Executive Director | Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK

Peridot Partners; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity organization in the UK seeks an Executive Director to guide the organization through its growth strategy in head and neck cancer. This role requires an experienced operational leader with strong skills in fundraising and stakeholder engagement. You will manage a dedicated team, implement strategic initiatives, and ensure the charity's goals for improved patient outcomes and awareness are met.

Qualifications

• Experience in a start-up or high-growth environment.
• Proven ability in income generation and fundraising.
• Strong experience in building systems for growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team to ensure operational delivery.
• Develop a sustainable fundraising engine.
• Drive programme excellence across four strategic pillars.

Skills

Team management

Fundraising

Operational leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Executive Director Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK

Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK seek an Executive Director to lead the charity through an exciting and ambitious new strategy of growth as the leading voice in head and neck cancers in the UK.

Location: Remote with travel

Who we are

Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK is the leading head and neck cancer charity in the United Kingdom. Our vision is to improve the quality of life and outcomes for head and neck cancer patients throughout the UK, addressing the current crisis in head and neck cancer care. We will achieve this by increasing awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Head and Neck cancers.

“The end goal for all head and neck cancer surgeons (and of course patients) is to prevent these cancers before they start, improve early detection, identify successful yet minimally invasive treatment approaches and ensure that patient quality of life post treatment is as back to normal as possible. Collaborative working is not just a worthwhile objective; it may be the only way to deliver successful and effective patient care.”

About the role

We are looking for a hands-on, delivery-focused Executive Director to lead Oracle into its next phase of growth. The strategy is established. The ambition is clear. What we need now is someone who can build a strong fundraising engine, deliver high-quality programmes, manage a growing team, and translate strategy into real-world impact.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a lean, high-energy environment, can confidently lead operations and delivery, and is motivated by building something lasting and impactful. You will work closely with a dedicated and ambitious Board of Trustees and lead a small delivery-focused team.

Key responsibilities

Leadership & management

• Provide day-to-day leadership to a small, committed team to ensure excellent operational delivery across Oracle’s programmes and campaigns.
• Embed a performance-focused, collaborative, and values-driven culture.
• Work closely with the Board to ensure good governance and bring them insight into delivery, risks, and opportunities.
• Develop and support the team as we grow – including mentoring and role development.
• Support the newly appointed Head of Fundraising to deliver a successful strategy and build a sustainable, diverse income pipeline.
• Lead on high-value fundraising (including major donors, trusts/foundations, corporate partners).
• Work collaboratively with the Board of Trustees to unlock and steward high-value fundraising opportunities, including networks, introductions, and strategic support.
• Support team members delivering individual giving, campaigns, and community fundraising.
• Ensure fundraising aligns with programme delivery needs and long-term sustainability.
• Maintain and ensure the highest level of financial stewardship, to ensure the growth of the charity meets its goals across its four strategic pillars.
• Lead delivery across Oracle’s four pillars (Research, Awareness, Collaboration, and Experience/Engagement) in line with the RACE strategy.
• Hold direct responsibility for the Collaboration and Experience/Engagement pillars, including external engagement with partners, clinicians, allied healthcare professionals, patients, and carers.
• Ensure project management excellence, budget control, and effective monitoring and evaluation of impact.
• Develop and maintain systems and processes that enable effective, scalable delivery.
• Maintain strong relationships with partners, funders, patients, and clinicians.

External profile & influence

• Be an effective spokesperson and ambassador for Oracle – in the media, with partners, and with funders.
• Represent Oracle in coalitions, working groups, and conferences where appropriate.
• Ensure we remain connected to patient voices and grounded in community needs.

Who we are looking for

We seek an exceptional operational leader with experience in a start-up or high-growth and mission-driven environment. You’ll lead a small team through an intentional and fast-paced growth strategy with a clear vision that delivers tangible results.

We seek an agile leader who leads from the front, so experience across team management, budgeting control and programme delivery is essential. Experience in income generation would be a substantial value add to work with the Head of Fundraising to ensure the development of new multi-year strategic funding opportunities that can expedite the charity’s growth trajectory.

Strong experience in developing strategic infrastructure to support growth, impact and governance is highly desirable, and you’ll be an excellent relationship builder who can establish trust with a diverse range of stakeholders that will include patients, clinicians, HNWI’s, strategic partners and the board.

If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, love leading a team through substantial growth in a nimble environment, with an incredible mission at its heart that will not only save many lives, but leave a lasting legacy in quality of care and support for patients with head and neck cancers in the UK, who’s voices you will champion and hold central to everything you do at Oracle HNCUK.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Matthew Skaife

Thank you for your expression of interest in the Executive Director role at Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK.

Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK is the UK’s leading national charity solely dedicated to improving outcomes and quality of life for people affected by all types of head and neck cancer, including cancers of the mouth, throat, sinus, thyroid, and salivary glands. Our roots go back over four decades, when pioneering clinicians and committed supporters came together to drive research and improve care. In 2024, the merger of Oracle Cancer Trust and the Head and Neck Cancer Foundation created Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK – uniting a proud legacy with a bold, forward-looking mission to deliver greater impact across research, awareness, collaboration, and patient engagement. We deliver this work with a small, agile team of five, with a national reach and a reputation for influence, innovation, and collaboration.

Head and neck cancer is a growing national crisis, with 17,000 new cases annually and incidence rising by 30% per decade. Only one-third of these cancers are detected at an early stage, and inequalities are stark – with higher incidence and later diagnoses in deprived and minority communities. There is a significant prevention opportunity through the HPV vaccine, yet uptake remains low: only 50% of boys and 56% of girls receive the vaccine, compared to 76% of boys and 80% of girls in Denmark. HPV-driven throat cancer now has a higher incidence than cervical cancer, and there are four other HPV-related cancers that could also be eliminated through a strong vaccination programme. In this context, Oracle is increasingly seen as a key partner by NHS England and the DHSC, shaping conversations on policy, data, and early detection.

As Executive Director, you will lead the implementation of our RACE strategy – Research, Awareness, Collaboration, and Engagement – which drives everything we do to tackle the head and neck cancer crisis. Over the next five years, our priorities are to:

• Build a sustainable fundraising engine to grow annual income to £1m+.
• Scale awareness campaigns – around HPV vaccine prevention, the reality of the head and neck cancer crisis, and HeadNeckCheck – to improve early detection.
• Deepen patient engagement through Oracle Voices and innovative community projects.
• Support the most high-potential research, including clinical, inequalities-focused, and data-driven projects.

This is an enormous opportunity to help solve one of the biggest cancer crises in the UK. You will lead a small but high-impact national health charity during a period of rapid growth and influence. You will take an established strategy and turn it into operational delivery and tangible impact, while building a diverse, sustainable income base across major donors, trusts, corporates, and community fundraising. You will drive programme excellence across our four pillars, embed a performance-driven, collaborative culture, and represent Oracle externally – strengthening relationships with partners, funders, clinicians, and the patient community.

The candidate we are looking for will:

• Be a hands-on, delivery-focused leader with operational and fundraising experience in a small but ambitious organisation.
• Be a strategic thinker who is also ready to roll up their sleeves to deliver results.
• Have proven ability to build systems and teams to support sustainable growth.
• Be passionate about health equity, inclusion, and amplifying patient voices.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
Keith Jones
Chair, Oracle HNCUK

Accessibility information

We understand that different members of the community have different access needs and have made some modifications to the way we do business to accommodate people from diverse communities and abilities.

Our accessibility provisions include:

• Step-free access to the building, all key meeting rooms and bathrooms, and an accessible workstation.
• Accessibility dogs are welcome.
• Interviews can be held in meeting rooms that support hearing loops.
• Papers and materials can be presented in different formats.
• A sign language interpreter can be accessed for interviews.
• Working patterns and locations can be adjusted.

Applicants with a disability are invited to contact us in confidence at any point during the recruitment process to discuss steps that could be taken to overcome operational difficulties presented by the role, or if any adjustments or support are required regarding the recruitment process.

For further information or to organise a conversation, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

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To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.

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For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

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Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Monday 6th October 2025
Candidates informed of outcome: Wednesday 8th October 2025
First stage interviews: w/c 13th October 2025
Second stage interviews: w/c 20th October 2025

Peridot and Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

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