Chief Executive Officer

South West Community Chaplaincy; Plymouth; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Age UK Plymouth is seeking a Chief Executive to shape the next chapter of the charity, balancing long‑term strategy with day‑to‑day leadership. You will work with the Board to sustain charitable purpose, grow impact in Plymouth and ensure high standards of governance.

The role requires broad leadership across operations, finance, services and people, with courage to make tough decisions, and a collaborative, inclusive style that motivates teams and partners.

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience with broad organisational responsibility.
• Ability to translate strategy into action and identify opportunities.
• Strong financial literacy with budgets and forecasting.
• Experience leading through significant change.
• Excellent relationship-building and negotiation skills.
• Comfortable with courageous conversations and difficult decisions.
• Experience of governance and working with a Board.
• Commitment to equality, inclusion and diverse voices.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and executive leadership to ensure sustainability and governance.
• Deliver charitable objectives and ensure the organisation remains well governed.
• Develop services, diversify income and strengthen financial sustainability.
• Lead and empower teams across the organisation.
• Cultivate relationships with the Board, partners and funders.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Financial acumen

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Governance & Board liaison

Decision making

People development

Collaboration

Courageous conversations

Job description

About Age UK Plymouth

We believe everyone should be able to live well in later life.

Our work supports people across Plymouth at different ages and stages of their lives. The people who come to us are not one homogenous group and neither are their needs, circumstances or expectations.

Some people need a little information or connection at a particular point in their lives. Others may have a relationship with Age UK Plymouth and our services over many years.

Our role is to understand those different needs, provide excellent support where we are best placed to do so and connect people with others when we are not.

Today, our key areas of work include:

• Information and Advice
• Memory and Wellbeing Hub
• Wellbeing and community support
• Working with others

The opportunity

We are looking for a Chief Executive who combines strategic thinking with the ability to make things happen.

You will be helping to shape the next chapter of Age UK Plymouth and lead an organisation that makes a meaningful difference to people's lives in our city.

You will inherit an organisation that has already undertaken significant transformation, but the work is not finished.

The next few years will require thoughtful and experienced leadership as we continue strengthening our financial sustainability, develop our services, diversify income, respond to changing needs and build the relationships that will enable us to increase our impact.

This is a relatively small organisation, so breadth matters.

You will need to move comfortably between thinking about our long-term direction and understanding what is happening within the organisation today. You will know when something needs your attention and when the right leadership response is to trust and empower the experienced people around you.

You will be able to spot strategic gaps and opportunities, ask good questions and be prepared to challenge assumptions – including our own.

You will also be comfortable having courageous conversations. Leadership here will sometimes involve making difficult decisions, addressing things that are not working or saying no to opportunities that do not fit our purpose or resources.

You do not need to have been a Chief Executive before.

You may already be leading at this level, be an experienced senior leader ready to take overall organisational responsibility or have developed within an organisation where you have already demonstrated the breadth, judgement and leadership capability required.

We are interested in what you can bring, not simply the job titles you have previously held.

Overall accountability

The Chief Executive is responsible for providing strategic and executive leadership to Age UK Plymouth and, working with the Board, ensuring the charity is sustainable, well governed and able to deliver its charitable purpose.

The Chief Executive is accountable for organisational performance, financial sustainability, people leadership, service quality, safeguarding, risk, regulatory and contractual compliance and the effective stewardship of Age UK Plymouth's resources.

The Chief Executive will ensure that the experiences and changing needs of people in Plymouth as they age remain central to the organisation's strategy, decisions and development.

About you

We are less interested in a particular career path than in the breadth and quality of leadership experience you bring.

You will have significant leadership experience and be able to demonstrate that you have operated with substantial organisational responsibility.

You will bring:

• strong strategic thinking, with an ability to identify opportunities, gaps and emerging risks and translate strategy into action
• broad business and operational understanding
• strong financial acumen and confidence interpreting financial information, budgets, forecasts and organisational performance
• experience of leading people and organisations through significant change
• excellent relationship-building, influencing and negotiation skills
• the confidence and emotional intelligence to have courageous conversations and make difficult decisions
• experience of empowering, developing and getting the best from capable people and teams
• sound judgement and an ability to think on your feet and make decisions when information may be incomplete or circumstances are changing
• experience of contributing to effective governance and working with a Board or equivalent governance structure
• an ability to balance ambition and opportunity with organisational capacity, financial sustainability and risk
• curiosity about new approaches and an ability to learn, adapt and encourage others to do the same
• a commitment to equality, inclusion and ensuring different voices and experiences inform decision-making
• a leadership style that is open, collaborative, accountable and grounded in purpose and values.

You do not need to be an expert in older people's services when you arrive.

Experience of health, social care or services supporting people and communities may be helpful, but we place greater value on broad organisational leadership experience, strong business and operational capability, the ability to learn quickly and a genuine connection with our purpose.

We are not looking for a particular qualification or career route. We are looking for the experience, judgement, values and leadership capability to lead Age UK Plymouth well.

Closing date: Sunday 15th November 2026 – 23:59

First-stage interviews: Thursday 19th November 2026

Final-stage interviews: Wednesday 25th November 2026

Preferred start date: January 2027