Information for Prospective Candidates Chief Executive Officer recruitment
A Note from Carnelian Search There are thousands of housing charities in the UK, but very few talk about Jesus. Hope into Action is a unique ministry that is transforming the way that the UK church engages with the homeless. The vision is to see every church make a home for the homeless, and the number of Hope into Action houses is on a trajectory to double to 200 by 2025. This needs a CEO who can lead an organisation through a period of considerable growth. He/she must also be a spiritual leader, who is passionate about the Christ-centred heartbeat of Hope into Action and who wants to see the church mobilised to love the homeless. It is a privilege to be involved in this search, and a joy to be partnering with Hope into Action’s excellent group of trustees. We ask you to join us in prayer that the Lord would raise up the right leader for this important organisation. If you want to explore whether this might be you, please get in touch.
Allan Beckett Director, Carnelian Search
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A Letter from the Chair of Trustees
Dear Potential Applicant I hope that you enjoy reading through this applicant’s pack and, God willing, it would be good to meet you in person in due course. Hope into Action is aimed wholeheartedly at Christ’s church in this country. Rather than merely seeking to expand our work and reputation, at Hope into Action we focus on deepening and improving the church’s ability and expertise in housing the homeless. This is kingdom work. We are so grateful that God gave Ed Walker the vision and clarity which has enabled so much good work to be achieved over the last twelve years through local churches. It is a bold and obedient step for him to take in seeking to move beyond the organisation which he founded. We will always remain grateful to Ed for his diligence and wisdom in how he has helped shape Hope into Action into what it is today. As a board, we know that it is a healthy thing to move beyond our founder and we are confident that the Lord will provide someone with just the right balance of skills and ability to lead Hope into Action in this next phase. The trustees will be praying for all our applicants in the coming weeks. It has been an absolute joy and a blessing for me to be involved with this work and I hope that you feel similarly excited by the prospect of joining us. In Him,
Gavin Howard Chair of Trustees, Hope into Action
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Introduction to Hope into Action The Need Key statistics: • 274,405 people homeless in England in mid-2021 • 136,000 children homeless in 2020 • 50,506 churches in the UK in 2022 Imagine if every church had a Hope into Action home. We believe this is a possibility!
Background Work began in summer 2010 with a handful of people passionate about changing homelessness in the city of Peterborough. The seeds of the idea were sown in a local park one Sunday morning. Ed Walker, freshly back home with his family after managing a disaster relief project for Tearfund, struck up a conversation with a stranger. “I met a man who had been released from prison just the day before. With nowhere and no one to go to, I found him drinking alone from a bottle on a park bench.” Ed felt called. He set a challenge for himself and his church friends: How can we meet this man’s needs for a home and positive relationships? Phoning local homelessness services he realised that many provide somewhere to sleep and are very professional - few offer a home and a community of people to accept you as you are. So, Hope into Action was launched. Ed and his wife Rachel poured their savings into a house. Together with friends, they lovingly decorated and furnished it ready to welcome two young men in a homeless situation. The house was opened in partnership with Bretton Baptist church who agreed to provide pastoral support to the tenants. Initially we had a real heart for men coming out of custody now we help a range of people in recovery from homelessness including refugees, those fleeing domestic violence, addiction, rough sleeping and far more. We directly manage four towns (Peterborough, Cambridge, Norwich and Nottingham) with teams and homes in each. This is where we develop best practice policies, procedures and systems. We replicate this in other towns through a franchise model. We have now opened over 100 houses since 2010, 30 more are in the pipeline, and we are aiming for 200 houses by 2025. Each home is a story of people prompted to share resources or time with those who have less.
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Vision and Mission Vision
Every church lovingly making a home for the homeless.
Mission
To mobilise, unite and unleash Christian prayer, investments, donations and relationships to fight the injustice of homelessness.
Theory of change
Success
The root cause of homelessness in almost all our tenants is a relational poverty.
If our tenants have a safe home and the security of positive relationships then they will find the confidence, motivation and hope for change. Success to us is: church members, out of their pews, striving to love and tenants receiving and feeling loved.
More simply: one home, per church, per community.
We never manipulate or force our faith onto anyone but believe in a transforming relationship with a heavenly, loving Father.
We are as passionate about empowering churches as we are tenants. At least 50% of our mission is to churches.
We use nine markers to gauge tenants’ outcomes and monitor our own theory of change. These are:
Outcomes and Impact
1. Maintaining tenancy 2. Abstaining from crime 3. Committing to addiction recovery and reducing reliance on drugs or alcohol 4. Improving or maintaining good physical & mental health 5. Meaningful use of time, (volunteering, active citizenship or holistic wellbeing) 6. Improving social relationships 7. Engaging in employment, education or training 8. Improving finances 9. Spiritual engagement
These are vital elements of Hope Into Action’s holistic approach.
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We embrace the individuality of every person and appreciate that success and goals look different to each tenant. These can never fully be captured in a statistic or ‘outcome.’
Values
We want to be known for the depth of our love.
• Love and positive relationships are central to how we define ourselves and assess our success. • Our love strives not to judge, not to condemn but to show ‘mercy to the righteous and the wicked’; to be patient, kind, rejoice in truth, persevere and give what is best. • Our love fuels passion for the homeless, anger against injustices and urge to challenge indifference. • Love for others drives our integrity, honesty and authenticity.
We are hopeful people with hope for all people.
• We believe in the innate and undiminishable value of everyone we meet. • We believe in a God who brings healing. We believe Jesus can still do miracles (including physical, instant miracles) but that holistic, sustainable, inner healing comes through strong personal relationships and time. • We want everyone connected to us to flourish and be growing in the likeness of Christ.
We find God’s reflection in every human.
• We believe our humanity flourishes when we are in deep connection with others. We are neither superior nor inferior in our attitudes to others. • God made us all equal. We approach our tenants as equals, we encourage churches to do the same. • We approach all relationships searching for the reflection of God, seeking to learn and expecting to be blessed. • We believe in collaboration and partnerships: statutory, voluntary, private sector, Christian, other faiths.
We LISTEN
With Open ears, we listen to Jesus in the poor.
• Jesus was asked 80 questions but himself asked 300. • Listening allows people to be heard, to feel safe, valued and understood. It brings healing. • Listening empowers; it is central to how we relate to each other as a network, with church partners, with tenants and how we approach conflict. • After listening, the Bible repeatedly tells us that Jesus moved into action: The phrase: ‘And when he saw…’ or ‘And when he heard…’ occurs over 9 times in the gospels. Real listening drives action.
We therefore take ACTION
When we are active then our faith comes alive. (James 2)
• We are fundamentally about taking action, embracing risk and change. • We are people who say ‘yes’ and respond to Jesus’s call to ‘go’ and to ‘cast off into deeper waters.’
Everyone has strength and strengths to use.
• We see people’s strengths: We want to use staff, partners, churches and tenants strengths rather than be distracted by their ‘needs’, ‘risks’ or ‘faults’. • Jesus said: ‘I confer on you a kingdom.’ At our heart we trust. We therefore want to embody empowerment: • We believe in shifting power (and therefore decision making) to the disempowered. This includes financial power by inspiring (not condemning) Christians and others to share their wealth with the poor.
We LOVE
We HOPE
We strive for
MUTUALITY
We focus on STRENGTHS and EMPOWER
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Job Particulars Job title:
Chief Executive Officer
Responsible to:
Chair of Trustees and the Board of Trustees.
Responsible for: Hope into Action UK meeting its legal and statutory requirements as a Charity and Limited Company. Also, for ensuring that the entire work of the charity as set out in its aims, goals and articles are met. This is to include the spiritual leadership, values and strategy of Hope into Action, to oversee supporter relations and giving, staff relations, managing projects, the network, housing, policies, finances, IT, relationships with the churches, the staff, the volunteers, the franchisees, the finances and reporting to the Trustees. An essential component is to further develop and grow the achievements of the charity.
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Main Responsibilities The board has identified four types of leadership that are essential to the success of the new CEO.
Spiritual Leadership: • Ensure the organisation retains a strong Christian ethos, culture and practices throughout, with a strong emphasis on prayer and a Biblical basis for decisions and policies. This will include ensuring worship, prayer and seeking God are integral to the organisation and calendar. • Lead by example: seeking God, striving for the highest levels of integrity, devoting time to prayer for the organisation, and attending regular spiritual/Christian retreats. • A deep commitment to our values and a values-based leadership approach adopting a leadership style which reflects the Christian, empowering and relational values of the organisation.
Strategic Leadership: • To be responsible for the overall strategic leadership and direction of the organisation and over time to see the vision achieved. • This will include maintaining the vision of Hope into Action and presenting an annual strategy paper for the short and medium term. • To be aware of the external environment and how this may impact strategic plans, in particular finance and other strategic objectives. • To monitor organisational progress against agreed strategic objectives including key performance indicators and risk issues. • To deliver the Annual Report to the Board of Directors, Charity Commission and other relevant stake holders. • To deliver an effective communications strategy, engaging with internal and external stakeholders.
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Organisational Leadership: • Ensure the organisation operates well, within the boundaries of good governance and spiritual integrity. • Support, encourage and inspire the Head of Supporter Relations, Head of Operations, Head of Network and HR. Oversee performance, resourcing and management in each of these departments. • Monitor the effectiveness of these teams and troubleshoot where needed. • Ensure a culture that is relational, professional, inclusive in decision making and always open to improvement. • Oversee the quality of relationships and adherence to Hope into Action’s core values. • Oversee and monitor quality standards across departments and franchises. • Work to expand and replicate projects nationwide. • Oversee recruitment, payment, performance management, retention and promotion of staff and volunteers • Develop robust policies to serve the needs of the organisation • Oversee the training and development of staff and volunteers. • Ensure all policies are regularly reviewed and in line with current legislation and good practice. • Prepare key policies for trustee approval. • Oversee the review and approve Director level policies. • To ensure the highest standards of safeguarding are upheld throughout the organisation and lead on protection issues.
Inspirational Leadership • Encourage and energise staff, franchises and church leaders as disciples of Jesus to pray for, invest in, support and serve the homeless. • Speak regularly at national and local events and venues. • Build relationships with key donors, trusts, grant-making bodies, and investors. • Build relationships with investors and maintain a dynamic investment strategy. • Build relations with churches, church organisations, partners and church leaders. • Engage with media on behalf of the organisation. • Build relationships with potential new franchisees. • Connect with other Christian social action organisations as appropriate to forward the vision of Hope into Action. • Speak out to encourage integral mission to the vulnerable/poor in a holistic, relational way. • Speak out to encourage a radical approach to wealth management in this country. In addition to these four types of leadership, working well with the Board is an essential part of the CEO role: • Ensure the legal obligations of the organisation are made known to the Board and fulfilled, including the statutory requirements of a charitable company and registered housing association. • Ensure the Board of Directors are effectively serviced and supported including: • Board meetings • Supporting Trustee recruitment • Committee oversight • Trustee training and induction • Committee work plans • Ensure financial accountability and sustainability.
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Additional factors to consider • Hope into Action is a family, a network and a team. Working well together is crucial. The Hope into Action CEO is therefore expected to have outstanding people skills with a proven ability to value each member of staff, volunteer, tenant, church partner, franchisee. • The support centre in Peterborough is a key location for encouraging and supporting staff, franchisees and churches as well as maintaining the values and culture of Hope into Action. It is therefore expected that the CEO will regularly work from their office in the support centre. • Building relationships and visiting potential franchises is a key role for the CEO and therefore travel around the country a number of days a month is anticipated. • The CEO needs to be resilient and able to cope with multiple competing demands with confidence and professionalism, and be able to remain calm when under pressure. Constant problem solving is part of the challenge of the role.
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Person Specification As the job description indicates, the trustees of Hope into Action are seeking God for a person of Christian character and discipleship, with good relational skills and a passion for serving those most marginalised in our society. As trustees, we would expect to support the CEO in prayer, encouragement and sharing wisdom together. Skill
Essential
Committed Christian with experience of spiritual leadership
Experience in the management and leadership of teams and organisations with complex demands
Desirable
Experience in charity management and leadership
Experience in support work with the homeless
Experience in support work with Ex-Offenders
Strong organisational skills
Ability to develop effective working relationships with a range of partners, organisations and funders
Ability to understand teams and people management skills
Ability to develop new areas of work
Knowledge of research methods relating to homelessness and church relations
Ability to prepare and deliver reports to a wide audience
Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills
Knowledge of objective setting and performance management and ability to assess and react to performance information
Knowledge of health and safety issues
Knowledge of risk management and assessment
Good knowledge of Safeguarding policy and issues regarding protection of the vulnerable.
Good understanding of budgets and financial reporting
Good range of administration and IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office suite
Experience of working with clients with needs related to homelessness.
Able to travel independently throughout the country
Educated to Degree Level
Financial Qualifications
Experience as, or working with, a charity Trustee
Experience of empowering and developing staff and volunteers Working understanding of housing and employment law
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Recruitment Process Carnelian Search have been appointed to lead this search. Please get in touch if you would like an exploratory conversation: hopeintoaction@carneliansearch.com Interviews with the Hope into Action board will take place on 13th September 2022.
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