Chief Officer

Role:                           Chief Officer

Responsible to:        The Chair and Board of Trustees

Location:                    London Borough of Sutton

Salary:                        c. £35k pro rata

Hours:                         28 hours (4 days) with some evening and weekend working, as and when required

Contract type:            18-months, with the potential to be extended

Sutton Vision is a registered charity that has been supporting people who are blind or partially sighted in the London Borough of Sutton since 1965. Everyone's sight loss journey is different and that's why we provide a wide range of services to help enable and empower people with sight loss to live independent and full lives.  We often work with people who have been newly diagnosed with sight-loss, when they can often feel bewildered by the news, and unsure of what the future holds for them.

Sutton Vision services start from recognition of the practical impact of sight loss or visual impairment.  We focus on five main activities:

•        Information and advice;

•        Advocacy;

•        Health and wellbeing promotion;

•        Advice on low vision equipment and assistive technology;

•        Recreation and social activities to prevent social isolation.

Our services are delivered by staff based at the Sutton Vision resource centre, a Sight Loss Advisor based at the St Helier Hospital Eye Unit, as well as a team of volunteers.  We involve people who are blind or have a visual impairment in our work, particularly offering community awareness training, but also organising activities in the local community and offering support through our telephone contact network.

Purpose
The Chief Officer is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of Sutton Vision as an organisation.  Working closely with the Chair and Board of Trustees, the Chief Officer will set the ambitions for the organisation, ensuring its financial viability, maintaining its high standards of service provision, and upholding its mission and values.

Main duties and responsibilities

1. Work with, and develop further, the existing fundraising strategy to identify and acquire new sources of funding for future sustainability;
2. Develop, implement and monitor budgets and external grants;
3. Work with Chair and Board of Trustees in formulating and implementing the strategic business plan;
4. Manage and develop the small team, be responsible for all HR issues and provide strategic guidance for work ensuring compliance with legal obligations, policies and procedures;
5. Work with the team on individual workplans and areas of personal development, and identify areas to grow the existing service provision across the Sutton sight-loss community;
6. Provide written reports to the Board, including, but not limited to the annual business Plan, budget and regular progress reports;
7. Develop engaging communications, across a number of existing and new channels i.e. promotional materials, literature and social media platforms;
8. Monitor and manage service performance and delivery against key performance indicators;
9. Represent Sutton Vision at external events to raise the profile of the charity with key external stakeholders;
10. Identify safeguarding issues, referring to relevant agencies in accordance with the London Borough of Sutton Safeguarding Policy;
11. Maintain confidentiality of information at Sutton Vision, in accordance with The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR).

Person Specification

 ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of blind and partially sighted people in Sutton;
• Demonstrate successful trusts, foundations, corporate and community fundraising experience;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Experience of Microsoft Office, databases and social media platforms and analytics;
• Experience of working with volunteers;
• Experience of managing budgets (including external grant funding);
• Demonstrate problem solving capabilities with an innovative, flexible and adaptable approach;
• Relationship building skills and experience of developing connections across the sight-loss sector;
• Extensive experience of developing, implementing and delivering services and projects;
• Commitment to work in accordance with the principles of equality and diversity.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Experience of working closely with a Board of Trustees;
• Understanding and previous use of accessibility software;
• Experience of working in a sight loss organisation;
• Knowledge of key stakeholders in the sight loss sector.

If you would like an informal conversation about the role, please email jobs.suttonvision@gmail.com with your email and phone number.

To apply, please submit a cover note that outlines your skills and experience as they relate to the role (no more than two A4 pages in Word – not PDF), as well as your CV. Applications close 5pm Wednesday 20^th November.