Thank you for your interest in the position of England Director of Sustrans.
Movement is a basic human need. It needn’t be detrimental to how we live, and yet transport is still the single biggest contributor to the UK’s CO2 emissions. When I started as CEO almost seven years ago, climate change was low on the political and public radar, environmental charities were some of the least trusted in our society, and sustainable transport was of fringe and specialist interest. This has changed – and our agenda has never been more relevant. The need to achieve Net Zero is widely recognised. We know that by helping people walk, wheel and cycle more we can improve health and wellbeing, increase social connection, and improve the environment.
Places are designed around cars and not people and this has a disproportionate impact on the most disadvantaged people, and those living in the most deprived areas. The UK is currently facing the largest cost of living crisis for many years, which will only exacerbate this issue.
We are well placed to make a difference. Sustrans has always had a reputation for being a practical organisation. Across the UK we involve communities in shaping towns and cities, showing what works (and what doesn’t). Together we campaign for and create spaces where everyone can move around safely and give people the tools and confidence to get out of their cars.
Since we launched our strategy in 2019 we have grown substantially. The value of projects and programmes that we are responsible for has grown by over five-fold since 2016. More importantly, we are much clearer on the impact we want to have, and how to measure this. Alongside this growth we have invested in improving our operating model, moving to hybrid working, investing in our IT and professionalising our governance and other processes. We are a more resilient organisation – and this resilience will now be tested.
There are big questions ahead, not least around funding our ambitious objectives. Public finances are under extreme pressure and like all charities, we are operating in a very challenging fundraising environment. We need to continue to invest in the organisation whilst ensuring that we have the right capabilities, and the right size and shape teams to operate sustainability into the future.
Xavier Brice
CEO