Chief Executive Officer
- Recruiter
- CHANGE OF SCENE
- Location
- Farnham, Surrey
- Salary
- Competitive
- Posted
- 12 Jul 2019
- Closes
- 09 Aug 2019
- Sectors
- Charity & Voluntary, Management
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
Chief Executive Officer
For over a decade, Change of Scene has provided specialist educational intervention for children and young people across Surrey and Hampshire, who flounder in a class-room environment and struggle to engage with traditional learning. Our aim is to assist them achieve their optimum potential by overcoming their personal challenges, broadening their knowledge and improving their life skills. To-date, nearly 100 children and young people have returned to sustainable education, currently a 79% success rate described by Surrey’s Lead Inclusion Officer as, “nothing short of amazing”.
Our founder and Chief Executive Officer is due to retire in the middle of 2020 and we have now begun the search for a new leader with the vision and passion to build-on her great legacy and continue to grow and develop the vital work of the Charity. Ideally, we would like the successful candidate to start in early 2020, providing some overlap and continuity.
Salary will be negotiable dependent on experience. Working hours will be negotiable with potential for part-time / flexible working, but with the expectation the CEO will work such hours as are necessary to successfully discharge the role. As part of the duties, it is expected the Chief Executive Officer will attend fund-raising and other charity-related activities outside normal working hours, including occasional evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays.
The Charity’s average turnover for the last five years is £116k with 16 children & young people each attend for half a day per week.
The role is accountable to the Board of Trustees via the Chair and has a small team of permanent staff and volunteers reporting to it.
Operating out of a 16 acre small-holding in a secluded valley in south Farnham, Change of Scene provides a calm, safe, homely and natural setting in which attendees thrive. Working in a wide-range of biodiversity habitats and looking after an equally varied assortment of domestic animals, our children and young people have the undivided attention of their key worker, learning many different skills including animal husbandry, horticulture, carpentry and cooking. The AQA Unit Award Scheme, for which Change of Scene is an accredited centre, furthers our aims by enabling attendees to build a portfolio of nationally recognised certificates. The infrastructure, location and operating environment are all vital components to our success.
After 11 very successful years and following the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, the time will be right to review, revise and, where appropriate, develop a new strategy to take our original concept to a different level of performance and professionalism, building a strong and sustainable infrastructure. This will include supporting and strengthening the contribution made by the ‘Friends of Change of Scene’ to our long-term future.
The successful candidate will believe in our vision, ensuring it remains at the heart of every action and decision. They will relate and be empathetic to the needs and challenges of working with ‘hard-to-reach’ vulnerable children and young people. They must be able to inspire confidence in and engagement with the Charity.
We are ideally looking for someone with experience of having successfully grown and developed organisations, possibly though not necessarily, in the charity, education and / or health and social care sectors. They will need, amongst other qualities, to be self-starting, organised, resilient and have the ability to identify and maximise opportunities.
If this is an opportunity and challenge that excites you, please send a CV and brief covering letter explaining why you believe you are right for the role
The closing date for applications is 10th August 2019.
For more information about the charity, please visit our website