Chief Operating Officer

We are working with a well-established national charity supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young people. It works closely with education settings, families, local authorities and health partners, and delivers its services through regional teams across the UK, alongside professional training and a growing body of evidence about what works.

A salary of between £90,000 to £110,000 depending on experience, pension, generous annual leave, flexible and hybrid working, wellbeing support and professional development. The role is based in central London with hybrid working.

The Role

The Chief Operating Officer sits on the Executive Team and reports to the Chief Executive. They lead the charity’s regional services through a team of Regional Leads, and the evidence and impact work that shows what difference those services make.

What the COO will lead

• Strategy and planning. Shape organisational strategy and business planning with the Chief Executive, Board and Executive colleagues, and turn it into clear operational plans and measurable outcomes.
• Service delivery. Manage the Regional Leads and their teams so services are delivered consistently well in every region, with quality and safeguarding protected as delivery scales.
• Evidence and impact. Oversee the evidence and impact function and make sure what it learns shapes services, decisions and the charity’s voice externally.
• Performance. Build performance frameworks and management information that give the Executive Team and Board a clear, honest view of how the organisation is doing.
• Digital and data. Lead digital, data and technology priorities with Executive colleagues, including sensible, well-governed use of new tools.
• People and culture. Develop a strong senior team and a culture of trust, accountability and learning across the organisation.
• Governance and risk. Hold strong arrangements for risk, safeguarding, data protection, health and safety and compliance, and support the Board and its committees with clear reporting.
• Partnerships. Build relationships with commissioners, education partners, health and local authority partners and funders, and represent the charity externally.
  

We are open to candidates from across the impact economy: charities, social enterprises, public services, the NHS and education, and purpose-led businesses. What matters is the track record and the way you lead.

• Executive or director-level leadership in a complex organisation, with accountability for a significant budget (>£10m) and workforce.
• Experience of leading services delivered across several sites or regions, ideally through or alongside partners such as schools, local authorities or health services.
• A record of leading change in a way that brought people with you, and of building strong leadership teams.
• Experience of working alongside professional, clinical or quality leads, and respect for the expertise they bring.
• Comfort with performance data, governance, risk and safeguarding in a regulated or professional service setting.
• Desirable: experience in children’s services, education, health or social care, and of working with a Board and its committees.