Skills and Experience

• Senior leadership experience in a charity, public service or other values-led organisation
• Experience of leading organisational change, development or cultural transformation.
• Strong safeguarding, risk management and trauma-informed leadership knowledge.
• Financial leadership experience, including budgeting, planning and organisational sustainability.
• Understanding of income generation, commissioning, funding or fundraising.

Personal Attributes

• Deep commitment to the safety and empowerment of service users.
• Compassionate, resilient and emotionally intelligent.
• Able to balance empathy with challenge and accountability.
• Strategic, thoughtful and future-focused.
• A strong communicator with credibility across diverse audiences.
• Comfortable operating through complexity, ambiguity and change.
• Committed to visible, long-term leadership within West Sussex and the surrounding area.

You May Not Tick Every Box

If this opportunity excites you, but you are not sure that you meet every criterion, we would still love to hear from you. We are interested in your potential, experience, perspective and commitment to our mission, not simply a perfect match against a checklist.

Occupational Requirement

Because of the nature and context of the role and, as some of Safe in Sussex's safe spaces are women-only, this post is only open to women. This is an occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Recruitment Timeline

To ensure equitable access to information and support an inclusive recruitment process, Safe in Sussex will host a candidate Q&A webinar in place of individual informal discussions. We encourage all interested candidates to submit questions in advance, which will be addressed during the session. Please register your interest in attending this webinar on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 6-7pm and we will send you a link.

Application Deadline: 5pm, Friday 2 October 2026
First interview: w/c 2nd November
Second Interview: w/c 9th November

How to Apply

Charity People Ltd is acting as a recruitment agency advisor to Safe in Sussex on this appointment. Interested candidates are invited to submit a CV to seniorappointments@charitypeople.co.uk and request a candidate pack in the first instance.

For an informal conversation about the role or if you have further questions prior to applying, please contact Fabrice Yala on 07563 030595 or seniorappointments@charitypeople.co.uk

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability, and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so we can help make the application process work for you.

Use of AI in applications:

We understand some candidates use AI tools when applying. Whilst we welcome the use of technology to support clear communication and structure, we want to learn more about you, so please ensure that your application reflects your own skills, knowledge and experiences.

Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater diversity leads to greater results for the charities we work with.

Safe in Sussex welcomes applications from women of all backgrounds and particularly encourages applications from those whose perspectives are currently underrepresented in charity leadership.