Chief Executive Officer in Bristol

Do you share our passion to make it possible for everyone to walk, wheel and cycle? Could you lead the next part of our journey? We are stepping confidently into the future as Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, building on nearly 50 years of impact as Sustrans, the charity that helped to pioneer the UK’s sustainable travel movement. Our purpose is beautifully simple: To make it possible for everyone to walk, wheel and cycle, because it changes everything. Our health. Our wellbeing. Our world. And we are more ambitious than ever.

We are now seeking a new CEO to help us shape and deliver the future of movement in the UK. You’ll be part of a dynamic, committed team of 500 staff and 2,000 volunteers across the UK’s four nations. The successful candidate will have substantial leadership experience as a CEO (or aspiring CEO) and will bring values-driven leadership, energy and drive. You will be comfortable building high-trust relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in active travel, including government ministers, senior civil servants, policy makers and strategic partners. You will be able to inspire and lead our brilliant management team and colleagues. You will have a proven track record of leading change in a complex, purpose-driven, multi-stakeholder organisation. You will have had success growing income through fundraising, grant funding, commercial activity and strategic partnerships.

About the role

Please submit your application by 11:59pm on Sunday 15th March 2026.

Job purpose

• Work with the Board to set the charity’s strategic direction, build the conditions for long-term success, and ensure that purpose, performance and culture are consistently aligned to ensure operational and impactful delivery of the strategy.

Place in organisation structure

• Reports to: Chair of the Board of Trustees
• Accountable to: Board of Trustees
• Direct reports: Executive Director, Delivery; Executive Director, Resources

Key relationships

• Internal: Executive Team, All colleagues and volunteers
• External: Leaders and influencers in transport, environment, health and the third sector, Major donors and CEOs of trusts and foundations, Government ministers, MPs and other political leaders in the UK government and devolved nations, Senior civil servants in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including those in the Department of Transport, Transport Scotland and Active Travel England, Mayors and senior leaders across mayoral strategic authorities and local authorities

Key responsibilities

• Provide visible, values-driven leadership to leaders and colleagues across the organisation, ensuring strong delivery, collaboration, and accountability across walking, wheeling, and cycling programmes.
• Lead the development and execution of the Trust’s long-term strategy to grow active travel, improve public health, and reduce carbon emissions.
• Work in close partnership with the Board of Trustees to ensure high standards of governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic oversight.
• Oversee robust performance management, impact evaluation, and evidence-based learning to strengthen credibility and influence.
• Lead organisational development, workforce planning, and change management to support long-term organisational health and resilience.
• Translate national and regional active-travel policy into effective programmes, partnerships, and local delivery models.
• Ensure sustainable funding through diversified income streams, including government grants, contracts, fundraising, memberships and partnerships, with innovative approaches to developing our offer and revenue opportunities.
• Build and maintain influential relationships with central and local government, transport authorities, funders, strategic and sector partners and the media.
• Act as the Trust’s principal public advocate and media spokesperson on walking, wheeling, and cycling.
• Demonstrate the importance of serving diverse communities and embed a strong culture of inclusion, accessibility, and equity across all activities and services.
• Champion volunteering and meaningful engagement with communities.
• Use lived experience and public/user insights and data to inform strategy and delivery.
• Ensure effective risk management, internal controls, and transparent reporting to Trustees, funders, and stakeholders.
• Support and comply with all Walk Wheel Cycle Trust’s policies, including employment, health and safety, safeguarding, inclusion and diversity.

About you

Experience

• Demonstrable success in developing and delivering a compelling vision and strategy for an organisation.
• Significant experience as a CEO or aspiring CEO (leading a sizeable executive portfolio) in a large, complex, or multi-stakeholder organisation.
• Proven track record of leading organisations and teams through substantial change, growth and/or transformation.
• Strong experience of influencing, engaging, and aligning diverse internal and external stakeholders around shared objectives.
• Experience of working within, or in close partnership with, the voluntary, community, or social purpose sector.
• Established record of building effective, high-trust relationships with trustee or non-executive Boards.
• Demonstrated success in growing organisational income through fundraising, grant funding, commercial activity and strategic partnerships.
• Experience of leading organisational modernisation, including digital systems, data capability, and operational infrastructure.
• UK-wide experience and/or working with national and devolved governments (desirable).

Skills & abilities

• Proven ability to lead and influence complex systems involving multiple public, private, and voluntary sector actors.
• Exceptional people skills, with the ability to inspire, motivate, and mobilise people internally and externally, including employees, volunteers, community leaders, senior politicians, civil servants, strategic partners and policymakers.
• Ability to lead evidence-based strategy, using data, research, and evaluation to strengthen policy influence and funding confidence.
• Capacity to operate confidently and effectively at local, regional, and national levels across the UK.
• Strong political awareness, with the ability to build constructive and credible relationships with elected representatives and public officials.
• Well-developed commercial and entrepreneurial acumen, with the ability to identify and pursue opportunities for sustainable growth.
• Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and influencing skills with senior external stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate complex issues clearly and persuasively, and to act as a credible public spokesperson for the organisation.
• Ability to grow, mobilise, and empower a national membership and supporter base to drive change.
• Ability to speak confidently about one or (ideally) more aspects of our agenda, i.e. transport / walking wheeling cycling / environmental issues / sustainable development / infrastructure / public health.
• High levels of personal integrity, authenticity, resilience and sound professional judgement.
• Resilience.
• Ability to navigate complexity, build consensus, include, engage and involve others, make decisions, take personal ownership and hold others to account.