Strategy Lead

National Deaf Children's Society

Hours
35 hours per week

About the Organisation

National Deaf Children's Society is the leading charity for deaf children. We give expert support on childhood deafness, raise awareness, and campaign for deaf children's rights, so they have the same opportunities as everyone else. The National Deaf Children’s Society is a charity for deaf children with any level of hearing loss.

We’re here for deaf children and everyone who cares about them. Whatever the question or challenge, we help find a way through. We empower families to connect and drive change in their communities, and we campaign to make sure deaf children get the support they need. We lead the way, sharing insight and knowledge in the UK and internationally.

About the role

We are looking for a Strategy Lead to play a leading role in supporting the development of NDCS’s next organisational strategic plan, bringing together insight, ambition, and priorities into a clear long-term direction for the whole charity. You will provide the coordination, analysis, and facilitation needed to help shape a strategy that reflects the needs of deaf children and families and supports informed decision-making by senior leaders and Trustees.

Responsibilities

• Support and facilitate strategy development sessions with Trustees, the C-suite, and senior leaders to test emerging priorities and build shared understanding of NDCS’s next strategic plan.
• Review insight from performance data, external trends, policy developments, and stakeholder feedback to inform the content of the next strategic plan.
• Work with planning and performance colleagues to develop the strategic outcomes, measures, and planning assumptions that will underpin the new strategy.
• Prepare strategic papers, draft recommendations, and options for discussion with Trustees and senior leaders, supporting decisions about priorities, trade-offs, and areas of focus for the next planning period.
• Engage colleagues across NDCS to ensure the next strategic plan reflects the full breadth of the charity’s work and builds shared understanding across services, fundraising, marcomms, finance, and enabling functions.
• Design and facilitate inclusive engagement with staff, families, and external stakeholders so the strategy is shaped by evidence, lived experience, and diverse perspectives.
• Translate emerging strategic priorities into a practical roadmap, identifying where further work, sequencing, or choices are needed before the plan is finalised.
• Work with governance and risk colleagues to ensure strategic risks, opportunities, assumptions, dependencies, and assurance needs are understood and reflected in the plan.
• Bring in external insight and examples from across the sector to challenge thinking, identify opportunities, and strengthen the quality of NDCS’s strategic choices.
• Provide ad hoc strategic advice on emerging issues, opportunities, or risks to help leaders think through “what this means for us” in real time
• Prepare concise recommendations and draft content that move the strategic planning process forward and support decision-making at key points in the development of the plan.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Essential Criteria:

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data, trends, and insights to inform strategic direction.
• Proven experience leading or contributing significantly to the development of organisational strategy or strategic plans.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex ideas into clear and compelling narratives.
• Ability to influence and facilitate discussions with senior stakeholders, and to support effective conversations with Trustees, C-suite, and equivalent.
• Experience working across teams or functions, building organisation-wide alignment and shared understanding.
• Ability to develop a strategic framework and translate high-level priorities into actionable plans, outcomes, and measures.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working in the charity or public sector.
• Understanding of governance, trustee responsibilities, and how to support effective Board-level discussion and assurance processes.
• Experience with OKRs, QBR, or performance and reporting frameworks.
• Experience of facilitating inclusive engagement with stakeholders ( staff, service users, partners).
• Understanding of external trends, policy, or sector developments relevant to NDCS.
• Understanding and experience of deafness and the British Sign Language skills, and a willingness to learn. 

Compensation & Benefits

• 25 days holiday - plus an additional 3 days at Christmas (& bank holidays).
• Pension (5.5% employer contribution).
• Healthcare Cashplan.
• Annual performance-based salary increase.
• Employee Assistance & Wellbeing Programmes.

Working locations

• Home-based

How to apply

• Apply to our website
• Please contact us at [email protected] with any accessibility or reasonable adjustment enquiries.

Policies

As part of our commitment to creating a safe and trusted environment for the children, young people and families we support, all offers of employment are subject to background checks. These include Right to Work verification, Criminal Record Disclosure, and ID and address verification.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and committed to offering interviews to candidates who request to be considered under the disability confident scheme and meet the minimum requirements of the person specification. As part of our commitment to creating a safe and trusted environment for the children, young people, and families we support, all offers of employment are subject to background checks. These include Right to Work verification, Criminal Record Disclosure, and ID and address verification.

To complete an online Right to Work check, you will need a valid UK or Irish passport, or a government share code if you are not a British citizen. If an online check is not possible, we’ll need to verify your documents in person at our London office. Please be aware that travel time and expenses for this appointment cannot be reimbursed.

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