Head of Development, Operations and Impact

Head of Development, Operations and Impact.

About the organisation 

CARAS is a dynamic and exciting charity offering holistic support to refugees and people seeking asylum. We pride ourselves on coupling the expertise of our staff team with strong values that mean we always place the voices, needs and wants of our group members at the heart of all that we do. We know that this is a transformative way of working and. Our Strategy, Theory of Change, Monitoring Framework and Values were all written with full participation from our group members. 

Our Values are: 

Kindness. CARAS will nurture all who are part of our community, helping everyone to develop their skills, talents and interests. 

Justice. CARAS will strive for social justice following a rights-based approach in all of our work and challenging instances when rights are not upheld in wider society. 

Empowerment. CARAS works alongside people, recognising and respecting their skills and strengths and striving together for better outcomes. 

‘With’ not ‘for’. CARAS will put the voices, opinions, experiences and needs of its community members at the heart of all that we do. 

CARAS is a thriving organisation with a highly motivated, friendly and experienced staff team, bolstered by the generous support of equally skilled volunteers and trustees who come from many walks of life. We are impactful across a range of measures that demonstrate the life-changing work we do, and are proud to receive testimonials from our group members that bring our impact to life.  

The Head of Development and Impact will be our lead fundraiser, drawing in support and expertise from across the team. They will take ownership of identifying funding sources, creating a strategy, forecasting our fundraising income, and building strong relationships with donors, bringing the experiences of our group members to life in fundraising communications. They will line management a full-time fundraiser who specialises in individual giving while the Head of Developent, Operations and Impact will lead on grant writing. 

In the last 5 years, this role has achieved huge success in CARAS’ development, more than trebling our income and enabling us to expand our staff team and therefore our reach. We are a highly impactful organisation that is often looked to for our insight in the sector. We have an ambitious five-year strategy, co-produced with group members, staff, volunteers, trustees and partner organisations, that guides our current work. 

This is an exciting role that comes with many varied commitments, expectations and timescales. We are seeking applicants who want to be at the forefront of change, striving to improve the rights, entitlements and day-to-day experiences of refugees and people seeking asylum. You will need to be able to show how your skills and experiences fit the role, as well as possessing a drive for social change in support of under-served people. Within this role, you will have scope to shape and secure the future of CARAS.  

You will be supported in a variety of ways, including by an expert team of staff around you who will collaborate with you and work together as needed; a highly professional Board of Trustees who you will work with at key points throughout the year and who are available for consultation and advice as needed; robust and effective systems; and a network of organisations and funders who share CARAS’ goals. Additionally, you will have regular and detailed supervision with your line manager, and you can access our Employee Assistance Programme at any time. 

This opportunity comes at a very exciting time. CARAS will be piloting a 4 day week from the 1st of January- 30th June 2025, meaning that all staff will be working 80% less time for 100% pay. Full time employees will reduce their hours to 4 days per week. We anticipate that this will be a huge boost to staff wellbeing and will become part of our commitment to care for staff as well as our community members.  

We are also creating our next Strategic Plan, preparing for a future in which CARAS is a highly respected, impactful organisation with a £1million income. 

Key info 

Role title: Head of Development and Impact 

Salary: £43,000 - £46,000 p/a 

Hours: 4 days per week at full pay (pilot)

Contract type: permanent, full time 

Annual leave: 28 days full-time equivalent, plus additional time off between Christmas and the New Year. Annual leave increases with length of service. 

Employee benefits: 

4 day week

7% employer pension contributions 

Other benefits include flexible working, enhanced parental leave and sick pay, a cycle scheme, tech scheme, interest-free loans, study leave and volunteering leave. All staff are offered access to an Employee Assistance Programme. 

Preferred Start date: 1st January 2025, but flexible for the right candidate. Earlier would be welcome!

Reports to CEO 

Location:  The role is based in Tooting with a significant portion of remote working if desired. You can choose to work from home or from our premises in Tooting.  You will need to be able to attend meetings and events in Tooting and in other London locations on occasion.  

Equalities Statement. 

As an organisation who works with refugees, we especially encourage applications from people with lived experience of forced migration. You will be invited to say whether you have been an asylum seeker or a refugee in the UK on the application form. Applicants with lived experience who meet essential criteria are guaranteed an interview.  

 

 

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The role: 

The Head of Development, Operations and Impact is required to lead a wide range of activities. You will be expected to manage your own time, prioritising tasks and leading a small team of people who contribute to CARAS’ fundraising. You will inherit excellent systems and skilled, supportive and enthusiastic team players. You will work closely with the CEO, and the senior leadership team which draws together Heads of Service from each of our programme areas. You will collaborate with our Finance Manager to ensure smooth management of grants and donations, and will play a key role in budget setting with the Finance Manager and CEO. 

The role demands cross-departmental working, and regular contact with community members to enhance your ability to advocate for them. You will be at the forefront of developing new ideas and approaches, and ensuring that teams have the money and resources to have an impact. 

 

Key tasks and activities. 

General 

• Lead the Operations department, line-managing team members in fundraising and operations management.  

• Secure diverse and sustainable income streams to secure the future of CARAS. 

• Be the main point of contact for grant-makers and donors, communicating clearly and effectively about our work and its impacts. 

• Participate in organisational strategic reviews, making decisions on how to prioritise where limited resources are focused across the different activities and projects. 

• Carry out other duties as necessary and commensurate with the role. 

 

Fundraising 

• Line-manage our Fundraising Officer and work together to generate income to meet CARAS’s budgetary targets through trusts and foundations, individual giving, community fundraising and other means at our disposal. 

• Develop and deliver a fundraising strategy which synchronises with the CARAS Strategic Plan.  

• Maintain a real-time pipeline of fundraising opportunities and oversee delivery. Lead or allocate all income generation opportunities in good time so that appropriate co-design and decision-making processes are behind applications. 

• Ensure compliance with best practice in fundraising including use of data and confidentiality. 

• Work collaboratively with Heads of Service and CARAS’ Finance Manager to develop, deliver and iterate systems to ensure grants are accurately and effectively managed. 

• Lead on the development of programmatic and core budgets for diverse grant funders. 

• Identify and build corporate partnerships based on organisational needs, values and income targets. 

 

Operations  

• Line-manage our Operations Manager and work together to ensure our premises, IT infrastructure, data management and risk management systems are effective, efficient, and legally compliant.  

• Oversee or directly manage service providers and ensure that all contractors represent value for money and are appointed in line with our policies. 

• Maintain and develop strong, effective partnerships with delivery stakeholders such as our landlords, Wandsworth Council officers etc.   

• Support the team to monitor projects from start to finish, including preparing costing for applications/bids, agreeing contracts and grant terms, monitoring deliverables and finance, and co-ordinating timely reporting. 

 

Finance 

• Work collaboratively with the Finance Manager to ensure the rigorous financial management across all income and expenditure to ensure all grants and donations are accurately accounted for and spent. 

• Working collaboratively with the Finance Manager and CEO, develop the organisational annual budget and lead on income projections for the year ahead to ensure expenditure budgets are feasible and unlock multi-year growth. 

 

Monitoring, evaluation and impact 

• Leading CARAS’ annual outcomes evaluation, managing work across departments to collect, disaggregate and analyse outcomes data from our Learning, Casework and Social Programmes. 

• Develop CARAS’ outcomes report and donor report ensuring they are data rich and clearly demonstrate impact. 

• Monitoring the wealth of data CARAS collects through our frontline service to ensure we stay agile and adaptable within a changing policy context, supporting Heads of Service and other relevant stakeholders to deliver excellence. 

 

Governance 

• Contribute to the maintenance of up-to-date policies relevant to the role.  

• Attend board meetings as requested to share reports with the Board on fundraising.  

• Work closely with the Treasurer and the Finance Committee on fundraising strategy. 

 

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Person Specification 

Essential  

Direct experience of the following: 

Proven experience in a leadership role. 

Proven experience of fundraising or business development successfully raising income from a range of sources. 

Proven experience in line management, supporting teams to deliver excellence and creating clear CPD plans to ensure staff are happy and motivated. 

Outstanding written communication with demonstrable experience of creating compelling cases for support and experience of successfully securing funds from large foundations. 

Confidence working with numbers and developing programmatic and organisational budgets. 

Experience collecting and analysing data. 

Committed to reflecting, refining and iterating practice to ensure learning is embedded throughout your work. 

Works collaboratively across teams and isn’t afraid to ask for help, recognising the diverse expertise held across the organisation.  

Proven experience in creating budgets, forecasting income, analysing and extracting data for reports. 

Ability to understand and clearly convey financial information to others for a wide range of purposes, ranging from grant applications and reporting, budget preparation and scrutiny with the Board of Trustees, and transparent communication with programme staff and participants. 

Proven experience building or delivering a fundraising strategy to increase corporate and individual funding streams. 

A confident and charismatic communicator. 

Commitment to upholding CARAS’s values in all your work. 

 

Desirable  

Experience in co-designing services or ideas with a community. 

Experience or knowledge of issues affecting refugees and asylum-seekers. 

Knowledge of the fundraising opportunities in the migration sector. 

Experience of working with accountancy software such as Quickbooks or Sage. 

An interest in keeping up to date with, and including, best practice within workplace culture. 

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To apply. 

Please complete our application form and return it by email.

We do not accept CVs or covering letters. You must include all details within the form.  

Deadline: 9am, Friday 22nd November 2024. 

We offer a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet all essential criteria and who have lived experience of forced migration.