VONNE (Voluntary Organisations' Network North East)
Chief Executive Officer
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Contract Type: Permanent
Role Type: Employment
Hours: Full time
Application deadline: Friday, September 11, 2026 - 00:00
Based: Gateshead
Salary: £55,000 to 60,000 Per Annum
Salary Type: Salary Scale
Location: Tyne and Wear
Role description: Chief Executive / Director
Age UK Gateshead
Age UK Gateshead is looking for its next Chief Executive Officer, someone who is passionate about people, believes in the strength of community and wants to lead an organisation that makes a real difference every day.
We are a genuinely community-driven local charity. Our services have grown and developed by listening to the people around us, understanding what our communities need and finding practical ways to respond.
From information, advice and advocacy to community activities, dementia support, day services, hospital-to-home support and regulated care through our subsidiary, Living Well North, our work reaches people at very different points in their lives.
Despite the breadth of what we do, the principle behind it is simple:
It’s simply about people.
We are looking for a CEO who shares that belief and can lead Age UK Gateshead through its next chapter.
The Role
As Chief Executive, you will have overall responsibility for the leadership, development and sustainability of Age UK Gateshead and its subsidiary.
Working closely with our Board of Trustees and leading an experienced senior team, you will provide direction while ensuring the organisation remains financially sustainable, well governed and focused on the people we exist to support.
Your Responsibilities Will Include
- Providing clear and positive leadership across Age UK Gateshead and its subsidiary
- Working with the Board to develop and deliver organisational strategy
- Leading our people, culture and organisational development
- Maintaining strong financial oversight and long-term sustainability
- Overseeing service quality, performance and continuous improvement
- Ensuring effective governance, safeguarding, risk management and regulatory compliance
- Providing strategic oversight of regulated services within our subsidiary, including appropriate assurance around quality and CQC requirements
- Developing sustainable income through funding, commissioned services, partnerships and new opportunities
- Building strong relationships with local authorities, NHS organisations, commissioners, funders, businesses and community partners
- Identifying opportunities for growth, collaboration and service development
- Representing and championing Age UK Gateshead locally, regionally and, where appropriate, nationally
- Providing the Board of Trustees with clear information, advice and assurance
- Ensuring the voices and experiences of the people we support continue to influence our decisions and direction
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You won't be expected to do all of this alone. A big part of being our CEO is about leading people well, trusting good people to do their jobs, developing a strong senior team and creating clear accountability throughout the organisation.
Who We're Looking For
We aren't looking for someone who simply wants the title of CEO.
We're looking for someone who is genuinely passionate about supporting people and understands the responsibility that comes with leading an organisation that people and communities rely upon.
You will be comfortable moving between the strategic and the practical. One day you may be discussing finances, governance, contracts or organisational strategy; another you could be meeting a commissioner, visiting one of our services or simply having a conversation with the people we support.
We want someone who is visible, approachable and willing to listen, but who also has the confidence to make difficult decisions when they are needed.
You'll need strong leadership skills, sound judgement and commercial awareness, with an understanding of finance, organisational performance and good governance. You'll also need the ability to build strong relationships and bring people with you.
Our subsidiary delivers regulated care services. You don't necessarily need to have spent your career in regulated social care, but you will need to understand the importance of strong quality assurance and be comfortable providing senior oversight within a CQC-regulated environment.
About Age UK Gateshead
Age UK Gateshead is an independent local charity with deep roots in the communities we serve.
Our staff and volunteers support people in many different ways – sometimes through specialist advice or structured services, sometimes by helping someone regain their independence, and sometimes simply by making sure someone has somewhere to go and somebody to talk to.
Through Age UK Gateshead and our subsidiary, our work spans community support, information and advice, advocacy, wellbeing, dementia services, day opportunities, hospital-to-home support and regulated care.
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Our next CEO will inherit an organisation with committed staff and volunteers, established services, strong partnerships and significant opportunities for further development.
They will also be leading in a challenging environment. Demand continues to grow, funding is increasingly competitive and the expectations placed upon charities and care providers continue to increase.
We therefore need a CEO who can balance ambition with sustainability and compassion with commercial awareness – someone who understands that growth only matters when it improves what we can do for people.
Experience & Qualifications
Strong leaders come from different professional backgrounds, and we don't expect our next CEO to tick every box. However, we would particularly value:
- Significant senior leadership or executive experience, ideally within the charity, community, health or social care sectors
- Experience of working effectively with a Board of Trustees, Directors or similar governing body
- Strong financial, governance, risk and organisational management experience
- Experience of developing strategy, leading change and supporting organisational growth
- Experience of income generation, commissioned services, contracts, grants or business development
- Strong partnership experience, particularly with public, voluntary or community sector organisations
- Knowledge or experience of regulated health or social care services and CQC expectations would be advantageous
- Experience of leading and developing multidisciplinary teams
- A relevant professional, management or leadership qualification would be beneficial, although equivalent senior leadership experience is equally valued
Most Importantly
Qualifications and previous job titles only tell us part of the story.
We want someone who knows how to listen, lead and bring people with them. Someone who trusts and develops their team, challenges things when they can be better and is willing to have difficult conversations when necessary.
Someone who can protect what makes Age UK Gateshead special while having the ambition and ability to move it forward.
Because behind the contracts, funding applications, CQC requirements, targets, strategies, budgets and Board reports are real people.
That's why we're here.
It’s simply about people.
Salary: £55,000–£60,000 per annum, dependent on experience.
Interviews to take place: Friday the 18th September
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