Irish Chaplaincy Chief Executive Officer - VACANCY
October 5, 2023 General
Chief Executive Officer
Salary: Competitive salary depending on experience
Location: London NW1
Permanent, 35 hours per week, full-time
About us
The Irish Chaplaincy's purpose is to be a leading and innovative charity that provides high quality services and support to excluded, vulnerable and isolated Irish emigrants in Britain and to respond to the needs of the contemporary Irish diaspora in Britain. The Irish Chaplaincy is the oldest Irish Catholic welfare charity in Britain and our aim remains to galvanise the whole Irish community to work together to improve the lives of those most vulnerable of Irish emigrants and ensure that no member of our community is forgotten.
There are four main strands to the work we do:
Prisoners: A prison visiting, information and advocacy service for Irish prisoners in England/Wales and their families.
Travellers: Research, advocacy and education to improve the situation of Travellers within the criminal justice system.
Seniors: Pastoral outreach and befriending to alleviate the social exclusion and loneliness of older Irish people, and to offer a knowledgeable, compassionate and comforting presence for end-of-life issues and funeral arrangements.
Irish in Britain: Advice, pastoral support, signposting, and arranging events and volunteering opportunities for the wider Irish community in Britain.
The Irish Chaplaincy is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Closing date for applications is: 31 October 2023 at 23:59
Job title: Chief Executive Officer
Responsible to: Board of Trustees
Responsible for: the day-to-day management and performance of The Irish Chaplaincy. Direct line management of the project managers, the Finance Officer and Administrator and in-direct line management of case workers and volunteers.
Job Purpose
· To work closely with the Board of Trustees in defining the Charity's vision - providing professional advice and developing its strategy to respond to the current and changing needs of the Charity's clients. Indeed, assessing the purpose and role of the Chaplaincy now and how that will evolve over the next ten years is a critical - and exciting - challenge.
· To lead the Charity's management, staff and volunteers to deliver the Charity's services as effectively as possible in accordance with the overarching strategic direction.
· To manage the resources and activities of the Charity within the agreed business plan, keeping the Board informed of all relevant issues at all times.
· To understand the structure of The Irish Chaplaincy in the context of the Irish Government funding and to maintain and build excellent relationships with the Charity's key partners and stakeholders including the Irish Episcopal Council for Emigrants.
Scope and Accountability
Reporting to the Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive has overall operational responsibility for The Irish Chaplaincy, and lead accountability for strategic development in line with key associational objectives. Politically, commercially or reputationally sensitive issues and complex problems impacting on operations of the charity will be discussed and managed in consultation with the Board of Trustees as appropriate. As the lead officer of The Irish Chaplaincy, the Chief Executive provides professional advice on the implications of overall strategy and management of the charity.
The Chief Executive provides professional guidance to all directors and the board. Where sanctioned the Chief Executive utilises the expertise of external experts.
The post holder is responsible for the following resources:
· Overall accountability for the management of the charity
· Overall legal compliance responsibility for the charity with a current turnover of circa £500,000, 10 staff and approximately 40 volunteers
· Accountability for statutory and regulatory compliance
Skills, Knowledge & experience required for this role
· Knowledge and understanding of the special needs of vulnerable and socially excluded people (prisoners, Travellers, older Irish people)
· Knowledge and understanding of Irish culture
· Knowledge and understanding of The Irish Chaplaincy values and ethos and a commitment to enshrining them throughout The Irish Chaplaincy and its services.
· Understanding of and commitment to participatory ways of working and ability to relate to others with sensitivity and cultural awareness within an equal opportunities context.
· Experience of strategic development, service delivery, financial and people management.
· Experience of submitting successful bids and grant applications to external bodies
· Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal and presentational skills to a diverse range of audiences.
· Experience of developing and maintaining relationships and partnerships with external agencies at a strategic level.
· IT Skills including electronic diary, e-mail, MS Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Databases.
· Analytical skills sufficient to interpret financial and other organisational performance data and to develop policy.
