Vacancies
Interim Chief Executive Officer (maternity cover)
About
Our CEO, Daisy Srblin, has served since May 2022, and is
expecting to take maternity leave from May 2026. We are looking for an
excellent Interim CEO, to steward YCF in her 9-12 months away, lead our
team and keep our charity on track.
2026/27 is set to be a busy period for Young Camden Foundation, as we
navigate a complex ecosystem for the voluntary sector, embed new
projects, and drive forward the objectives of our 2025-28 strategy. This
is also a pivotal year for fundraising efforts, as is the case for many
in our sector, and maintaining strong leadership on behalf of our
dynamic and talented team will also be essential.
We are looking for an experienced Interim CEO, who brings particular
proven expertise around fundraising, people and budget management, and
reporting, as well as confidence in stakeholder relationships and proven
leadership experience.
You will be responsible for a team of 7, reporting to a board of
twelve, and managing a budget of around £1.3m. You will be responsible
for the effective management and delegation of
responsibilities throughout the team, via your three direct line
reports. You will be responsible for reporting to funders on a regular
basis, who fund everything from YCF’s core operations to our grants and
onward projects. You will oversee YCF’s complex functions, including
grant giving, membership and training, and youth engagement.
You will lead on YCF’s fundraising goals for 26/27 and beyond,
helping to put YCF on a firm and confident footing as we look to the
future. You will also lead external engagement work at the charity,
ensuring YCF is represented and advocating in high-level spaces in
Camden, whether with Camden Council, local Councillors, sector and
member leaders, and local businesses.
Please download the full job specification for a complete breakdown of responsibilities and essential skills and experience.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The job of a CEO is hard to define, especially in a small charity, so
the list below is by no means exhaustive, or reflective of all the
responsibilities you will undertake in post.
However, these summarise the key areas of responsibility and priority as Interim CEO in the 9-12 month period:
1. Fundraising on behalf of our objectives
2026 is a pivotal fundraising year for YCF, as with so many in the
sector. You will lead on our fundraising efforts (including identifying
and writing bids) for both core and project funding in this important
year, to put YCF on the strongest financial footing possible in
delivering our objectives to 2028.
2. Team management and leadership
The YCF team is a dynamic mix of individuals, ranging from
longer-serving staff to newer staff. You will effectively lead our
people (YCF’s key asset) driving performance by identifying development
opportunities, and effectively delegating to get the most out of our
team. You will also be called upon to make judgement calls on behalf of
the team, when these come up.
3. Stewarding our finances
In our small organisation, the CEO is chiefly responsible for the
effective stewardship of our finances. Working closely with our Finance
Manager, you will set our 27/28 budget and steward and monitor our
performance across both financial years (including around fundraising
targets). You will oversee an effective audit process in 2026, and
ensure records and invoicing are meticulous and kept up to date.
4. Supporting project management and delivery
While staff members hold responsibility for their work streams, YCF
is a small team, and you will have overall responsibility and oversight
for all delivery, including two sizeable projects in the 26/27 year (the
delivery of the UK Government’s Holiday Food and Activities programme,
(HAF) on behalf of the Borough of Camden, and YCF’s new cross-borough
programme tackling Serious Youth Violence). You will ensure strong
delivery across each workstream, identifying opportunities for
development throughout, and stepping in where needed.
5. Ensuring effective communication
YCF has a wide range of stakeholders, including members, funders,
partners and many others from our cross section of voluntary, public and
private sector partnerships. You will be an effective communicator
(verbally and in written form) and able to represent YCF in the spaces
needed, including with prospective partners, on strategic boards, and
with high-level stakeholders. You will lead the team in our written
reporting to funders, guiding the team to harness our data to
communicate our impact.
6. Oversee governance
Bringing experience with Board accountability, you will report to the
board quarterly, and work closely with the Chair to ensure progress is
being driven forward on YCF’s strategic objectives.
[While your closest working senior relationship will be with the
Chair, YCF benefits from a very engaged board. As such, the trustees can
be available to support you on an on-going or ad-hoc basis.
Collectively, they have deep local connections, excellent sector
knowledge and expertise in various functional areas such as HR,
governance, finance and more.]
PERSON SPECIFICATION
We are looking for the following essential experience in our prospective Interim CEO candidate:
- Successful fundraising experience: You will have
proven experience in fundraising in a VCS context, including from Trusts
& Foundations, corporate sources, and Local Authorities. You will
have direct experience in writing applications, making pitches and so
on.
- Proven finance experience: As a proven sector
leader, you will have experience managing complex and large
organisational budgets. You will be able to demonstrate how you have set
and managed budgets in the past, including stewarding budgets to
effective use.
- Leadership and team management: You will have
experience of leading teams, including in contexts without an internal
HR function where these are held by the CEO. You will be well versed in
all aspects of team leadership, including managing performance,
supporting morale and maintaining YCF’s positive team culture. You will
have held the position of Director or CEO before, and have experience
reporting to a Board of Trustees, and knowledge of governance
arrangements that support a healthy charity.
- Exceptional communication: You will demonstrate
proven exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal. You
will be well versed in compiling strong reporting to funders and
stakeholders, as well as producing high quality reports for Trustees.
You will also be an exceptional verbal communicator, representing YCF
and the needs of our members in advocacy spaces.
- Project start up and management: While YCF has
senior leaders to oversee work delivery, you will bring your own
experience in project management, to help support existing and new
projects at YCF, namely the Tackling Serious Youth Violence Project,
which will begin in 2026.
- A positive attitude: Working in a small charity is
tremendously rewarding, but it can be tough to lead a small
organisation. You will demonstrate proven maturity in navigating those
challenges, while bringing an optimism and positive attitude to your
work, including all of the (many) responsibilities that fall outside of
the ‘usual’ CEO job description, in a small charity.
We would also ideally be looking for some of the following desirable areas of expertise and experience:
- Working in a youth setting: Our Interim CEO will
need to share our passion for a stronger Camden for all children and
young people. Ideally you will also bring experience of working in a
youth setting or for a youth focused charity in the past, and be
familiar with some of the challenges facing children and young people
- Grant making: Our Interim CEO will steward a
significant grant-making budget of around £1m per year. Our ideal
candidate would bring knowledge of hyper-local grant giving for
community led organisations
- Working with and for community groups: Our team
works predominantly (though not exclusively) with members who are micro,
small and medium sized. Ideally you will be well versed in the unique
challenges facing grassroots community VCS organisations. You may bring
experience leading a small charity yourself, proving your understanding
of the unique leadership challenges in doing so
- Understanding Camden: YCF’s work is
unapologetically rooted in our borough, with all its challenges and
opportunities. Our ideal candidate brings an understanding of the
challenges of living within inner London, particularly for communities
facing disadvantage.
WHAT WE OFFER IN RETURN
We firmly believe you’ll be working in one of the best teams in the sector, with a collaborative and supportive culture.
You will be working with a dynamic and enthusiastic team, and will
also benefit from regular check-ins with a present and supportive Chair,
as well as support from our experienced Board of Trustees. Flexible
working is also available, after discussion and agreement with the
Chair.
You will also benefit from:
· 25 days of annual leave per year (pro-rata’d for part time employees)
· In addition, your Birthday off (or closest working day) as paid leave
· Access to our Employee Assistance Programme, 360 Wellbeing,
including 6 free in-person counselling sessions per year and unlimited
24/7 online and telephone GP consultations
· Training and development opportunities
· Free on-site gym access and access to free creative and fitness
classes (and access to on-site showers) as part of our Labs membership
· Access to tea, coffee, biscuits and fruit each day at our office
· Discount on food and drink in Camden Stables Market
Please download the full job description for further information. Pease note the deadline for applications is Sunday 8th February - however the Charity Jobs advert will expire on Thursday 5th February, so please be sure to download this application and details of how to apply before this date.