Job Details

Director of Service Development (Recent appointment)

Home or office based (London, Birmingham, Glasgow, or Cardiff)

Flexibility required to visit UK offices and teams as needed.

A hand up, not a hand-out.

Thank you for your interest in joining us in the Foundation at an exciting time of growth and development across The Big Issue.

The Big Issue mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity through self-help, social trading, and business solutions. We provide access to means for people to earn a legitimate source of income, to raise their self-esteem, and to take control of their lives. One of the ways we do this is through supporting vendors to sell The Big Issue magazine. Last year alone, we put £5.5m in the pockets of our vendors, releasing them from a dependency on handouts. The Big Issue Foundation supports vendors (and increasingly others) with wrap-around support in health, housing, debt, addiction, mental health, financial inclusion, and employability.

About the Role and the Person

This is a new role, and your remit will be to take responsibility for developing and delivering the Foundation's frontline business plan for the Services Directorate.

The successful candidate will enjoy working with people because we are a people business. You'll firmly believe that an organisation is only as good as its people and will be accessible, trustworthy, and focused on the importance of culture.

You are likely to be positive and proactive with a high degree of resilience as you lead the department through a period of exciting change and development. You'll draw on your considerable previous high-level experience of leading change successfully, which will give you the strength and understanding of how to shape direction and strategy, and take people with you to build a focused, strong, vibrant, and empowered team.

You'll enjoy autonomy and like working on your initiative but will also appreciate working as part of a team. You'll be well supported by the CEO and broader leadership team. You'll be solution-focused and tenacious, while also being open, agile, and happy to adjust your thinking and direction as new opportunities or ideas present themselves.

Your Experience

You will bring extensive experience of working in the charity or social sector, understanding what it means to support vulnerable client groups. You will need to effectively navigate and network at a senior level in charities, community organisations, social services, and local authorities, proactively identifying, forging, and retaining strong networks on behalf of our customers.

You will also be able to demonstrate proven experience in leading and developing personalised service delivery strategies and business plans at a senior level in a charity, social enterprise, social service, or healthcare organisation.