The Belay Foundation
Interim CEO
About The Belay Foundation
The Belay Foundation is a small charity with big ambitions to improve the lives of adoptive, special guardian and kinship care families. We deliver innovative trauma-responsive services that families value. Relationships are at the heart of everything we do and we use DDP principles (Dyadic Developmental Practice) to train our staff and to inform how we deliver our services.
Job Description (Summary)
The Belay Foundation is looking for an experienced charity leader to take us through growth into the next chapter of our story. As Interim CEO, you will lead the organisation, manage a small operational team, and drive our mission to improve the lives of adoptive, special guardian, and kinship care families. This is a remote, part-time (2 days/week) role for a 1-year contract, requiring some in-person meetings in the UK (Bath/Wiltshire). Key responsibilities include strategic development, fundraising, financial management, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, trauma-responsive services.
Responsibilities:
- Leadership of the organisation and management of staff.
- Holding the safeguarding of our children and their families at the heart of all we do.
- Eliciting feedback from families and the wider beneficiary community to develop services.
- Fundraising and income development.
- Ensuring the financial management of the charity works towards greater sustainability.
- Developing the organisational structure, its processes, and methods of service delivery.
- Delivery of accreditation as required e.g., DDP (Dyadic Development Practice) and CPD (Continuing Professional Development).
- Protecting the reputation of the organisation, constantly improving processes and procedures.
- Improving service efficiency and maintaining compliance e.g. GDPR.
- Overseeing public relations activity.
- Developing all of the above with an eye to environmental sustainability.
- Other responsibilities as designated by the Trustees.
Who we are looking for (Person Specification):
We are looking for an experienced charity leader to hit the ground running with some knowledge or awareness of the families that we support and the issues that they face. Most importantly we are looking for experience of financial management, fundraising, staff management and strategic development to help our organisation grow and thrive into the next 5 years and beyond.
Essential experience:
- Knowledge or awareness of children in permanence who have been in the care system for example in adoption, special guardianship or kinship care families.
- Leadership within a growing organisation.
- Leadership and management of staff and volunteers.
- Fundraising and diversifying income.
- Financial management.
- IT literacy.
Desirable experience:
- Familiarity with Dyadic Developmental Practice.
- Development of systems that enable good processes and communication across the organisation.
- Partnership working with other organisations e.g. charities and local authorities.
Attributes and skills:
- High levels of empathy for different experiences.
- Ability to prioritise.
- Ability to engage and motivate a team.
- Professionalism.
- Communication to different audiences from families to press statements.
- Ability to ask for help and understand own limitations.
- Capacity for self-reflection.
- Able to work flexibly in terms of hours.
- Commitment to our values of empathy, respect, professionalism, learning, partnership, innovation.
How to Apply
Interested candidates may wish to arrange an informal discussion on the role and the charity with Ceris Turner-Bailes, Chief Executive. This can be done by emailing lottie.seymour-williams@wasteaid.org to arrange a time. (Note: The contact person "Ceris Turner-Bailes" and email "lottie.seymour-williams@wasteaid.org" seem to be from the previous "WasteAid" job description and might be a copy-paste error in your source. Please verify the correct contact for The Belay Foundation if different. The application email below is different.)
If you are interested in the opportunity to become our Interim CEO, your application should comprise a CV with details of your experience and achievements, together with a supporting letter (of no more than two sides of A4) which addresses the Person Specification.
Applications should be sent electronically to hannah@swidn.org.uk no later than 5pm Monday 23rd June 2025.
(Note: The application email "hannah@swidn.org.uk" seems to refer to SWIDN, not The Belay Foundation. Please verify the correct application email for The Belay Foundation. The apply button below uses the CharityJob link.)
First round interviews will be held week of 9th June 2025.
Second round in person interviews to be held week of 16th June 2025.
References will be taken up on completion of the interview and before a confirmed offer of employment.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
