Engagement Director

Role Profile

Role title: Engagement Director

Band: Director

Salary: From £56,000 to £60,000 Pro rata 0.8 FTE 4 days per week

Reports to: Chief Executive

Place of work: Hybrid, time split between home working, our office and out in the community

What we do 

Cornwall VSF’s role is to connect, support and promote the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  We have strong productive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in Cornwall including a range of public sector organisations.  We represent the VCSE on all executive Boards ensuring the VCSE voice remains clear and influential.  We broker and facilitate VCSE partnership working through our strategic, thematic, and local alliances. 

VSF’s Purpose 

A connected, supported, and well-promoted VCSE sector that is sustainable, flexible, and resilient.

We aim to:

1.      Advance the sectors reputation, credibility, capacity. capability and impact.

2.      Ensure the VCSE Is an equal partner in the design and delivery of services and support across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

3.      Ensure the VCSE has a larger share of Cornwall's public sector resource allocation.

4.      Through these, improve the services and support for people and communities in Cornwall.

To effectively engage with a diverse range of VCSE organisations and stakeholders in Cornwall. We will use a wide range of mediums for engagement opportunities. These include meetings, workshops, consultations, surveys, events, conferences etc.   To strengthen our alliance-based model of engagement by expanding existing alliances and creating new ones.  To bring the voice of the sector into the new integrated care area forums and community area partnerships. To bring together the VCSE sector around pertinent issues, so they can meet the needs of their beneficiaries and achieve their organisational outcomes.   To advocate for the VCSE sector, amplifying its voice, increasing its influence, fostering collaboration and co-producing action.  

Role summary

In this role, you’ll be a key member of our small leadership team helping to strategically drive engagement, and income generation.  The right candidate will need to be highly resilient with exceptional political, negotiation and relationship development skills.  This role includes shared responsibility for securing income that not only sustains our own charity but leverages in significant funding for the wider sector.

Through an integrated approach, the role-holder will be responsible for driving forward two key areas:

• Engagement: Leading the engagement team to enhance and develop our alliance model, a network of strategic relationships and opportunities to engage with our thematic communities and our stakeholders, increasing our influence and impact.

• Income development: Create opportunities to leverage significant funds into the VCSE sector, secure and extend our income and support funding our strategic plans.

Key Duties

We’re looking for a dynamic and inspiring senior individual to strategically lead our Engagement activities, bringing together key existing areas of work.  The role will concentrate on two focus areas:

Engagement

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships at the highest levels with a range of key stakeholders such as current and future partner organisations, decision-makers and influencers.
• Raise local and national profile by attending external engagement sessions and networking opportunities both online and in-person, to build brand awareness and to expand the charity’s network of allies, supporters, and influencers, deputising for the CEO when required.
• Host/chair opportunities to engage with stakeholders of all levels on internally prioritised topics via alliance and learning events.
• Lead the team to mobilise activity to ensure presence at key community focussed events, ensuring we reach more people and engage them actively in our work.  Ensuring we have the right level of engagement and the right people attend.
• Represent the organisation as appropriate to the VCSE sector, statutory sector, private sector organisations, professional bodies, and institutions deputising for the CEO when required.
• Be an active member of the senior leadership team, acting as spokesperson and steering the strategy within wider business plans for your respective areas.

Business Development

• Working with the CEO and Director of Operations, to create and deliver an income strategy focussed on meeting VSF funding targets and our aspirations around duration of contracts and grants.  Ensure all opportunities to leverage funding for the wider sector are seized.
• Develop strong relationship with key influencers and decision makers within our statutory partner organisations.
• Working with the CEO to lead strategic business development campaigns such as securing second phases of funding for our key funding streams.  Be a key face to put to these campaigns.
• Monitor progress against income targets, ensuring an agile approach to mitigating risk and channelling focus of the team in order to maximise return on investment.
• Work with other charity leaders and the strategic alliance to encourage sharing of ideas for income generation.
• Work with the senior leadership team to ensure business and strategic planning is undertaken for your team, setting direction and managing delivery.  Contributing to organisational business planning and quarterly/annual reporting

Staff Leadership

• Lead and line management engagement staff and ensure their effective performance management and development through regular supervision sessions, annual reviews and learning and development. 
• Lead by example to create a positive, values-driven working environment in which equality and diversity are well-managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff can do their best. 
• Allocate work, monitor achievement of deadlines and support staff as appropriate. 
• Ensure that services are adequately staffed and resourced, encourage good teamwork and lines of communication between all members of staff. 
• Work with other charity leaders on any staff issues and monitoring e.g., disciplinary, grievance, sickness management, recruitment, and selection, change of terms and conditions. 
• Encourage and facilitate our development and wellbeing focussed culture and consistently provide and support opportunities for staff to exceed theirs and our expectations. Provide a role model for others with your development and wellbeing needs.
• Work with other to ensure that any skills, knowledge, and experience gaps are identified, and suitable training is delivered on time and to specification.

General

• Keep up to date with Cornwall VSF’s aims, policies, procedures, management, and monitoring systems and ensure these are followed by your team.
• Display a genuine commitment to equality of opportunity and an understanding of the issues faced by the VCSE sector.
• Ensure the work reflects equality, diversity and inclusion legislation and policy, and best practice.
• Monitor and evaluate activities appropriate to the role and contribute to the service planning process by providing regular reports and feedback on areas of responsibility.
• Oversee and monitor effective and efficient administrative, financial, contractual and communication systems within your areas of responsibilities working with other charity senior leaders.  Ensure all KPI’s relevant to the role within our strategic plan are met.
• Prepare board and sub-committee reports, attending meetings as/when required. Attend meetings of the trustee board as required. 
• Any other duties in line with your skills and abilities, as directed by your line manager.

Key Relationships

• Chief Executive (Line manager)
• Other senior leadership team members
• Engagement team members
• VCSE members 
• Cornwall VSF Board members
• Funders and stakeholders

Person specification 

Essential Criteria 

• Proven leadership skills with experience of creating a positive, values-driven working environment in which equality and diversity are professionally managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff are empowered and motivated to do their best. 
• Knowledge and current experience of engagement and income generation leadership at a strategic level.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of project management leadership, principles, and practices. 
• Experience of managing people issues such as absence management, disciplinary and grievance management, annual reviews, supervisions, goal setting. 
• Excellent decision-making skills
• Commitment to reflective practise and continuing professional development.
• Degree level education or equivalent relevant experience.
• Demonstrable ability as adaptable and exceptional communicator, delivering and accepting information at a variety of people levels (verbal, written, presentation). 
• Ability to analyse, understand, explain, and make recommendations based on complex information. 
• Fully conversant with Microsoft Office Suite to an advanced level including excel, word, outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams. 
• Well-developed planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage and prioritise own workload
• Proven ability to monitor and maintain casework systems and procedures, service delivery against agreed targets 
• The ability to commit to and work within the aims, principles, and policies of VSF and work towards achieving its strategic priorities. 
• Adaptable, flexible, and coaching management style.
• Excellent inter-personal, political and negotiating skills.
• Excellent time management skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Experience at handling conflict, mediating through conflict and tolerance for the tension conflict can bring.
• High levels of personal resilience
• Commitment to reflective performance and continuing professional development.
• Ability to travel and work across Cornwall. 
• Understanding of the voluntary and community sector and the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. 

Other requirements

• The normal duties of the role may involve travel on a regular or occasional basis. It is a condition of employment that the post holder can exercise satisfactory travel mobility to fulfil the obligations of the role. 
• Be familiar with all relevant health and safety, operational, personnel, customer care, GDPR, and financial procedures, ensuring that all statutory obligations are complied with, especially in relation to licensing laws and first aid. 
• In-depth understanding of the business of running a charity or voluntary sector organisation including reporting requirements
• Complete a satisfactory DBS check. (This can be applied for on appointment).