Commercial & Estates Director

Application Pack Commercial & Estates Director

A message from
Siobhán Haire
(Deputy Recording Clerk, QiB)
and Joe Warren
(Clerk of the Commercial Board)

This is an exciting time to join us and make a real impact as part of our Senior Leadership Team.

At Quakers in Britain (QiB) we are working to bring Quaker values of peace and sustainability to the world, and supporting the wider Quaker community.

We have a brilliant Commercial and Estates portfolio which contributes

The role in brief

Commercial & Estates Director is a key role with overall leadership of Quakers in Britain (QiB)’s commercial and estates functions, operating as part of the senior leadership team.

Commercial activities at Friends House - opposite Euston Station - include significant conferencing facilities, a busy café and a small retail offer.

As well, the role includes remote strategic management of accommodation, conferencing, retail and catering at Swarthmoor Hall in Cumbria, as well as wider commercial opportunities.

valuable resource for our core activities, as well as embodying the values that are so important to us.

If you have the experience and motivation to lead that work, combining commercial acumen with a passion for our valuesbased approach, then read on.

Quakers are inspired by faith to work for a just, peaceful, and sustainable world. Our staff team shares those values and supports that work as we seek to increase our impact.

This is a rare opportunity to join our senior leadership team. It’s open to Quakers and non-Quakers alike, but commitment to our core values is essential.

In addition to Friends House, the post is responsible for the management of other land and buildings in the QiB portfolio.

Commercial activity is directed through a trading subidiary, which is a significant business with revenues of £4.5M, whilst the post has a budget of £10M across Commercial & Estates plus CapEx projects.

We’ve an established management team reporting to the Director post. The team has recently gone through a large restructure to strengthen our reporting lines and align with a new 5 year strategy.

The previous Director has just taken up a great opportunity which she couldn’t

If you want to join our friendly, collaborative team, we look forward to receiving your application.

refuse. She leaves a strong team and a high-performing business.

We’re looking for someone to carry forward the strategy, bringing their own leadership experience to take this team to even greater success.

This pack includes background information and the role on offer, as well as the salary and benefits package.

After reading, we invite you to view the other key documents on our website, including the full job profile and 5 year strategy.

If you’d like an informal chat about the role before applying. please email Ian Stedman: ians@quaker.org.uk

Our Values

Quakers live by core values that flow from their faith. These are central to our relationships with other people and with the earth.

Peace

Quakers are best known for their deep commitment to peace. But they don’t simply oppose war. They tackle the root causes of violence and challenge the systems that lead to war.

Equality and justice

Quakers believe everyone is equal. This leads us to challenge injustice and work with people who suffer injustice. They oppose all forms of discrimination and champion diversity.

Truth and integrity

Quakers strive to speak the truth with love. Treating others as we would want to be treated means being both honest and respectful in words and actions.

Simplicity and sustainability

Quakers try to live simply and focus on the things that really matter: the people around us and the natural world. They call for a sustainable way of life that puts people and planet first.

About Quakers in Britain

We’re a registered charity, with an annual turnover of around £10m, that works with and on behalf of all Quakers in Britain.

Our staff and committees provide support and events for around 18,000 Quakers, who worship in 456 local meetings across Britain. Supporting Quaker communities is a key part of what we do. Our staff work within reach of every Quaker meeting in Britain. They work closely with local Quakers to identify their spiritual and practical needs and help them become stronger and more connected. We are on hand to help Quaker communities thrive.

We organise Yearly Meeting, the regular assembly when Quakers living in Britain gather in worship to connect, explore current concerns and discern the way ahead. This Spirit-led decision-making guides our work.

Quakers are inspired by faith to build a better world. We take forward this work for peace and social justice and raise public awareness of Quaker faith and values.

Responsibility for the charity lies with 15 trustees, appointed from among the Quaker community:

More about our governance structures: How our structure works | Quakers in Britain

Annual report & financial statements: Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees | Quakers in Britain

The charity has nine departments:

Quaker Peace & Social Witness runs programmes supporting peace, economic justice, sustainability and criminal justice, through campaigning, training, placements, community empowerment and by supporting local Quaker activity.

Quaker Life supports Quaker communities in their life and worship, oversees Quaker outreach, provides training and organises events for children and young people.

Quaker Church Affairs manages the governance, events, and the shared identity and discernment of Quakers. It is underpinned by work on equity and justice in these structures.

The People Team supports QiB in all aspects of organisational development, including best people practice, workplace culture, inclusion, well-being and learning.

The Commercial department is also a wholly-owned trading subsidiary, with 2026around 60 staff embedded within and contracted by QiB.

It operates Friends House, where it is based, as a major events & conference venue, with a bookshop and cafe.

It also operates Swarthmoor Hall, the

Communications & Fundraising promotes public awareness of Quakerism, provides advocacy, media, web and publications services to QiB, and oversees fundraising from Quakers, Quaker meetings and Trusts.

Finance oversees the budget and finances of QiB and our commercial trading subsidiary, as well as our ethical investment portfolio and properties.

IT are responsible for delivery of ICT services, management of our suite of software solutions, maintenance of the physical & virtual technology infrastructure assets, project & service management, and training & development.

Estates & Facilities manage the upkeep of Friends House, through maintenance contracts, refurbishment and cleaning, as well as having oversight of health & safety, environmental initiatives and monitoring for this and other properties.

historic home of Quakerism, in Cumbria.

Each year, the company gift-aids any profits or surplus to the parent charity.

The team work together to deliver excellent service to valued customers across the public, voluntary and private sectors, as well as visitors to Friends House and Swarthmoor Hall.

Working for us

Quakers in Britain is a national charity employing around 180 people.

Our staff work remotely and from offices in London, Leeds and Cumbria.

We aim for our workplace to be consistent with Quaker values - broadly the same as most well-run progressive organisations. For example:

We expect staff to respect each person regardless of age, race, religion, gender, transgender status, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital or civil partnership status,

We work to avoid discrimination in our employment practices,

We strive to follow good employment practice, with clear and supportive line management,

We have a 1:4 ratio between the lowest and highest salaries,

We aim to be open and honest in all our work.

Very few jobs in QiB are restricted to Quakers, although about 1/3 of the staff are Quakers or linked to Quakers in some way.

About Quakers

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) emerged in Britain, in the mid-17th century, as a faith group with no separate priesthood, and a form of worship based in silence.

Quakers have been committed to peace, equality, simplicity and integrity throughout history.

Thjey are known for work to bring about social change over the years, such as on the abolition of the slave trade, the relief of suffering in wartime, improving living conditions for factory workers and the introduction of same-sex marriage.

Although Quakerism’s roots are in radical Christianity, today not all Quakers call themselves Christian.

Quakers share a way of life rather than a set of beliefs. They seek to experience God directly, within themselves and in their relationships with others and the world around them.

Quakers are ordinary people, who try to live their values as best they can. This leads many to work for a better world.

Values are important to Quaker life, and include truth and integrity, simplicity, equality, peace and sustainability.

You do not need to be a Quaker to worship at one of their meetings.

Find out more:
Online: Quakers in Britain | Quakers in
Britain

Read more about the story of the Quakers: Quaker faith | Quakers in Britain

Read Advice & Queries, an introduction to Quaker belief: Quaker faith & practice | 5th Edition

By visiting the Quaker Bookshop at Friends House.

Salary and Benefits

Salary

Starting salary: £73,300

Location

Based at Friends House in London (opposite Euston Station), with regular opportunities for remote working. There will be occasional requirements to travel to other sites, including our site in Cumbria.

Hours of work

Full-time 35 hours per week. Working hours will normally be Monday to Friday, but due to the 7 day per week operation and regular engagement with governance boards, occasional weekend work will be necessary.

Pension Scheme

Quakers in Britain have a generous contributory pension scheme. We contribute 8% of your salary and you contribute 3% of your salary.

You have the option to increase your contributions should you wish and to pay your contributions via salary sacrifice.

DBS Check

A Basic DBS check and will be required. This will be completed as part of our preemployment checks with the successful candidate.

Flexible working options

We are open to requests for flexible working patterns such as working from home or compressed working patterns.

Holiday

35 days a year including bank holidays plus three discretionary days for Christmas closure.

Subsidised café

We have an on-site café which provides subsidised meals. as well as a bookshop selling ethically-sourced goods.

Cycle to work scheme

This scheme helps spread the cost of a work bike and/or accessories over monthly tax-free instalments.

Annual Season Ticket Loan

We will provide a loan of up to £7,500 to cover the cost of your season ticket, repayable in 11 monthly instalments.

2026Sabbatical scheme

Staff are able to take a nine-month unpaid sabbatical after five years’ continuous service.

Sick pay scheme

We have a very generous sick pay scheme:

If you have less than 12 months’ service, you are entitled to full sick pay for 3 weeks followed by 3 weeks at half pay.

After 1 year you are entitled to full sick pay for 3 months followed by 3 months at half pay, subject to a maximum of 6 months since the start of your service.

After 4 years’ service you are entitled to full sick pay for six months followed by six months at half pay, subject to a maximum of 12 months.

Employee Assistance

QiB offers access to an independent, confidential employee assistance programme, available 24 hours a day.

Family Friendly Policies

These give enhanced maternity and adoption leave. All staff with more than 26 weeks service will receive 16 weeks full pay, followed by18 weeks half pay and 5 weeks SMP consecutively.

Parents expecting multiple births will receive an additional two weeks of parental leave. Staff undergoing recognised fertility treatment will receive 10 days paid leave to attend their appointments and up to 5 days paid leave for staff who wish to accompany their partner to appointments who are receiving recognised fertility treatment in any 12-month period.

How to apply

Quakers have a faith commitment to equality and encourage and welcome applications for posts from people of all identities and backgrounds.

As a result of our recruitment practices, individuals will be selected only based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications and abilities.

We work hard to ensure that a candidate’s age, belief, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, neurodivergence, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or social class will not be a barrier to working for QiB.

As a Quaker organisation we expect all applicants and employees to uphold our values.

We aim to operate an equitable and user-friendly application process for all candidates. If you need any reasonable adjustments during the application process, please contact our People Team.

QiB is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share and uphold this commitment.

Our recruitment and selection process reflects our commitment to safeguarding, and the suitability of all candidates will be assessed during recruitment in line with our Safer Recruitment guidelines.

Successful candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks in line with these guidelines.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo Safer Recruitment preemployment checks, including:

Right to work check,

References, including your current line manager,

DBS check + international police check (if required for the role).

Apply online at: Quakers in Britain: Job opportunities | Quakers in Britain

Closing date: 8am • Monday 24 August Shortlisting: w/c Monday 31 August

Informal discussions: w/c Monday 7 Sept

Formal selection interviews: Monday 14 Sept

Further information:

Strategy Document • Video(s)

Job Description and Person Spec