United St Saviour's Charity
Chair of the Board, Southwark Charity - Volunteer
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About Us
For almost 500 years we've supported Southwark's communities. Following Appleby Blue's RIBA Stirling Prize win, we're seeking a new Chair to help lead an ambitious ten-year strategy to create a united, thriving Southwark with strong, inclusive and equal communities.
What Difference Will You Make?
As Chair, you won't just oversee this charity's direction — you'll help write its next chapter. Appleby Blue, our almshouse for older people, exists because previous Trustees and Chairs backed a genuinely radical model and saw it through. It went on to win the RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architecture award, and is now shaping how the whole country thinks about housing for an ageing population. Whoever takes this role on next will have that same kind of opportunity.
Your leadership will directly shape whether we deliver our new ten-year strategy significantly more homes for older people across Southwark, a deeper and more relational approach to community investment, and a bigger national voice on housing and ageing policy. You'll be the person who holds that strategy together — ensuring the Board stays focused, our governance stays robust, and our Chief Executive and senior team have the support and challenge they need to deliver it, particularly as we take on more development risk and grow to match our ambitions.
Your impact will also be felt well beyond Southwark. As we're increasingly asked to share what we've learned with other boroughs and housing providers, you'll help decide how a relatively small, place-based charity turns that growing reputation into real influence over national policy — work that will benefit far more people than we could reach alone.
As our outgoing Chair puts it "Whoever takes on this role will inherit a charity in a position of real strength, with the opportunity to leave as significant a mark on its future as those who came before."
Our Mission
Our mission is to create a united Southwark with strong, inclusive and equal communities where everyone can thrive. As Chair, the decisions you help the Board take over the next few years will help shape how older people in Southwark live in their later years, how well our community programmes serve the neighbourhoods around us, and how far this charity's model and influence extend beyond our borough.
What Are We Looking For?
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
The two things that matter most:
- Experience of board leadership, including previous experience of chairing a board or significant committee and contributing effectively in other board roles;
- Senior leadership experience within a medium-to-large charity or purpose-driven organisation, ideally involving organisational growth, increasing complexity and strategic change.
Beyond that, we're looking for significant experience in one or more of
- Organisational development and governance
- Land, housing and property development
- Community development and place-based leadership
- Accounting and finance
On lived experience specifically we're looking for a strong lived or learned understanding of Southwark and the communities we serve, with insight into both local strengths and the barriers that can affect opportunity and wellbeing. Given our growing role in shaping housing and ageing policy beyond our borough, we also welcome candidates who bring national or international expertise in our areas of work.
In terms of leadership and governance capability, we want someone who can:
- Create the conditions for effective governance, enabling constructive challenge, sound judgement and collective decision-making;
- Build strong, trusting relationships and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders;
- Lead with influence rather than authority, knowing when to guide, support, challenge and facilitate;
- Think strategically, balancing long-term purpose with appropriate oversight of performance, risk and accountability;
- Foster a culture of learning, reflection and continuous improvement;
- Communicate clearly, listen well, and draw out the perspectives and contributions of others.
And personally, we're looking for someone who:
- Supports bringing together housing, community, civic and voluntary sector strengths to create thriving neighbourhoods;
- Acts with integrity, declaring and managing conflicts of interest and loyalty appropriately, and is committed to the highest standards of governance and ethical leadership;
- Is curious, open-minded and willing to learn from others and from lived experience;
- Values diversity of thought, background and perspective, and is committed to creating inclusive environments where people can contribute fully;
- Is flexible and adaptable in their approach, bringing out the best in others and enabling collective success;
- Has the credibility, judgement and personal presence to inspire confidence and build trust.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Hybrid
What Will You Be Doing?
We currently have nine Trustees, and our Chair is stepping down after almost nine years on the Board, the last several as Chair. We're now looking for an exceptional new Chair to help us build on what we've achieved and ensure the charity continues to deliver on its mission for generations to come.
You would be joining at a pivotal moment. We are scaling up our housing development pipeline, working to secure the partnerships and funding that will let us build significantly more almshouses for older people across Southwark. We have just launched a new Community Investment Strategy for 2025–2030, shifting towards longer, more flexible funding and deeper relationships with the organisations we back, and we continue to grow our direct work with young people through One Southwark. Following the success of Appleby Blue, we are also being asked more and more often to share what we've learned with other boroughs and housing providers, which means thinking seriously about how a relatively small, place-based charity builds influence at a national level.
The Chair plays a pivotal role in helping United St Saviour's Charity fulfil its mission, live its values and achieve its strategic ambitions. Through effective leadership of the Board of Trustees, the Chair ensures that the charity is well governed, financially sustainable and focused on delivering lasting impact for the people and communities of Southwark. Working in close partnership with the Chief Executive, the Chair provides support, guidance and constructive challenge, helping to create the conditions in which the organisation can thrive and deliver its strategic plan. As an ambassador for the charity, the Chair promotes its values, purpose and reputation and, where appropriate, acts on behalf of the Board, including in situations requiring urgent decision-making.
We're looking for a Chair who can be a thinking partner as much as a governance lead someone who will bring their own networks, ask sharp questions of our strategy, and help our senior team navigate the choices ahead, particularly as we take on more development risk and grow our staff team to match our ambitions.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location