CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Appointment Brief
May 2026
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN BECOMING THE NEXT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF MISSING PEOPLE. WELCOME FROM OUR CHAIR
Missing People exists to be a lifeline when someone goes missing. Every year, thousands of people across the UK experience the trauma and uncertainty of disappearance –whether they are missing themselves or have a missing loved one. We are here in those moments: providing vital support, amplifying voices, and working to ensure no one has to face this crisis alone.
We are a unique organisation, combining frontline services with research, policy and campaigning to improve the national response to missing. Our work is grounded in the experiences of missing people and their families, and we are committed to ensuring their voices shape our services and our influence.
With a strong foundation – a committed Board, a dedicated team and a clear sense of direction – we are building our impact and reach. We are ambitious for what comes next and determined to strengthen our role as both a provider of vital support and a leading voice for change.
We are looking for an exceptional Chief Executive to lead Missing People into its next phase. You will work with the Board to evolve and deliver our strategy, ensuring our services, influencing and income generation align to maximise impact for those we support.
We are seeking a leader with a deep commitment to our cause, a track record of strategic leadership, and the ability to bring people together to achieve change. Strong financial stewardship will be central to your leadership, alongside a track record of securing sustainable income.
You will be a visible and credible ambassador, able to build strong partnerships across government, policing, funders and the wider sector, and to raise the profile and influence of Missing People nationally. You will listen deeply, engage openly and work collaboratively, and be able to speak with authority, compassion and authenticity about the issues affecting missing people and their families.
You will combine strategic clarity with a collaborative, people-centred approach –leading and inspiring a high-performing team, strengthening financial sustainability, and ensuring lived and living experience remains at the heart of our work.
Above all, you will share our belief that every missing person matters, and that every family deserves support, understanding and hope.
If you are inspired to lead Missing People at this important moment, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Lisa Jones Chair of Trustees
VISION EVERY MISSING PERSON IS FOUND SAFE.
OUR MISSION TO BE A LIFELINE WHEN SOMEONE DISAPPEARS.
OUR VALUES BE HUMAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN BE FUTURE MINDED BE GROUNDED LET FLY!
ABOUT US
FOR OVER 30 YEARS, WE’VE BEEN THERE FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS WHO ARE MISSING AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM. WE’LL ALWAYS BE THERE, FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES.
Missing People is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting people who are missing, and those left behind. We provide free, confidential support to children, adults and families affected by missing, offering practical help, emotional support and advocacy at times of crisis.
Alongside our direct services, we carry out research, influence policy and work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies to improve responses to missing and prevent harm.
Driven by lived experience and evidence, we are committed to ensuring that everyone affected by missing is heard, supported and treated fairly.
PEOPLE GOING MISSING IS A MAJOR SOCIAL ISSUE IN THE UK. AROUND 170,000 CHILDREN AND ADULTS ARE REPORTED MISSING EACH YEARSOMEONE EVERY 90 SECONDS - AND MANY INCIDENTS GO UNREPORTED.
Most people who go missing are in crisis, including care experienced young people, victims of exploitation, people experiencing mental ill health, financial hardship, relationship breakdown, dementia, or those fleeing danger. There are significant inequalities in the response to missing people, with Black and Asian individuals less likely to be assessed as being at risk of harm and more likely to remain missing for longer. Financial pressures are increasingly driving people to disappear, highlighting the need for rapid, non judgemental support.
Huge numbers of missing people come to serious harm while missing, as victims of crime and exploitation, self-harm and suicide. 1,000 people die while missing each year. Each disappearance has a profound ripple effect - affecting an estimated one million people annually - and for many families, the trauma continues long after someone is found.
Last year the charity directly helped 10,700 people through our Helpline, face-to-face interventions for children who returned, and intensive support for their families. We supported around 35,000 people with online advice and information.
READ
MORE ABOUT OUR LIFESAVING WORK IN OUR IMPACT REPORT 2024-25.
RECENT PROMINENT THEMES IN THE CHARITY’S WORK HAVE FOCUSED ON:
• Experiences of racial discrimination against missing people and their families.
• Innovative and high profile campaigns aimed at preventing people from going missing. including out of home advertising and transport partnerships.
• Award winning partnerships including our work with Trainline.
• A new short film – ‘Based on a True Story’ –which holds a mirror up to the way society so often engages with missing person cases only when they are packaged as compelling content.
• Working in partnership with Scottish Government and Police Scotland to support local areas in Scotland implement The National Missing Persons Framework.
OUR STRATEGY: FROM CRISIS TO HOPE
IN
2023, MISSING PEOPLE LAUNCHED FROM CRISIS TO HOPE, A STRATEGY SHAPED BY LIVED EXPERIENCE, EVIDENCE AND THE URGENT REALITIES FACED BY PEOPLE WHO GO
MISSING AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM.
At its core is a belief that going missing is a crisis that can carry serious risk and long lasting harm if responses are slow, inconsistent or inequitable.
Through this strategy, we are focused on changing how going missing is understood, responded to and prevented - ensuring that inequalities in response are challenged, and that fewer people come to harm. It sets out an ambitious agenda for strengthening our services, influencing systems change, and using our voice to call for fair, compassionate and effective responses when someone goes missing.
OUR GOALS
1 GOING MISSING IS UNDERSTOOD AS A CRISIS THAT CAN BE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
2 ALL MISSING PEOPLE AND THEIR LOVED ONES GET THE RIGHT HELP AT THE RIGHT TIME.
3 FEWER MISSING PEOPLE COME TO HARM.
More than one thousand people die whilst missing each year. Their families don’t always get the right response from police, especially people of colour, and they can face intense public and media speculation, on top of their emotional heartache.
The charity is calling for change so that someone going missing is viewed as a crisis, backed by a fair response by police and other agencies involved.
The charity also aims to develop its existing helpline support to ensure that people receive the right help at the right time.
READ OUR STRATEGY: FROM CRISIS TO HOPE FOR INFORMATION.
EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
Missing People is committed to being actively inclusive and anti discriminatory in all aspects of our work. We take an organisation wide approach to exploring and challenging inequality and bias, with clear areas of accountability for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) embedded across every team to best support our service users, volunteers and staff.
Our staff led EDI Forum supports the development and sharing of good practice, celebrates diversity, and identifies areas for improvement. The Forum’s co Chairs meet regularly with the Executive Team, ensuring EDI leadership and accountability at the highest level.
In 2025 we introduced a refreshed EDI training programme and undertook an independent listening exercise for staff of colour. The insights and recommendations are being actively progressed, including the establishment of a people of colour network.
We also recognise the intersecting identities and lived experiences within our workforce and have created a peer support network for staff with personal experience of missing, to strengthen wellbeing, connection and voice.
Our research highlights significant inequalities, including the disproportionate impact of missing on Black people, care-experienced young people, trafficked and unaccompanied children, and emerging links with autism. We are committed to raising awareness of these inequalities, influencing practice, and improving data capture to better understand and address the diverse experiences of those we serve.
MISSING PEOPLE IS SEEKING A CEO WHO IS CONFIDENT CHAMPIONING EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND WILL LEAD THIS WORK WITH INTEGRITY AND AMBITION.
FINANCES
Missing People’s finances are stable with an approved budget to achieve break even by March 2027. In previous years, reported deficits included planned investments in new activities to support the growth, impact and sustainability of the charity, made possible by its strong reserves position.
For the year ended March 2026, unaudited total income was £4,141k (March 2025 £3,813k) an increase of c8%. Total expenditure was £4,305k (March 2025 £4,578k), a decrease of c6%. Overall, this results in a planned deficit of £164k.
Reserves cover meets the minimum 3 months outlined in the charity’s reserves policy. Cash balances are strong with an average monthly balance of at least 2 months of operating costs.
YOU ARE WELCOME TO REVIEW OUR ANNUAL ACCOUNTS .
INCOME
Trusts & Foundations
EXPENDITURE
ORGANISATION CHART
ROLE DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)
SALARY: £90,000 – £100,000
LOCATION: South West London (Central Office is based in Mortlake – 12 mins from Clapham Junction and 23 mins from Waterloo). This location for this role is flexible, but the post-holder will need to be able to work from the Mortlake office several times each month and travel when necessary to London and across the UK to meet the needs of the organisation.
REPORTING TO: Chair of Trustees and Trustee Board
DIRECT REPORTS: Director of Finance
Director of People, Digital and Organisational Development
Director of Services
Director of Fundraising and Communications
Director of Policy and Development
Personal Assistant
ACCOUNTABLE TO: Chair of Trustees
DEPARTMENT: Governance
LINE MANAGEMENT: Directors, Personal Assistant
JOB SUMMARY
The Chief Executive will provide strategic and visible leadership to Missing People in its delivery of high-impact support for missing people and their families.
Working with the Board, the Chief Executive will lead the development and delivery of the organisation’s strategy, ensuring that frontline services, research, policy and campaigning combine to maximise impact for missing people and their families. The postholder will champion lived and living experience, ensuring the voices of those affected shape our services and our national influence.
The Chief Executive will provide strong financial stewardship and lead sustainable income generation, ensuring Missing People is resilient and able to grow its reach and impact.
They will balance compassion and ambition, prioritising resources to deliver high-quality support and drive systems change.
As the organisation’s most senior ambassador, the Chief Executive will build and sustain senior partnerships across government, policing, funders and the voluntary sector, raising the profile, credibility and influence of Missing People nationally.
The Chief Executive will lead with empathy, integrity and clarity of purpose, building a confident, inclusive and values driven culture, ensuring that every missing person matters and every family can access support, understanding and hope.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION
• Provide strategic direction and leadership of Missing People and be accountable to the Board of Trustees.
• Work closely with the Board to support good strategic thinking, governance, risk management and promoting the good reputation of Missing People.
• Lead the development and delivery of a clear, focused organisational strategy centred on impact, organisational sustainability and the needs of people affected by the issue of missing.
• Provide integrated strategic leadership that aligns efficient service delivery, income generation, and system-level influencing to maximise organisational impact.
FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP
• To ensure the financial sustainability of Missing People by being a lead and champion for income generation to maintain and inspire growth, ensure strong relationships and be an ambassador for donors and funders.
• Ensure robust financial stewardship, long term sustainability and effective resource allocation to create maximum impact
• Work closely with the Finance team and Finance Committee to build organisational resilience through sound financial planning, forecasting and risk management to achieve agreed budgeted targets.
PEOPLE-CENTRED LEADERSHIP
• Foster a values driven, inclusive and supportive culture where staff and volunteers feel valued, heard and able to thrive, championing equity, diversity and inclusion across all aspects of the organisation.
• Champion a proactive safeguarding culture, ensuring effective policies, reporting mechanisms, and Board oversight are in place and consistently applied.
• Ensure lived experience continues to shape decision making, service design and organisational culture.
• Uphold the charity’s core values and human centred ethos, leading visibly and authentically and acting as a role model for others.
EXTERNAL LEADERSHIP
• Strengthen the organisation’s external voice, raising awareness of missing and influencing policy and systems change.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships across government, policing, charities, funders and communities.
• Maintain and develop productive relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders including Patrons, senior volunteers and charity supporters.
• Represent the organisation in the media, public forums and national conversations.
LINE MANAGEMENT
• Lead the executive team to perform well at individual and team level.
• Promote wellbeing, diversity, equity and inclusion across the organisation.
GENERAL
• Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and good practice requirements.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the general level of responsibility of the job.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
All criteria are essential unless otherwise stated.
RIGHT TO WORK
• Legal right to work in the UK.
EXPERIENCE
• Senior leadership at Executive Director or Chief Executive level with a proven track record of delivering strategic plans.
• Demonstrable experience of motivating and inspiring people and teams across multiple functions in complex, service-based, multiagency or charity organisations.
• Proven experience of supporting the raising of funds to drive income growth.
• Financial acumen, including proven experience in financial stewardship and oversight, budget setting, resource management and monitoring to achieve long-term sustainability.
• Excellent record of developing stakeholder engagement and relationship with partners, funders, senior supporters and trustees to increase reach and impact.
• Experience of successfully developing strategy to set direction, priorities and decision-making in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Proven experience of centring people affected by an organisation’s cause, taking a consultative, collaborative approach.
• Experience in managing communications to ensure the sound reputational management of the charity.
• Experience of working with or reporting to a Board of Trustees or equivalent governance body.
ABILITIES, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
• Demonstrates strong strategic thinking, with the ability to translate organisational vision into clear priorities, delivery plans and measurable impact.
• A proven collaborator and alliance builder, able to form and sustain senior partnerships across sectors to advance organisational goals.
• Able to lead with confidence and authority, making timely, well judged decisions.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences including trustees, staff, funders, partners, and the media.
• Demonstrates the ability to motivate, inspire and lead senior teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and high performance.
• Strong understanding of charity governance, risk management, safeguarding and regulatory compliance, with experience of working effectively with a Board of Trustees.
• Ability to initiate, lead and oversee complex organisational change, new programmes and initiatives, ensuring delivery through effective delegation and collaboration.
• Demonstrates sound judgement and integrity, with a clear understanding of confidentiality, information governance and organisational policies.
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of safeguarding responsibilities, promoting a culture where safeguarding is embedded, understood and upheld at all levels of the organisation.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
PERSONAL QUALITIES
• A commitment to Missing People’s values and aims.
• Demonstrates high emotional intelligence, with empathy and compassion in leadership, communication and decision making.
• Demonstrates a clear commitment to diversity and inclusion, with experience of embedding inclusive practices.
• A commitment to listening, co-production and valuing lived and living experience.
• Willing to challenge constructively, speak up on difficult issues and lead bold conversations.
• Credibility as a visible ambassador, able to raise awareness and influence externally.
DBS CHECK
• Enhanced DBS check will be completed upon appointment and must be deemed satisfactory by Missing People before the start date.
TRAVEL REQUIRED
• Some travel across the UK, including occasional overnight trips.
BENEFITS
• 28 days annual leave per annum/pro rata plus bank holidays
• Additional annual leave days awarded on length of service*
• Company pension contribution
• Life insurance (3 x salary)*
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Additional maternity pay and leave*
• Additional paternity/partner pay*
• Additional sick pay
• Interest-free Season Ticket Loans*
*Available after probation period has passed
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for the role, please upload your CV together with a supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) onto the Prospectus website via the link below.
For guidance on formulating your Supporting Statement, please review our guide here.
Please ensure that you have included a telephone number, as well as any dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the recruitment timetable.
Applications via the Prospectus website should be made at: https://prospect-us.co.uk/job/194404
At Prospectus we believe passionately that a truly inclusive workplace leads to increased social impact. We are committed to supporting our clients build more inclusive teams. To understand how we are performing, we ask that you kindly complete the brief equal opportunities questionnaire when you submit your application via our website. Please be assured that your responses are kept confidential, separate from your candidate record, are not part of any application you make, and that the consultants never see individual responses to the questionnaire.
RECRUITMENT TIMETABLE
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 27th May 2026
Interviews with Prospectus: w/c 1st June 2026
Interviews with Missing People: 1st round: w/c 15th June, 2nd round: w/c 22nd June
QUERIES
If you wish to have an informal discussion about the opportunity, please contact our retained advisors Harjit Bola or James Rice at Prospectus on 020 7691 1920, or email:
Harjit.bola@prospect-us.co.uk
James.rice@prospect-us.co.uk
