HEAD OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE 

Duration: Permanent 

Salary: £65,000 

Job Level: Level 2  

Hours: 35 hours per week. Other flexible arrangements will be considered 

Disclosure Level: Basic-This role involves no direct or indirect work with children  

Reports to: Chief Executive 

At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), we pull together to achieve the best possible results for children in danger around the world.  We believe in an inclusive workplace and in the power of fulfilled colleagues who share the same values and goals, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.   

Our work is guided by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise the universality of children’s rights. 

ABOUT THE TEAM 

The Chief Executive’s Office plays a pivotal strategic role within UNICEF UK. With a broad view across the organisation and responsibility for many key external and internal relationships, it helps to align priorities, coordinate efforts, and drive forward the organisation’s vision and strategy through close cross-organisational collaboration. 

ABOUT THE ROLE 

The Head of Chief Executive Office is a highly strategic and facilitative role, responsible for the high-level efficient operation of the Chief Executive’s office, as well as close support to the Chief Executive daily. This position plays an important and unique role, enabling the Chief Executive to focus on the most strategic and business critical responsibilities whilst the Head of Chief Executive Office can flex quickly to provide leadership and direction across the organisation when needed, and support and advice to both the Executive Team and the Strategic Leadership Team. 

The Head of the Chief Executive Office is responsible for the high-level efficient operation of the Chief Executive Office team which also oversees governance, supporting the Governance Manager to ensure the Board of Trustees is operating to a high level of accountability. 

This is a dynamic role, with responsibilities that can vary day-to-day. The individual in post will bring sound judgement and strategic awareness, identifying where they can add the greatest value to the Executive Team, across UNICEF UK and the wider UNICEF network. They will play a key role in amplifying the impact of the Chief Executive’s Office and ensuring the Executive Team remains focused on the most critical priorities. 

What we will expect you to achieve 

• Lead the Chief Executive’s office; set strong direction, high standards and ensure it is delivering using robust management and monitoring systems in line with our organisational values. 

• Ensure the Chief Executive and Executive Team speak with a unified, strategic voice—one that is clear, aligned with organisational priorities, and responsive to the evolving needs and perspectives across UNICEF UK. 

• Work as an integrator, bringing together work streams that would otherwise remain isolated; as a communicator, bridging the leadership team and the broader organisation; as an honest broker and truth-teller, providing leadership with a comprehensive, unbiased perspective free from territorial interests; and as a confidant, offering trusted support without any organisational agenda. 

• Hold strong professional relationships with the Strategic Leadership Team in order to bring together stakeholders to drive decisions, influence and drive a strong agenda of accountability, and delivery and provide analysis, recommendations and options regarding decisions to be made or problems to be solved. 

• Support, and where necessary lead, initiatives and special projects on behalf of the Executive team, including facilitation, troubleshooting, stakeholder management and decision making. 

• Support, and line manage, the Governance Manager to ensure that the highest levels of governance are upheld. 

• Line manage the Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Office in order to provide a high level of diary management and seamless day to day running of the Chief Executive’s responsibilities.  

• Provide pastoral line management in a matrix style format to the Executive Assistants to the Chief Marketing and Partnerships Officer, Chief Strategic Development Officer and Chief Financial Officer in order to provide a high level of consistency across the Executive Team 

• Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment) in all aspects of your work. 

BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

This section contains the essential behaviours, experience, knowledge and skills needed for the role holder to be effective and successful in this role.  All criteria in this section are essential 

Effective behaviours 

Supporter driven and mission aligned 

• Is committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards achieving a world that is fit for every child.   

Positive relationships  

• Nurtures professional relationships with colleagues at all levels and with external contacts and partners to support the achievement of objectives. 

• Reflects on own thoughts, feelings and actions and is aware of own impact on relationships. 

Resilience  

• Remains positive and quickly recovers from set-backs, keeping problems in perspective. 

• Takes a solution focused approach to problem solving to succeed in difficult circumstances.  

Leadership 

• Creates and encourages a cross-organisational team work and collaboration, acting as a visible role model.  

• Translates strategic direction into medium and long term plans and objectives for own team and department.  

• Able to make and communicate unpopular decisions. 

• Promotes confident discussion of failure and constructive challenge to enhance innovation/learning. 

• Prioritises knowledge and skills over status to make the best use of talent and promote involvement at all levels. 

• Reviews and updates organisational priorities communicating any changes in focus to enable adjustment of work plans. 

Efficiency and effectiveness 

• Manage conflicting priorities to ensure that objectives are achieved and deadlines met. 

• Systematically plans projects to maximise performance and cost-effectiveness.  

• Anticipates risks and puts plans in place to minimise their impact. 

• Responds flexibly to unforeseen events such as emergency responses to ensure that effectiveness is not compromised. 

• Evaluates work, learns from results and adjusts strategies to provide the best results for children. 

• Suggests simplifications to overly complex ways of working to improve results. 

Negotiating and Influencing  

• Uses a range of approaches to gain commitment, tailoring information in terms of content and format. 

• Maintains a win-win approach by balancing achievement of both UNICEF UK UK’s and our external partners’ objectives.