Job Description
Job Title:
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Location:
Contract:
Salary:
Annual leave:
Chief Executive Officer
Vital Regeneration’s Board of Trustees, via the
Board’s Chairman, David Bowler
The Senior Management Team and the Executive
Assistant as direct reports and overseeing the total
staff team of around 35 people.
Marylebone, Central London
Permanent
Up to £65,000 pro rata, depending on experience
25 days per annum pro rata
After 8 years, our Chief Executive, Angela McConville, is leaving to become the new
Chief Executive of Westway Development Trust. In light of this, the trustees are
seeking the appointment of a new Chief Executive to lead the organisation. The
Chief Executive will be accountable to the trustees via the founding Chairman, David
Bowler.
Vital Regeneration is an award-winning charity based in Westminster with a
mission to bring about positive change for people living in London’s most
deprived neighbourhoods.
We seek to address poverty and deprivation through developing and delivering
effective, long-lasting solutions to social, environmental and economic disadvantage,
in partnership with local communities.
Through our work, we aim to:
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Ensure those who are most disadvantaged have access to learning and
employment opportunities to develop their full potential
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Be the ‘community anchor’ that supports people in local communities to work
together to be their own ‘agents for change’
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Engage disadvantaged communities to participate in decisions that affect them
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Be an authoritative voice on social and economic regeneration
Founded as a charity in 2005, Vital Regeneration has grown rapidly from turnover of
£450,000 to £1.7m, with the staff team increasing from 8 to 35. Today we reach
more than 3,000 people each year who access our learning, employment and
community enterprise programmes. We are a dynamic, innovative organisation,
committed to working collaboratively. The charity has a reputation for quality and
responsiveness.
The organisation’s key sources of revenue are statutory contracts, commissions and
grants (both local and central), grants from Trusts and Foundations and corporate
sponsorship. We are engaged in a number of high profile and demanding contracts
including the Community Engagement Services contract for Westminster Council and
the DWP’s flagship Work Programme. We want to build on this success and are
looking to grow our impact and, in turn, income from across key commissioning
agencies.
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The Candidate
We are looking for a strong, energetic leader. Someone who is tenacious and acts
with integrity. The organisation is at a very important stage in its development,
balancing a portfolio of exciting programmes that include delivery of the
government’s flagship Work Programme through to a range of niche specialist
programmes that engage and build capacity within the communities we serve.
There has never been a more intense time for the charity in terms of the imperative
to deliver results and the competition for external funding resources. As such the
trustees are exploring a number of bold strategic moves which include strategic
partnerships, collaboration (including options to merge with other organisations
where the strategic fit and synergies make sense). In light of this, we are looking
for someone with excellent interpersonal skills, able to build confidence quickly, who
can demonstrate considerable analytical and commercial acumen, whilst
simultaneously keeping the charity’s mission at the heart of decision making.
The Chief Executive is a key contributor to the charity’s fundraising and new business
capability. An ambassador, they need to have the necessary gravitas and ability to
represent the charity’s mission with purpose and empathy. Demonstrable ability to
win new business, shape market opportunities, influence senior stakeholders and
maintain confidence across a wide supporter base is imperative.
The Chief Executive will need to be a seasoned professional, who has experience of
managing a small, agile organisation, where roles are loosely defined and where
there is a small support staff. They will need to be a self starter, who is not afraid to
roll up their sleeves and help in the day to day challenges of delivering on its
ambitious portfolio. At the same time, they will need to be sensitive to the fact that
this is a small organisation in which the people are the organisation’s most important
asset.
Experience in education, regeneration, housing and/or economic development would
be advantageous but not essential.
Main Responsibilities
The main responsibilities of the Chief Executive will be:

To give visible, clear, strong leadership to Vital Regeneration

To passionately uphold the vision and mission of Vital Regeneration, ensuring this
translates into effective strategies for change for our beneficiaries and
communities.

To be an ambassador for Vital Regeneration, presenting the vision with
confidence and enthusiasm and safeguarding its reputation at all times.

To advise trustees on planning, performance and the financial health of the
organisation, providing progress against key business plan and financial
objectives.

To support Vital Regeneration’s Board in ensuring effective and open Board
governance practices. Building an excellent relationship with the Chair and Vice
Chair will be central to this.
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
To support the Company Secretary in ensuring Vital Regeneration meets its
statutory obligations for the Charity Commission and Companies House.

To lead the Senior Management Team and to support and performance manage
members of that team to ensure maximum effectiveness

To support the Senior Management Team in the management of key areas of
risk, namely funding, contracts, operations, people and reputational risks. In
particular to work closely with Senior Management to ensure the successful and
compliant delivery of key contracts including the Community Engagement
Services contract for Westminster Council and payments by results contracts,
including the DWP Work Programme.

To champion a culture of integrated working and cross team co-operation where
synergies and links between individual projects and services are identified and
acted upon to maximum effect.

To support the Head of Finance in the management of the organisation’s £2m
budget, ensuring that opportunities for efficiencies are maximised.

To ensure that the charity’s approach to full cost recovery continues to be
embedded in fundraising and development activities.

To continue to drive forward the organisation’s growth plans, in line with the
Trustees’ stated aim of “digging deep” in Westminster whilst identifying further
suitable opportunities for delivery and impact in neighbouring London boroughs.

To lead on a range of external relationship management and business
development activity. In particular to continue to nurture existing relationships
with local authorities, commissioning agencies, Trusts and Foundations and
business sponsors. This will involve authoring and reviewing strategic bid
development, facilitating partnerships and undertaking proactive management of
prospective funding opportunities.

To lead activity in support of Vital Regeneration’s strategic partnering and
collaboration agenda, including any necessary presentations, pitches, business
proposals and due diligence.

To continue to identify and develop strategic partnerships and opportunities for
closer collaboration and joint working which maximise mutual benefit.

To keep up-to-date with relevant political and government policy developments
and to recognise the implications for the work of Vital Regeneration.
Furthermore, to be pro-active in seeking opportunities to input into the shaping
of the policy agenda.
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Candidates will need to be able to demonstrate:

A track record of successful leadership in a values-driven organisation

Experience of managing effectively at a senior level in a multi-disciplinary
environment and of developing good working relationships in a short space of
time

A strong commitment to the aims and values of Vital Regeneration

High level of awareness of the overall political and government policy agenda
within which Vital Regeneration operates.

Ability to get up to speed quickly on new issues and to make sound judgements
on them

Ability to inspire confidence and create trust

Ability to prepare effective operational and financial plans, to advise trustees on
these and to lead implementation of plans

Experience of performance managing welfare to work contracts or similar
programme delivery.

Ability to identify the policies and systems needed for a complex medium-sized
organisation to operate as effectively as possible and to take steps to put these in
place

Ability to work effectively and credibly with a range of external stakeholders

Experience of successfully working with trustees or other non-executives

Ability to plan own workload effectively and to delegate

Ability to make informed decisions confidently, even when faced with difficult
situations or threats

Commitment to high performance levels and an ability to clearly communicate
standards and, where necessary, challenge current levels
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