Description

For over 150 years, Action for Children has been driven by a simple, powerful belief: that every child and young person deserves a safe and happy childhood. Today, we are one of the UK’s largest children’s charities, delivering more than 342 services across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each year, we support hundreds of thousands of children, young people and families; protecting them, advocating for them, and helping them to thrive. 

The challenges facing children and families have never been more complex. Rising poverty, increasing mental health needs, pressures on public services and the long tail of the pandemic are reshaping childhood across the UK. Against this backdrop, Action for Children’s role is both vital and evolving. Our strategy, More Safe and Happy Childhoods, sets out an ambitious vision: to grow our reach, deepen our impact, strengthen our voice, and build a more inclusive, sustainable organisation for the future. 

We are now seeking an exceptional Chief Executive to lead us into this next chapter. 

Our new CEO will bring bold, values‑driven and strategic leadership to an organisation of significant scale and national influence. You will guide a talented Executive Team and a workforce of more than 4,000 colleagues, ensuring we deliver high‑quality, safe and innovative services across our four core areas: family support, children in care, disabled children, and mental health and wellbeing. You will ensure we remain financially strong, operationally excellent and relentlessly focused on improving outcomes for children and young people. 

You will be a visible and authoritative national leader, championing the voices of children and young people, shaping policy across all four nations, and strengthening our relationships with governments, funders, partners and the media. You will navigate a complex external environment with clarity and compassion, ensuring Action for Children continues to influence the systems that shape childhood, from early help and family hubs to mental health, poverty and care reform. 

You will foster a culture that is inclusive, open to change and grounded in our values: passionate, ambitious, collaborative and inclusive. You will empower colleagues, inspire confidence, and lead transformational change that strengthens our impact, our sustainability and our ability to deliver more safe and happy childhoods. 

We are looking for a leader who can hold complexity, make difficult strategic choices, and galvanise people around a shared mission. Someone with experience of senior leadership in a large, multi‑stakeholder or multi‑regional organisation; a track record of delivering significant financial and organisational outcomes; and the ability to influence at the highest levels, including with politicians and national stakeholders. Above all, you will share our unwavering commitment to children and young people. 

We are committed to being an inclusive organisation, and we particularly welcome candidates who bring perspectives and experiences that are underrepresented in leadership roles across the sector. If you are excited about this role but feel you don’t meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply, you may be exactly who we need. If you are motivated by purpose, driven by evidence, and ready to lead an organisation with a powerful platform for national impact, we would be delighted to hear from you. 

To find out more, please click on ‘apply’. If, after reading the person specification, you would like a confidential discussion, please contact our recruitment advisers at GatenbySanderson: 

• Michelle Sander, Principal Researcher – michelle.sander@gatenbysanderson.com  

• Liz Dean, Principal Consultant – liz.dean@gatenbysanderson.com 

To view the job description and person specification, please scroll to the bottom of the page, tick to agree to the privacy policy, then click 'Continue to full details'.