Head of Equitable and Inclusive Futures

Location: Flexible. You’ll be expected to travel between London (Farringdon) and central Bristol offices as well as other locations across the UK. Either of office location or remote home working is acceptable. Please clearly state your preferred location in your application.

Contract: Permanent

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world (and their family’s) can feel like it’s falling apart. Their anxieties are deep. Their education, mental health and social lives suffer. Their futures feel very uncertain. They need tailored support, and they need to know that their voices and unique needs are being heard and understood. We’re there to make sure that happens.

We are recruiting a senior leader, expert in the pursuit of equity and inclusive strategy, at a crucial and exciting time for Young Lives vs Cancer. We know what a better future could look like for children and young people with cancer. And we know what we need to do to make that future a reality. We need to push harder, reach further and work smarter. And we need the right leaders on our team to help us get there.

About the role

You will join Young Lives vs Cancer to take our pursuit of a more equitable and inclusive future to the next stage. This is a combination of internal and external work, and will involve reviewing ‘Brave, Not Perfect’, understand where the organisation is now, and design the next DEIB strategy for Young Lives. The next step is to build on the journey so far, reflecting the organisational strategic commitment to dismantling inequity, and focusing on action.

Building on what’s gone before, this strategy must align with and respond to the organisational strategy and North Star vision – bringing together our mission, organisational vision and the pursuit of an equitable future for our workforce, the communities we serve and the system we operate within. The workforce is just one part of this – the next stage of this work places equal focus on our service and work in the system and reducing barriers to access, improving experiences and outcomes for young cancer patients, for a more equitable future.

You will work within the Organisational Development team, where you will partner with Young Lives’ leadership to continue developing an organisational and strategic approach to DEIB – providing the vision and direction for this work, with support from your direct team, leaders and the CEO. You will work at a high level of self-sufficiency, and act as deputy for the Associate Director for Organisational Development.

As part of the People & Culture directorate, you will be driving the change agenda within Young Lives, enabling the CEO, Executive team and organisation at large to realise our DEIB strategic objectives, and be skilled at promoting, championing and influencing institutional change and decision-making. You will be working with a small and dynamic team, focused on culture, change and engagement.

About you

You will be a skilled strategic expert, used to working to clear expectations and with C-suite and Board stakeholders, and a dynamic communicator. You will be comfortable driving change and bringing people on the journey, be a good listener and someone who enjoys working through complex ideas. It will be your job to make the complex simple for your audience, inspiring them to continue on this change journey for the organisation.

No formal qualifications are required for this role. Relevant work experience and track record is more important. You will be bold, brave and engaging, and have making positive change and justice at heart.

You will bring:

- Significant, senior experience of developing and implementing an EDI strategy in a variety of organisations, as a consultant, interim or internal leader 

- Deep understanding and knowledge of EDI legislation, policies and best practices

- Deep understanding of the strategic implications of the pursuit of equity, at a sector and systemic level

- Understanding of systems thinking practice and approaches to system change

- Understanding of the principles of trauma-informed practice

- Extensive experience of workforce and partner engagement to inform strategy development

Are you ready to help us take next step in Young Lives vs Cancer’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging journey?

To find out more about our charity, the role and how to apply, please click on Apply.

For an informal and confidential conversation, please do reach out to

Oliver Startup, oliver.startup@gatenbysanderson.com

Liz Dean-Stevens, liz.dean-stevens@gatenbysanderson.com

Closing Date: Sunday 25th August at 9am

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.

We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. We particularly welcome applications from members of minoritised communities.

Accessibility

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible.