week in collaboration with a wide variety of partners.
The Opportunity
This is an exciting opportunity for a purposeful and proactive individual to work within a small (but growing), friendly and dynamic team in a varied role. If you are brilliant at leading and developing complex multi-stakeholder processes and systems, and passionate for your input to shape work that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives, this could be the role for you.
To support ongoing growth and development of the Warm Welcome Campaign, we are looking for a Head of Operations to be responsible for supporting the Senior Leadership Team in the effective and efficient running of the Campaign and the coordination and development of our ambitious 5-year strategy. The role will sit within Warm Welcome’s Senior Leadership Team, which also includes the Campaign Director, Director of Communications, Director of Programmes and Development, and will report directly to the Good Faith Partnership Operations Director.
The purpose of the Warm Welcome Senior Leadership Team is to:
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Own and develop the Warm Welcome strategy, ensuring sustainability and delivery
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Lead, direct, engage and inspire the Warm Welcome team, setting the tone and culture
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Be accountable for significant decisions, challenges and risks.
The Head of Operations role will help to support and co-ordinate the work of the Senior Leadership team to be as effective as possible in achieving this purpose.
We’re looking for someone who thrives on fast-paced and varied work, organisational growth and development and has demonstrable experience of making things happen. The ideal candidate will be highly organised and solutions-oriented, while also bringing a creative, innovative and forward-thinking approach.
At Warm Welcome, we value diversity and we recognise the enormous benefits and the social imperative of bringing together diverse groups of people. We therefore warmly welcome applications from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Responsibilities
The role will be responsible for:
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Supporting and coordinating the Warm Welcome Senior Leadership Team to function as effectively as possible
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Supporting the Warm Welcome team to ensure that our 5-year strategy is delivered on time and to budget, including coordinating our annual workplan of activities against our strategy
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Developing our internal set up, processes and systems during a period of growth
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Overseeing the Warm Welcome financial, compliance and risk management
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Coordinating the Warm Welcome team growth, culture and performance
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Overseeing long term financial planning and forecasting for Warm Welcome
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Supporting the delivery of other Warm Welcome efforts, as appropriate
Person specification
Strategy Oversight and Development
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Experience in coordinating workplans linked to a strategy to ensure that progress is being made and any areas of concern are identified and acted on quickly
Developing internal processes and systems
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Ability to create and develop high functioning, accessible systems for the whole team’s use
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Highly organised with accurate record keeping and ability to prioritise work to ensure deadlines are met and opportunities are maximised
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All candidates will need to be competent with CRM Systems, Google Suite and Microsoft Office
Financial, Risk and Compliance management
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Experience of financial management, including budget setting, owning and developing budgets, and reporting processes
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Experience of overseeing risk management and mitigation within a team
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Experience of overseeing compliance i.e. reporting to the Charity Commission, reporting related to GDPR, developing and reviewing policies etc.
Team growth and performance
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Experience of line management, leading and developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and empowerment.
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A strong team player who is flexible, positive and responds with strong influencing and negotiation skills and a commitment to the organisation and team working
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Experience of leading organisational growth, set up and design
Working Arrangements
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Current members of the team are based across the UK, with some in London, Reading, Bristol, Manchester, York and Northern Ireland. Applicants must be able to travel to Bristol once a month for a Tuesday full team meeting. Given the nature of this role we would also expect the applicant to carry out a reasonable amount of travel to both Warm Welcome Spaces and partners across the UK.
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This role is fully remote, with flexible working arrangements.
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All employees, volunteers, partners, suppliers and consultants working with GFP are expected to adhere to our Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies. GFP’s commitment to safeguarding means we seek to ensure that no harm comes to people as a result of contact with the organisation’s programmes, operations or people.
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You will need to have the right to work in the UK.
Please refer to the attached job description for full details.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.