Grade: 0 - Director
Salary: £87,720
Position type: Permanent, Full time 37.5 hours a week. Flexible hours considered.
Responsible to: CEO
Direct reports: Deputy Director of Fundraising and Communications, Head of Global Brand and Content, Head of Global Comms and Digital, Head of Fundraising Operations, Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships
Location: ShelterBox HQ, Truro, Cornwall (hybrid working, mix of office and home) or Remote (UK only)
ROLE PURPOSE:
The Director of Fundraising and Communications is a member of the Executive Team. This is ShelterBox's most senior management team, with overall responsibility for leading, planning and managing the work and development of ShelterBox.
You will be responsible for the delivery of our current 5 year organisational strategy 2022-27 as well as the implementation of the departmental Fundraising and Communications strategy, driving continued ambitious growth in our reach, engagement and fundraising. You will also play a leading role in driving the development of the next 5-year strategy for 2027 onwards.
You will work with the wider organisation and stakeholders to represent Fundraising and Communications and ensure the team are supported and able to thrive.
This is a role for a dynamic senior fundraising and communications specialist, who will bring significant experience within the sector. Working collaboratively across the organisation, you will develop and implement a strategy that builds foundations for growth and drives a bold and confident ShelterBox of the future. You will take full accountability for the successful delivery of income forecasts and expenditure budgets. You will work with the team to deliver best in class communications across our channels, reach new audiences and grow unrestricted income through digital and offline acquisition, oversee the strategic growth of our philanthropy and partnerships programme, support our strategic partnership with Rotary, and ensure that the ShelterBox brand is optimised to ensure we stand out in a crowded market.
You will also be responsible for understanding the needs and ambitions of the ShelterBox network of affiliates (in Europe, North America and Australasia), seeking to understand the strategies and tactics that will drive global income growth. You will recommend where investments by ShelterBox Trust can support global fundraising into the future.
You will be a proven, highly effective communicator with an empowering management style and the ability to quickly build relationships. A personal desire to invest in your teams with limited resources is essential. Creativity, commitment and best practice implementation are key.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We are seeking a highly experienced fundraising and communications expert, who has a passion for storytelling and building impactful relationships. You must be able to hit the ground running, have a strong record of developing and leading successful teams by building highly effective relationships. This role is all about inspiring leadership, strategic innovation, and maximising every opportunity to grow our vital work.
Experience and understanding of the humanitarian sector is desirable, as is an understanding of current fundraising opportunities and challenges, ethical storytelling and communication trends. This includes an understanding of the competitive fundraising environment in the sector, following announcements by some government donors. The need for emergency shelter around the world is vast and growing daily. This role must understand and drive ambitious and effective ways to communicate our specialist focus on shelter and the tangibility of our offer to current and future supporters.
The role will support the Fundraising and Communications department to deliver 2025/2026 plans, as well as implement the longer-term fundraising and communications strategy, seizing all opportunities in an ever-changing landscape.
As well as leading the UK team, working with colleagues from different countries to grow international fundraising, requires excellent communication skills and a commitment to a long-term diplomatic approach.
The ideal candidate will have a passion for the wider cultural context that affects our supporter's lives and behaviours. You will be results oriented and be confident using data and insight to inform decision making and drive our fundraising to the next level. Driven by a desire to connect in a meaningful way with audiences old and new, you will continuously seek new ways to ensure supporters are at the heart of everything we do.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone to lead a passionate and high-performing team, drive longer-term strategy and ensure the development of ShelterBox's strategic planning at a time of considerable change across the sector
DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
As part of the Executive Team:
- Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of ShelterBox's Strategy 2022-27 as well as play a leading role in developing the next organisational 5 year strategy.
- Support the development and implementation of ShelterBox's vision, mission and values, including through demonstrable leadership and communication skills.
- Direct all fundraising and communication activities to achieve strategic goals, in line with our vision, mission and values.
- Work closely with the ShelterBox Board of Trustees, reporting on progress against strategy.
- Deputise for the CEO as required.
- Regular travel to our Headquarters in Truro will be required. Occasional travel to London, affiliate offices internationally, and other locations.
As Director of Fundraising & Communications:
- Provide inspiring leadership and direction for the Fundraising & Communications department's multi-disciplinary team, ensuring ongoing development and implementation of our strategy to see continued ambitious growth in our income and profile.
- Drive and mentor a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, setting clear expectations, providing ongoing support and ensuring that teams are aligned with the strategy and our vision, mission and values.
- Ensure we grow the profile and influence of ShelterBox through the delivery of compelling fundraising and communications strategies to increase our supporter base and income.
- Line manage the FundComms SLT: Deputy Director of Fundraising and Communications, Head of Global Comms and Digital, Head of Global Brand and Content, Head of Fundraising Operations, Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships.
- Embed a culture of data and insight driven decision making, innovation and collaboration.
- Build strategic relationships with internal stakeholders to support collaboration, integrated planning and effective delivery of fundraising and communications activities.
- Be accountable for budgets and the best use of financial resources within the department, ensuring all budget and procurement processes are effectively implemented.
- Drive performance against targets within the department, identify and mitigate risk and develop contingency plans.
- Ensure our global brand aligns with the organisational strategy and audience insight, and that there is consistent application across the international team.
- Ensure our reputation is enhanced and protected - our teams produce high-quality, accurate materials, our processes are safe and robust, our supporters feel valued, and we are upholding our organisational values.
- Represent and act as an ambassador for ShelterBox externally, including with strategic partners like Rotary, and our community of incredible supporters. This includes taking part in media interviews to promote our work to a wide audience.
- Work closely across the department and affiliate teams to deepen understanding of our audiences, using data and sector insights to better target and grow these audience groups and increase lifetime value.
- Keep up to date with sector trends and developments, and particularly work with the CEO office to build networking and profile-building opportunities.
As a senior team leader and people manager at ShelterBox
- Actively demonstrate the importance of staff development in line with ShelterBox's policies and procedures, for example by undertaking regular 1:1 meetings with direct reports and investing in performance management.
- Model ShelterBox's values through behaviours and leadership and build on what is a great senior leadership team in the Fundraising and Communications Department
- Champion equality, diversity and inclusion within the organisation.
- As part of an emergency organisation there will be times when you will be required to work evenings and weekends at short notice in response to a disaster.
Other responsibilities
- Any other duties as required which are deemed appropriate to the level and grade of the post.
The National Youth Agency is looking for a new Chief Operating Officer to join our Executive Leadership Team.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £85,000 per annum
Remote: This role is homebased (within the UK) with occasional to meetings, events and conferences.
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
Responsibilities will include:
- The COO leads the day-to-day functioning of the organisation to ensure smooth, efficient, and effective delivery of services. This is vital for maintaining operational stability and achieving strategic outcomes.
- They design and execute strategies that align with the organisation’s mission and long-term goals ensuring resources are used effectively and priorities are clear.
- They promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement through supporting employee engagement, productivity, and organisational success.
- The COO collaborates closely with the CEO/CFO and other senior leaders to drive strategic initiatives and business growth, ensuring unified leadership and coherent decision-making.
- They partner with the CFO to manage budgets, forecasts, and resource allocation. Financial oversight ensures sustainability and supports informed investment in strategic priorities.
- Strengthen governance and risk management frameworks, aligned to regulatory expectations and best practice while proactively managing reputational and operational risks.
- The COO cultivates strong relationships with partners, clients, and stakeholders to enhance service delivery and reputation. These relationships are key to influence, collaboration, and impact.
- They lead efforts to improve processes and adopt best practices across the charity to enhance efficiency and keeps the organisation competitive and responsive.
- They ensure that daily activities support the charities long-term objectives.
- The COO mentors other directors and departmental heads and fosters leadership capabilities across teams.
- They establish and track KPIs to identify inefficiencies and guide improvements through data-driven decision-making to enhance accountability and results.
- They evaluate and refine workflows to boost productivity developing efficient processes to reduce waste and improve service quality.
- They act as a bridge between departments and the CEO to ensure cohesive execution of strategic plans preventing silos and promoting organisational synergy.
- The COO serves as a senior figure in national and cross-sector forums, conferences, and strategic partnerships to strengthens the organisation’s voice and influence.
- They demonstrate commitment to Equality, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in both internal culture and external programmes to foster a fair and inclusive organisation.
- They work with the CEO, CFO and Director of Growth to identify and pursue new revenue streams and strategic partnerships. This expands the organisation’s reach and sustainability.
- They engage in public speaking, media interactions, and external representation demonstrating clear communication, credibility, and stakeholder engagement.
- They develop and embed evaluation frameworks to assess progress against strategic goals. The measuring of our impact ensures accountability and informs future planning.
- They promote the organisation’s brand at events and through networking.
The COO takes on other responsibilities as needed to support the organisation’s mission.
About You
Essential competencies of the Chief Operating Officer:
- Extensive experience in senior leadership with a proven track record in operations, financial and risk management, and delivering high-performing teams, ideally in the charity sector.
- Strong understanding of business functions such as HR, Finance, Marketing, etc.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to think strategically and execute effectively.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Commercially astute, process-driven, and highly pragmatic in approach.
- Experience in driving performance and fostering a collaborative culture.
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field; MBA preferred
Why Work for NYA?
- NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.
- NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.
- A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.
- NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.
- We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.
How to Apply:
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 29th September 2025:
A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
A covering letter highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the About You section.
We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: The covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 80% AI generated content will be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
Youth Work changes lives
Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it.As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.
We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.
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