The Youth Endowment Fund

CEO

Reports to: Chair, Youth Endowment Fund

Salary: £140,000 -£150,000

Location: Central London, or Hybrid

Closing date for applications: 11:59pm Sunday 8th February 2026

About the Youth Endowment Fund

We’re  here  to  prevent  children  and  young  people  becoming  involved  in

violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to

put this knowledge into practice.

Every child should grow up safe from harm. Yet far too many are drawn into

violence or live with the fear of it. This robs them of opportunity and damages

whole communities. We exist to change that — permanently. The Youth

Endowment Fund (YEF) is an independent charitable trust with a £200 million

endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children and young

people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works to

prevent violence and by building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

We fund, evaluate and spread the most effective ways to protect young people

from violence. We build strong partnerships across government, charities and

communities. We work with those closest to children’s lives to make sure

decisions are based on evidence, not guesswork.

The YEF is the UK’s largest What Works Centre – finding what works and making

this change. It has very strong links across government and across the education,

youth, youth justice, policing, children’s services sectors.

This role

After six years, our founding CEO is leaving the Youth Endowment Fund. We are

looking for a new CEO who will lead the Youth Endowment Fund to achieve its

mission. We have already built a deep understanding of what works to prevent

violence, close relationships across government, a growing programme to

changing practice of those working to prevent violence and a highly skilled and

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motivated team. We have gained the opportunity of making a lasting difference

for vulnerable children. We are looking for an exceptional Chief Executive to take

this opportunity.

Key responsibilities

You lead the organisation strategically

You set a clear direction for the Youth Endowment Fund and make sure we stay

focused on what matters most. You keep the organisation focused on our vision,

our mission and delivering the best possible strategy. You take the lead, over the

next few years, in designing YEF 2.0 – the future organisation after the initial 10-

year endowment. You make sure everyone understands how their work

contributes to that strategy and delivers on keeping children safe from violence.

You shape and model our culture

You set the tone for how we work. We are proud of YEF’s culture, values and

behaviours – making it a place that is both kind and ambitious, where people feel

backed to do great work and supported to grow. You will model and maintain this

culture – encouraging feedback, learning, delivery and collaboration so that

doing excellent work together feels natural.

You lead people, projects and governance wisely

You build and lead a brilliant senior team — one that is united, clear in purpose

and confident in delivering. You make sure that our finances are sound, our

systems are efficient and our governance is strong. You work closely with the

Board so that together we make wise and timely decisions. You ensure that we

operate with discipline and pace, managing projects well and keeping promises

to partners and to the public.

You represent YEF externally, driving change

You are a public face of the Fund and can present a trusted voice on what works

to keep young people safe. You win people over — from all walks of life — because

you listen, you care and you speak with clarity. You build relationships of trust with

Ministers, civil servants, funders, journalists, practitioners, researchers and young

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people themselves. You make sure that when YEF speaks – including in the media

– it is with credibility, compassion and conviction.

You champion evidence and social change

You keep YEF’s commitment to evidence at the heart of everything we do. You

ensure that we remain rigorous, independent and trusted as a source of

knowledge. You help turn evidence into real-world action — supporting schools,

services, charities and government to use what works to change lives. You make

sure that our work doesn’t just generate insight; it drives change that saves lives.

You are this sort of person:

•  You are a low ego and effective leader: You have a track record of building
and leading effective teams to get remarkable things done at a very high

standard. You know how to set expectations and how to support people to

meet them. You would describe yourself as low-ego and high-standards

and you’ve built high-performing teams that meet this description. You like

managing people brighter and better than you at their roles. You address

poor performance. You work very well in a team. You like taking

responsibility for things. You can balance the task, the individual and the

team. You create a culture where respectful conflict between colleagues is

natural and positive, leading to better decisions.

•  You deeply understand government decision-making and can drive

change. You really know how Westminster and Whitehall work — the formal

processes and the informal realities. You know how to get things done

across departments and with Ministers. You’re good at spotting the

simplest way to make something hard happen. You think deeply about how
systems, incentives and people work. You communicate complex ideas

simply and persuasively. You win people over and feel at ease talking to

nearly anyone — a Secretary of State, a headteacher, a senior civil servant,

a youth worker, a 15-year-old.

•  You think strategically. You’ve got experience in working up a strategy.
You’re good at coming back to the strategy and ensuring that the whole

organisation or team you are leading is focused on what matters most. You

are good at bringing decisions and organisations back to their main

purpose. You’re able to hold the big picture in mind while keeping a clear

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eye on detail. You’re comfortable reading financial reports, discussing

budgets and making sound, evidence-based investment decisions.

•  You understand the world of vulnerable children and care deeply about
good quality evidence. You have knowledge of at least one essential

sector that vulnerable children rely upon (education, policing, children’s

services, health, youth justice, youth sector) and real passion and empathy

for the challenges young people face. You want decisions about children’s

lives to be based on what works, not on assumptions or simply compelling

stories (must though you know the value of a story). You believe in the

value of really rigorous evaluation (for example, using randomised

controlled trials).

•  You’re committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. There is significant

racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system – especially for Black

children. It makes sense to you therefore that for YEF to deliver its mission

(to find what works to prevent violence and to put this into practice) it will

have to understand this racial disproportionality and work to address it.

You would come at this thoughtfully – listening to diverse views and

wrestling with data and lived experience. You feel excited about leading an

organisation that is committed to understanding and addressing this

racial disproportionality through all of its work including research, funding,

partnerships and internal culture. For you, this wouldn’t be about abstract

ideas and grand words, but evidence-based serious ways to deliver our

mission.

You have this sort of experience:

•

Leading a complex organisation or large department to deliver clear,
measurable results.

•  Building and leading a high-performing team of 50+ people and positive

culture.

•  Making change happen in or across government.
•  Working with Boards, Trustees or senior governance bodies.

While it’s not a criterion, we are especially interested to hear from applicants who

have lived experience of violence affecting young people.

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in
being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications

are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage

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or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual

orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

Hybrid Working Details

The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London are

expected to be in the YEF office for a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live

outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to be in the YEF office at

least 1 day a week and in London on average 2 days a week.

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide

proof of your eligibility to work in the UK.

Benefits Include

•  £1,000 professional development budget annually.
•  28 days holiday (3 of which are taken between Christmas and New Year)

plus Bank Holidays.

•  Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential

support.

•  Volunteering days – 4 half days per year.
•  Death in service – 4 times annual salary.
•  Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm.
•  Financial support including travel and hardship loans.
•  Employer contributed pension of 5%.

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