Associate Director, Charity Services
Royal Air Forces Association
Hours
37.5 hours per week
About the Organisation
Our vision is an RAF community that is connected, empowered and resilient. To achieve our mission, we are committed to a simple yet important task: to support and enable the RAF community to meet the challenges of everyday life. We believe that we are at our strongest when we work together and that early intervention is most effective. We not only help members of the RAF community to endure times of acute need, but we also help them to thrive, preventing many of them from reaching crisis point by offering practical support and resilience services.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced and passionate leader who shares our commitment to excellence, innovation and inclusion. This role is not only about achieving outstanding results but also about inspiring a shared vision, building strong relationships and fostering an environment where all members of our RAF community, past and present, can thrive.
With substantial experience in developing high-performance teams, you will have the ability to deliver across multiple programme strands simultaneously. Educated to degree level or with equivalent specialist experience related to volunteering, welfare and wellbeing, you’ll also have experience of contributing to the development and delivery of Welfare and Wellbeing strategies, ideally within the charity sector.
Responsibilities
Primary Responsibilities:
- Strategic leadership and people development: Develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and professional development. Inspire, coach and challenge colleagues to maximise individual and team performance in support of the charity's vision, mission and strategic objectives.
- Service delivery and development: Lead the design, delivery and continual development of personalised support, wellbeing, and community and volunteer-led welfare services, ensuring they are responsive to need, deliver meaningful outcomes, and provide exceptional client experience.
- Safeguarding: Lead the continuous improvement of safeguarding practices across personalised support, wellbeing, and community / volunteer-delivered welfare services. Ensure effective governance, employee and volunteer capability, risk management, and the timely identification, management and escalation of safeguarding concerns, complying with legislation and best practice.
- Performance and impact management: Develop and embed a robust performance and impact framework that drives service excellence and continual improvement. Promote an outcome-focused approach to evaluation, benchmarking, innovation and service development, ensuring decisions are informed by evidence, insight, research and high-quality data.
- Quality and innovation: Champion excellence in welfare and wellbeing practice by promoting innovation, continuous learning and evidence-based approaches. Drive the integration of services and best practice to maximise organisational impact and beneficiary outcomes.
- Stakeholder and partner engagement: Develop and maintain influential relationships with key stakeholders, partners and strategic networks to extend reach, strengthen collaboration and maximise impact for beneficiaries.
- Contribution to organisational strategy: As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to organisational leadership, strategic planning, governance and sustainable growth. In partnership with the Associate Director of Group Marketing, Fundraising and Trading, co-lead the Executive Management Team's collaborative approach to planning and delivering an integrated programme of activity that achieves strategic objectives, addresses key organisational challenges, realises opportunities for improvement, and informs future strategy.
Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes
Knowledge & Experience:
- Significant project management experience with proven capability of leading delivery across multiple program strands simultaneously.
- Significant experience in leading, developing and inspiring high-performing teams to deliver positive outcomes.
- Experience of contributing to welfare and wellbeing strategy development.
- Experience of planning and implementing volunteer retention and stewardship to ensure a positive volunteer experience.
- Experience in data management, delivering projects to improve data quality, integrity and actionable insights.
- Evidence of up-to-date knowledge of best practice, innovations and applicable legislation.
Communication and Relationships:
- Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with a focus on workforce engagement and professional development.
- Experience of leading, coaching and inspiring large teams to achieve and exceed targets.
- Experience of building sustainable internal and external stakeholder relationships and partnerships at a senior level, with the ability to influence and persuade.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and inspire diverse audiences.
- Collaborative and inclusive, with a commitment to equity and diversity.
Decision Making & Problem Solving:
- Demonstrable ability to use research and insight to inform decision-making, product and/or process benchmarking, development and innovation.
Information:
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and evidence of the ability to influence change.
Financial & Physical Resources:
- Significant experience of developing and managing a budget of £2m+.
Physical/ Mental Effort:
- Resilient, adaptable and able to thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
- Visionary thinker with the ability to drive innovation and inspire change
Desirable:
- Experience in a senior leadership role within a similar-sized multi-site organisation.
- Experience in a charitable or social enterprise context.
- Knowledge of the work of the Royal Air Force and the RAF Association.
Required Qualifications
- Educated to degree level or equivalent specialist experience related to volunteering, welfare and wellbeing.
- MSc in related area
Compensation & Benefits
- Up to 42 days annual leave, life insurance and sick pay
- Enrolment in our Medicash Health Cash Plan to cover everyday healthcare needs
- Free virtual GP service
- Mental health and wellbeing support
- Discounted gym membership
- Refer a Friend bonus scheme
- Cycle to work scheme / close to park and ride at Leicester Forest East
- Subsidised short breaks at selected RAFA Accommodation
Conditions of employment
- Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to enter into sponsorship agreements.
- A UK driving licence is an essential requirement for this role
Working locations
- Hybrid model, working in the Leicester office and remotely
- May be required to occasionally work longer working days (including weekends), for which time off in lieu will be granted.
How to apply
Interviews
- The interview date is 21st October 2026
Policies
The RAF Association is a Disability Confident employer. Please let us know if you require any assistance with your application.
The job vacancy information provided here is from third-parties and the AAE can not guarantee the accuracy of the information.