Job Title: Chief Executive.
Purpose of the Job: Strategic leadership and management of the Barrow Cadbury Trust in its mission to promote social justice through the use of all its assets.
Salary: c£125,000
Reports to: The Chair of the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
Line Manages:
- Director of Programmes
- Director of Finance and Administration
- Internal Affairs Manager
- Communications Manager
Role Overview
The Chief Executive is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the Trust, working closely with the Chair, Board and Executive Team to ensure all the organisation’s resources – our people, our skills, our money, our endowment and our reputation – are put to effective use in the vigorous pursuit of our vision, mission and values.
We are looking for someone to take the Trust forward in uncertain and challenging times. But we believe that with challenge comes opportunity, so we want to appoint someone with ambition coupled with entrepreneurship. You will be as keen as we are to use your skills to stretch our ambition to use all our assets in service of our mission. You may not yet have experience of shareholder activism, social investments or decolonising an endowment, for example, but you will share our appetite for all of these and more.
As a firm believer in the need for a strong and independent sector, you will be a champion and supporter of its infrastructure and willing to speak out when others cannot.
Albeit we are no longer in the European Union, you will nevertheless maintain our presence in the European foundation space and advocate for greater collaboration in a Europe in which peace and democracy are under threat.
The Trust itself has very strong internal ‘values alignment’ across trustees, staff and external partners. Your approach both to maintaining and to improving this culture will be key. Our staff are highly skilled and experts in their fields with considerable autonomy. Your job is to enable them through your example, your encouragement and your guidance. Much of the Trust’s work is focussed on strategic communication as a cornerstone approach to effective campaigning and influencing. We do not present a shrill voice but compelling stories to catalyse change.
The Trust works long term on knotty social issues, building ecologies for change with partners who share our vision. This requires patience, flexibility and the capacity to withstand disappointment and failure at times. Our board fully understands this and our incoming Chief Executive will relish working in these conditions.
We can offer you a significant degree of autonomy, an organisation which is currently in good health and with a board which is open to you working with us further along the road to being a more equitable and adventurous foundation.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- To ensure that the Trust fulfils its mission in accordance with its vision and values.
- To work within the authority delegated by Trustees.
- To lead on the development, delivery and monitoring of strategic and operational plans for the Trust and report back to Trustees accordingly.
- To be responsible for building and maintaining good relationships with external stakeholders, including other trusts and foundations, key sector infrastructure bodies, national, regional and local government contacts and the Trust’s social investees and funded partners.
- To be the outward face of the Trust and ambassador for its mission.
- To develop and promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practice in the Trust’s role both as a foundation and as an employer.
- To generate opportunities to pursue the deployment of external resources to deliver the Trust’s mission.
Team Leadership
- In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Administration, to present the annual budget to Trustees for approval and to be responsible for financial planning, management and control, ensuring that sound and effective systems are in place and that financial procedures are both adhered to and regularly reviewed.
- In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Administration, to maintain an overview of the Trust and Fund investments and make appropriate recommendations to Trustees.
- To provide effective leadership to and management of staff and consultants employed by the Trust and to ensure there is good performance management whereby staff are supervised regularly, appraised annually and provided with appropriate training and development opportunities.
- In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Administration, to be responsible for risk management within the Trust.
- To ensure that human resources policies and procedures reflect good practice, are implemented effectively, regularly reviewed and updated and are fit for purpose.
Governance and Compliance
- To support and supervise the Internal Affairs Manager and ensure that the Trustee Board meetings and any Committee meetings are properly planned and serviced.
- To ensure effective recording and implementation of all Trustee decisions and to manage the relationship with Trustees.
- To support the Trustee Board in ensuring that business of the Barrow Cadbury Trust and the Barrow Cadbury Fund is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Registrar of Companies and the Charity Commission.
Our Working Arrangements
As an organisation our hybrid working arrangements are a minimum of two days a week in the office/field with an expectation that this should not compromise the Trust’s work. At times, this will mean increased in person attendance both internally and externally. The role will require international travel 3-4 times a year.