Chief Executive Officer

Big Green Heart is looking for a chief executive officer to lead the charity into its next phase of growth, providing strategic leadership and working closely with the board of trustees to shape and deliver its vision and strategy.

The chief executive holds delegated responsibility from the board of trustees for the leadership, management, and strategic direction of the charity. The postholder will shape and deliver strategy in partnership with the board, safeguard the charity's Christian ethos and inclusive practice, grow and diversify income, and lead, manage, and supervise the team.

This is a strategic leadership post; practical implementation of delivery, administration, and day to day practitioner coordination are held by team members within the organisation.

Key information

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000/ year (FTE), depending on experience

Hours: 20 hours per week

Start Date: Negotiable

Location: Remote and flexible. Please note, the charity head office is based in North Yorkshire and some face-to-face meetings will be required at our office.

Reporting and relationships

• Reports to: the chair and board of trustees.
• Responsible for: the staff team, whose work the chief executive manages and supervises.
• Works closely with: the founder, staff team, trustees, partner organisations, funders, donors, and church and community stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

This is a part-time strategic leadership role of 20 hours per week. The chief executive leads, manages, and supervises the team and oversees the charity's work; they do not carry direct delivery. Programme delivery, administration, and day to day practitioner coordination are held by staff team members within the organisation.

Strategy and leadership

• Work with the board to develop, agree, and deliver the charity's strategy, vision, and annual objectives.
• Provide clear, values-led leadership that upholds the charity's Christian foundation while keeping the work accessible to people of all faiths and none.
• Translate strategy into operational plans, budgets, and measurable outcomes, and report progress to the board.

Governance and compliance

• Support the board to meet its legal and regulatory duties under charity law and the Charity Governance Code.
• Ensure timely, accurate reporting to trustees to enable sound decision making.
• Work with the Secretary of Trustees to ensure the charity complies with its governing document, Charity Commission requirements, data protection law, and safeguarding obligations.

Income generation and financial management

• Lead the development and delivery of a sustainable income strategy across donations, grants, course and training revenue, partnerships, and trading activity.
• Diversify the charity's income base and drive income growth, working with the team to convert income-generating relationships and opportunities.
• Work with the Treasurer and Operations Manager oversee budgeting, financial management, and financial reporting, ensuring the charity remains solvent and financially resilient.
• Steward relationships with funders, donors, and partners.

Oversight and team management

• Lead, manage, and supervise the staff team, setting objectives, monitoring performance, and supporting development.
• Foster a supportive, collaborative culture and model the charity's values in all conduct.
• Implement sound HR, wellbeing, and performance practices.
• Oversee the quality and consistency of programmes across all delivery settings, working with those responsible for delivery.
• Ensure robust monitoring, evaluation, and impact measurement, and use evidence to improve the work and demonstrate outcomes.

Safeguarding

• Work with the charity’s Safeguarding Trustee to ensure safeguarding concerns are handled promptly and in line with statutory guidance.
• Work with the charity’s Safeguarding Trustee to ensure policies, training, and practice protect children and vulnerable adults across all delivery settings.

Person specification

• A personal Christian faith and commitment. This is a genuine occupational requirement for the role under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, given that the leadership of the charity's mission and ethos is integral to the post.
• Demonstrable senior leadership experience, ideally within a charity, social enterprise, or mission-led organisation.
• A track record of developing and delivering strategy and of translating vision into results.
• A strong track record of income diversification, with clear examples of how the candidate has broadened an organisation's income base in the past across, for example, donations, grants, earned income, partnerships, and trading.
• Demonstrable sales expertise, with a track record of converting opportunities into revenue and building income-generating relationships.
• Sound financial literacy, including budgeting and financial oversight.
• Experience of managing and supervising a team, setting objectives, and developing people.
• Understanding of charity governance and of working effectively with a board of trustees.
• Knowledge of safeguarding duties in relation to children and vulnerable adults.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with credibility across faith, education, and community settings.
• Genuine commitment to the charity's mission and to keeping its practice inclusive and accessible.
• Experience in one or more of the charity's areas of work: education, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, trauma, addiction recovery, or restorative or therapeutic practice.
• Experience of scaling programmes or growing a small charity.
• Established networks across the voluntary, faith, or education sectors.
• Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and impact reporting.

Safeguarding

Big Green Heart recognises the need to provide a safe and caring environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults. As part of our safeguarding policy, we will require any successful applicant to complete disclosure checks and obtain an enhanced DBS certificate.

Though this practice is accessible for people of all faiths or none, there is an occupational requirement that the jobholder is a Christian under Part 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

Please note that we can only consider applications from candidates with the legal right to work in the UK.

Big Green Heart is a growing national charity that uses a proven methodology for preventative and restorative work in mental health with children and adults.

The purpose of Big Green Heart is to educate and empower people to experience the positive change that comes through forgiving.

Big Green Heart uses a guided therapeutic process designed to enable people to forgive from their heart, to bring healing from past physical, emotional and mental trauma.

Initially developed and piloted in a secondary school environment, Big Green Heart has been adapted for use by individuals of any age across different settings. The tools are cross-cultural, inclusive, and accessible for a broad audience regardless of background or ability. They have been particularly effective in addiction recovery groups. Their simplicity enables their success with young children and teenagers.

Our network of trained practitioners aims to create a safe, nonjudgmental space to work through emotions and feelings birthed from past experiences, events, or traumas. We also host experience days for groups wanting to learn some practical tools that will equip them to forgive. We train others to deliver Big Green Heart in their own sphere of influence.

The charity's strategic plan is to expand its scope more widely to schools, prisons, NHS services (social prescribing), and churches.

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