Job Description

Background

We are seeking to appoint an exceptional candidate to act as the Director of Margaret Clitherow Trust, as well as to help launch the Centre for Romani and Traveller Child Protection. With consistent year-on-year growth, a highly specialised multi-disciplinary team and the launch of the Centre to act as a national hub on improving outcomes for children in family law and child protection processes, this is an excellent opportunity to lead our charity in its next phase.

We believe in a world where everyone is included and afforded equality, respect, dignity and justice. There must be no exceptions on account of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, culture, social background - or indeed anything else. We believe that this full inclusion is possible for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and we look forward to being part of a society where this is realised.

Margaret Clitherow Trust (MCT) was founded in partnership with, and for the benefit of, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Sadly, many Traveller communities have been the subject of historic persecution, not least as part of the Slave Trade and the Holocaust, and this continues to this day. This has meant that outcomes in our communities are the poorest of any ethnic groups, in areas such as life expectancy, child mortality, hate crime, suicide rates and educational attainment (Women and Equalities Select Committee, House of Commons, 2019).

Our multi-disciplinary community work is currently focused on Southern England, although we deliver training to public services nationally. We specialise in working alongside families and individuals where there may be complex and serious risk, ensuring children's services, the legal system and domestic violence services act effectively to ensure safety and compassion for all. Our other services include advocacy, pastoral care (chaplaincy) and facilitating access to health, social care and education.

All our decisions and services are underpinned by our ethos and six active values. These explain why achieve we do what with the limited resources we have: because we are a family that is highly committed to our ethos and focused on ensuring everything we do is productive in the service of the same.

Duties

The following duties represent the breadth of a role managing our multi-disciplinary charity. The successful candidate is welcome to review the duties with the trustees in accordance with an evaluation of how the charity is structured and the best use of their time.

Please note that many of the duties will be in conjunction with those reporting to you (even where not explicitly stated).

General:

To provide collaborative, high-quality leadership that reflects and effectively communicates the charity's ethos, growing a sustainable organisation that consistently achieves outstanding outcomes for communities, clients, customers, partners and personnel. To ensure the charity's ethos is embedded in everything the charity does, every decision taken by the charity and its team, and in its internal and external relationships. To ensure the charity's stakeholder communities continue to be central to its leadership and the production of what it delivers. To advise the Trustees on setting and reviewing the charity's ethos, policies, strategic and improvement plans, and budgets. To implement and be accountable for the delivery of the charity's ethos, policies, strategic and improvement plans and budgets. To line-manage key reports and to also undertake specialised supervision of other staff (the latter being principally in relation legal advocacy and safeguarding). To investigate and respond to major incidents, concerns and complaints in line with policy. To be responsible for ensuring the charity complies with law and regulation, particularly charity law, equality law, health and safety law, information law, employment law, child law, laws protecting vulnerable groups, mental capacity law and regulations as to different forms of advocacy. To lead rigorous approaches to identifying, managing, and mitigating risk across all areas of the organisation. To increase collaboration with other Traveller charities. To maintain and grow relationships in the public, legal and academic sectors that yield the most benefit to our clients. To be responsible for Health and Safety and in particular overseeing procedures to keep personnel physically and mentally safe in varied and sometimes challenging circumstances.

Governance and Accountability:

To understand and embrace the role of governance, be accountable and maintain transparency. To be responsible for ensuring the Trustees receive all information relevant to their functions (or otherwise asked for). To support and advise the Trustees on governance. To be available for attendance at Trustee meetings. On a day-to-day basis, to refer major decisions and matters arising to the Trustees via the Chair where required by policy or law or otherwise as warranted. To lead, at the direction of the Trustees, the organisation of the charity's annual accounts, examination, report and return. To support the Chair in the recruitment of Trustees. To ensure operational decisions, such as individual case triage and external referral preferences, are taken without the involvement of Trustees, to ensure equal treatment and the avoidance of any conflict of interest.

Safeguarding:

To prioritise safeguarding above all other matters and ensure that culture is followed by all personnel. To lead implementation of the Safeguarding Policy and to discharge the responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead under the policy and the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 regulations. To oversee Safer Recruitment including, inter alia, DBS checks. To ensure internal safeguarding training and practice are a model of excellence for child protection, domestic abuse prevention and adult safeguarding, working within multi-agency frameworks. To assess safeguarding concerns and disclosures, acting in line with policy and legislation. To have oversight of all cases involving public law family proceedings, S47 assessments under the Children's Act 1987, Child Protection Plans, Supervision Orders, medium or high-risk domestic violence and Section 42 inquiries under the Care Act 2014. To ensure the charity is professionally represented at, and a constructive contributor to, MARAC, STRAT, CPC and other such multi-agency meetings. To ensure the charity is up to date with safeguarding practice and is responsive to the lessons of past institutional failures with reference to the IICSA. To ensure the particular risks around chaplaincy and safeguarding are fully addressed. To ensure those subject to safeguarding interventions have their rights protected, with particular reference to the Mental Capacity Act 2005, research on failures of the state in upholding the best interests of Traveller children and use of the charity's family law partnerships. To ensure personnel are trained on the fresh NHS guidance on assessing and mitigating suicide risk. To oversee LA or community level suicide prevention or postvention projects.

Centre for Romani and Traveller Child Protection:

To build on the success of the charity's national law conference on Travellers in public law family proceedings by (i) continuing implementation of the initial actions planned after the conference and (ii) working with sector partners to scope a Centre as a hub to bring together work across the country in this area. To establish a Centre under MCT, working with colleagues and stakeholders to finance and organise the Centre such that it can succeed in its goals. To continue to build the charity's specialism on improving outcomes for Traveller children who are subject to child protection and family law processes, modelling good practice, mentoring others, delivering training, bringing stakeholders together and implementing a strategy for system change. To grow referral networks between the third and legal sectors across the country, building on early successes after the conference.

Services:

To line-manage the Service Manager, ensuring a consistently outstanding level of service in all areas of provision, with a strong focus on client empowerment and measurable life outcomes. To support the Service Manager with complex triage and resource decisions. To keep triage criteria up to date, consulting with personnel and stakeholders. To review complex and/or longstanding cases, or cases otherwise escalated to the Director. To move the charity from a trauma informed to a trauma responsive service.
To work with staff leaders to ensure record keeping and data collection is consistent, effective and compliant.

To use service data and KPIs to drive performance improvement, internal learning, funding and external training curriculums. To drive the impact of chaplaincy, including through data, the charity's faith-based inclusion model and the renewed integration of chaplaincy into the wider charity. To ensure chaplaincy provision supports positive mental health, suicide reduction efforts and building bridges with wider services.

External training:

To co-write bespoke training programmes for external organisations, such as on effective provision for Travellers in a wide variety of public sector contexts. To ensure co-production and co-delivery of training with communities are paramount. To monitor and evaluate training quality and outcomes to ensure continued relevance, effectiveness, and impact. To grow the charity's training offer, increasing both reach and revenue.

Finance:

To prioritise and allocate resources in line with the charity's ethos, policies, strategic and improvement plans. To draft and present an annual budget to Trustees, revising the same as required by the Trustees. To revise the budgeting in-year, in coordination with the Chair, as per actual income and new restricted grants. To allocate spending and income each month as per restricted funds and designated funds. To support, where necessary, the Operations Lead in reconciling a multitude of restricted and designated funds, individual project/fund budgets and financial tracking platforms. To ensure compliance with Charity Commission financial reporting/recording standards. To identify and mitigate financial risks, such as redundancies, ensuring reserves are maintained, Trustees are closely informed, checks are operating and there is advanced planning for a variety of circumstances.

Fundraising:

To ensure fundraising aligns with departmental projected shortfalls as well as strategic priorities and risk mitigation. To work with the Head of Development to grow and diversify the charity's income, not least via bid writing. To work with the Operations Lead to collect the information and data needed for each grant held. To support the Head of Development in complying with grant reporting requirements. To be responsible for maintaining relationships with large informal funding groups and families, such as religious societies and high net worth individuals or community fundraisers. To attend meetings with funders. To oversee the ongoing 2025 videography and website projects so the charity can better present itself to stakeholders and potential funders.

People:

With the Service Manager, to ensure personnel are deployed and supported effectively, with due attention to funding specifications, workload and the high pressure, complex nature of the charity's work. To ensure a culture of humility, continuous personalised training and high standards underpin how personnel are empowered to deliver for our clients. To monitor and respond to key person risks and succession plans at all levels. To lead on recruitment.

Other

To be responsible for the charity's growing collaborative strategic litigation efforts. To hold a caseload (or shared caseload) of our own for the purposes of increasing capacity, the professional development of yourself and colleagues and as part of strengthening the charity's specialism in Traveller child protection and family law. To be on the helpline rota. To be on-call for client enquiries and/or emergencies - rotating with other staff leaders. To engage in induction, training, CPD and supervision processes.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder shall accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.

Person specification

Essential

:

Successful leadership experience (5+ years) in an organisation undertaking Regulated Activities under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Excellent verbal and written communication skills that can be applied to contexts ranging from advocacy to fundraising Demonstrable experience of successful management of staff and staff development across a multi-disciplinary team Experience managing major incidents impacting staff and service users in pressured situations Ability to plan strategically and evaluate accurately Excellent IT skills Understanding of high-quality casework and safeguarding practice, and the ability to model this for others and support staff members to improve Data analysis skills, and the ability to use data to set targets and identify areas for development Good financial management skills, with an understanding of charity finance reporting and restricted funds Ability to work under pressure and prioritise workload according to deadlines Good working knowledge of child and family law Good working knowledge of law relating to areas of compliance as outlined in the job description Experience working with children and/or vulnerable adults, including in the context of acute trauma, conflict, suicidal ideation and limited mental capacity Experience working in multi-agency safeguarding teams, with a broad knowledge of statutory and third sector agencies and systems Previous experience of being a Designated Safeguarding Lead refined knowledge of the role and responsibilities, with up-to-date Child Protection and Safer Recruitment expertise Understanding of spiritual or chaplaincy services - and the safeguarding considerations therein Commitment to the charity's ethos, in addition to demonstrable resilience and a sense of humour Respect for all faiths and none Good sense of humour

Desirable:

Experience working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities Experience adapting systems to meet complex user needs Track record of growing financing and/or service provision Experience working with legal organisations e.g. in casework and for strategic litigation Experience working with victims and survivors of domestic, honour based and sexual abuse Proven track record in complex risk assessment of clients Ability to use academic research and collaborate with researchers Experience with complex trauma and personality disorders Experience designing and delivering training for a range of customers Experience delivering successful fundraising bids Experience attending at CPCs, MARACs and similar Knowledge of the difference between reserved and non-reserved legal activities - and the consequences for compliance Understanding of the relationships between spirituality, mental health, purpose and meaning

Accountable to:

Board of Trustees

Key reports:

Service Manager

Operations Lead

Head of Development

Project Manager, Mercers Anglican Outreach

Others as per business requirements

Contact/enquiries to Nicki Woodford, Service Manager - nicki.woodford@margaretclitherow.org

Candidates will need to submit an MCT application form on expression of interest.

A successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.

Deadline for applications is 22nd August 2025.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: 15,724.80-16,613.17 per year

Expected hours: 16 - 24 per week

Benefits:

Company pension Flexitime Work from home
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (preferred)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Henley on Thames RG9 4NR