Job Description

ASSIST Sheffield are seeking our first Executive Director to work alongside our fantastic Leadership Team to take the organisation into the next phase in our development. ASSIST is an organisation with a deep passion for social justice and a 17-year history of supporting destitute asylum seekers. We are a highly committed and resourceful organisation, delivering a range of services with a 300 strong volunteer workforce and a small staff team. We are proud of our track record on such a critically important area of public policy. If you share our values and vision for social change then this could be the job for you.

Our new Executive Director will join a highly skilled Leadership Team who have co-led the organisation. You will be a natural collaborator and an effective communicator. We have an exciting new strategy and plans to innovate and grow across our service offer to our clients. If you are a skilled leader with a track record of managing change, implementing strategy, and building on the culture of an organisation then we’d love to hear from you.

We positively encourage applications from candidates who have lived experience of the asylum system or forced migration, and/or lived experience of BAME communities and networks.

Main responsibilities of the role

Strategic oversight and performance 

• Lead on the communication of our vision and strategy for the organisation

• Ensure a common understanding and commitment to our purpose between clients, volunteers, staff and trustees

• Oversee an approach to the implementation of our strategy that supports cultural change and ensures that our values are embedded in all aspects of our work

• Oversee a plan for the delivery of our strategy and other change initiatives that meets key outcomes and milestones

Strategic communication and representation

• Build, support and oversee relationships with stakeholders including local government leaders, politicians, policy and decision-makers, commissioners allies and supporters, partners and coalitions 

• Review opportunities for new partnerships that would benefit and drive forward our work

• Keep up to date with fast changing political and policy developments in our area of work

• Ensure that the rights, needs and voices of destitute asylum seekers are represented, amplified and heard in the local and national policy and in the media

• Ensure that the organisation’s mission, brand and internal and external communication strategies are aligned and promote the reputation, objectives and the purpose of the organisation 

Leadership 

• Model and promote an open and highly collaborative leadership culture focused on delivering the best services for the clients we serve

• Take a lead on oversight of HR 

• Provide effective line management, consistent 1:1 support and opportunities for ongoing professional development 

Culture and change management

• Foster, model and promote a culture which places our clients at the centre of decisions impacting their lives. Oversee the implementation of new methods of collaboration across our organisation

• Champion our work on diversity and anti-oppression ensuring that all of our working practices honour our commitment to tackling structural racism 

Good governance: 

• Work closely with the trustees to ensure the Charity delivers excellent governance and demonstrates professionalism and adherence to ethical standards in all it does

• With the Chair and trustees, lead on the ongoing recruitment, development and retention of a diverse Board of trustees

• Work with trustees to develop a new Governance Improvement Plan and establish an ongoing process of review and self-assessment

Funding and Finance 

• Lead on the development of our new Business Plan and provide regular progress reports to trustees

• Lead on the oversight of ASSIST’s funding strategy, maintain a healthy pipeline of funding streams and oversee the bidding process 

• Ensure that progress reports to our funders are submitted in a timely fashion and that we work hard to maintain positive long-term relationships with funders

• Oversee our financial procedures e.g. the preparation of the annual budget, the independent examination of accounts, our annual submission to the charity commission

• Ensure the financial sustainability of ASSIST by monitoring performance against budget, cash flow and growth

Compliance 

• To ensure that the charity meets its legal obligations with regards to health and safety and data protection