Interim Chief Executive Officer (maternity cover)

Location: YCF office (with some flexible working)

Salary: £55,000-60,000 (full time equivalent)

Reporting to: Chair, YCF Board of Trustees

Hours: 4 days per week (with flexibility for the right candidate)

Contract type: 9-12 months

Start date: End of April / early May 2026

Applications close: 23.59 on Sunday 8th February

 

OVERVIEW

Young Camden Foundation is a registered charity, established in 2017. YCF is supported by a number of important stakeholders, including the John Lyons’ Charity, corporate partners and Camden Council, and is a proud member of the national Young People’s Foundation Trust. YCF works on behalf of our 170+ Camden members, who serve thousands of children and young people across our borough.

Under our new strategy for 2025-28, A Stronger Camden for Young People, we are clear on our strategic objectives for the next three years.

Led by our longstanding CEO Daisy Srblin, and Chaired by Martin Pratt CBE, our small but mighty team punches above its weight in our borough, supporting our members and the children and young people they serve across our borough.

From corporate partnerships with purpose to networking events that bring youth practitioners together, from providing platforms for Young Camdeners to grant giving for grassroots provision, Young Camden Foundation is an exciting place to work, rooted always in community and driven by our values and mission.

 

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

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.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE

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.

 

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:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 

 

HOW TO APPLY

For an informal conversation about this role either the Chair or CEO contact via clerk@youngcamdenfoundation.org.uk

To apply for this role, please submit a cover letter and CV (no more than 2 sides each) outlining your suitability and interest in this post. Please make reference to the essential / desirable criteria in your application, and help us by showcasing the ways in which your experience make you suitable for the post.

Please note that this post is subject to satisfactory DBS check, and the successful candidate must have the right to work in the UK.

Please submit your application to clerk@youngcamdenfoundation.org.uk, with the subject line Interim CEO application by Sunday 8th February at 23.59.

It is our intention to invite successful applicants to the following rounds of interview, so please do specify in your application if you will be unable to make these dates:

- First round: w/b 16th February 2026

- Second round: w/b 23rd February 2026

Please note: Due to the high level of interest we are unfortunately only able to offer feedback to candidates who have attended interview.

 

Use of AI

We understand that AI may sometimes be useful in helping you clarify your ideas or check grammar. However, it can be surprisingly easy to identify text that has not been written by a human. Please ensure that the application submitted is written by you alone, and is truly reflective of your professional experience