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.
REF-223747
Registered Charity 
21 - 50
Thank you!
Are you passionate about generating income for charitable causes? Do you have experience building strong relationships and leading applications to institutional funders?
We are looking for a motivated and experienced Grants & Trusts Manager to join our Income Generation Directorate. You will play a key part in securing vital income to support our work and mission. As the Grants & Trusts Manager, you will lead and inspire a dedicated team to deliver essential funding for the Association.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the identification and development of a portfolio of grants, trusts, and foundations.
- Build and nurture strong relationships with funders to secure long-term partnerships.
- Lead, motivate and manage the Trusts team, including the line management of two Trusts Fundraising Officers, providing ongoing support and team development.
- Deliver high levels of donor stewardship through a proactive approach.
- Oversee the Trusts Team in delivering to develop and deliver persuasive and timely funding applications.
- Collaborate with the Prospect Researcher to identify and champion the development of new funding sources and opportunities.
- Work across the organisation to create compelling propositions that align with funders’ priorities.
- Ensure clarity and alignment with other fundraising teams on donor stewardship and contact strategies.
- Manage reporting, ensuring compliance with all terms and conditions of awarded grants.
- Assist with the creation of income and expenditure budgets and provide regular progress reports.
- Champion the use of our CRM system to ensure accurate and accessible donor information.
About You:
- Experience in growing income through grants, trusts, and foundations, with strong bid writing skills.
- Proven leadership skills with the ability to develop and motivate a high-performing team.
- Strong relationship management and communication skills, including the ability to influence at senior levels.
- Financial expertise including analytical skills with experience in budget management and the ability to develop funding pipelines.
- Proficiency in CRM systems and fundraising software.
- A commitment to the mission and values of the MND Association.
About Us:
Our vision is a world free from MND. Our mission is to improve care and support for people with MND, their families and carers. We fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments and brings us closer to a cure for MND. The Association also campaigns and raises awareness so the needs of people with MND, and everyone who cares for them, are recognised, and addressed by wider society.
What We Offer:
- 28 days holiday, increasing to 33 days after 5 years, plus Bank Holidays.
- Access to UK Healthcare, including dental, eyecare, health screenings, and therapies.
- 24/7 GP access via phone and video.
- Life assurance and confidential counselling helplines.
- Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to Work, Buy/Sell Annual Leave).
- Access to Benefit Hub for discounts on everyday shopping.
- Enhanced pension scheme.
- Opportunities for training and personal development.
- Hybrid working.
The full job description and further information about working for the MND Association is available in the candidate pack.
We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We work to remove barriers for everyone affected by MND, employees, volunteers, and stakeholders.
As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee interviews for disabled applicants who meet the role's requirements.
Hybrid Working and Flexibility: This role offers hybrid working, with the expectation to attend the office 1 - 2 days per week.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.