Interim CEO (Maternity cover) Location: West Wales (or immediate vicinity) Salary: £50,536 per annum (Full time or negotiable hours) Duration: April 2025 until January 2026 (fixed term) Reporting to: Board of Trustees Accountable for: 8 staff and a community of volunteers DEADLINE: 20th January 2025 We’re looking for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to cover our CEO’s maternity leave for a 10 month fixed-term period. The post will begin in mid-April 2025 and will include a handover period with our current CEO at the start and end of the contract. You will be working alongside our Board, staff and volunteers to ensure West Wales Rivers Trust meets the strategic objectives of its 5-year (2024-2029) plan. About West Wales Rivers Trust West Wales Rivers Trust is a charity formed in 2017 following the amalgamation of the Teifi and Pembrokeshire Rivers Trusts. The Trust now covers more than 30% of Wales, including the counties of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, where we aim to protect, restore and enhance rivers, lakes and wetlands for people and wildlife. Our ethos focuses on working with local communities to deliver long lasting and cost-effective solutions for river issues while educating and empowering people to take their own steps to improve our water environments. While we’ve been going for nearly 8 years, West Wales Rivers Trust was a very small team until 2023. Since then, our team has grown into a core of 9, split into river restoration and community engagement teams. In addition to our staff the Trust works with multiple supporting contractors and a strong network of community groups across West Wales. We have delivered hundreds of kilometres of river habitat improvements, multiple barrier removals and fish passage easements, engaged thousands of people with their rivers and helped over 150 tributaries be adopted by local communities that we have trained. Our core projects Adopt a Tributary River Restoration Farm advice How West Wales Rivers Trust runs We are very proud of the organisation we have built, the pragmatic improvements we deliver and the community of people connected with their rivers that we continue to nurture. Due to the size of our catchment area (a third of Wales) and the large amount of time we spend in the field, it is not practical for us to be based in an office. Therefore, all our team work remotely and are responsible for scheduling their own time as necessary to deliver their projects successfully and to within the required budgets and timeframes. We deliver a wide range of improvements to rivers and their surrounding catchments by acting as facilitators – identifying the need for improvements, designing these either in-house or with consultant support, and then procuring and overseeing the delivery of improvements with either contractors or volunteers. Between the team members, we have extensive knowledge of rivers in the West Wales catchment, including via delivery of Fisheries Habitat Restoration Plans along the length of our main salmonid rivers. However, we can’t be everywhere at once and acknowledge that no one knows rivers as well as the communities that live alongside them, so we work extensively with local communities to upskill them as ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground, via a varied programme of community engagement activities under our Adopt a Tributary project. Important relationships for this role Internal – Board of trustees and staff members External – Partners, Stakeholders, Statutory bodies (e.g. Natural Resources Wales, Local Authorities), Funders, Clients, Volunteers, Media About the role We are looking for an ambitious and motivated Chief Executive Officer (Maternity Cover) to manage the organisation whilst the current CEO takes maternity leave. Responsibilities shall include, but are not limited to: Leadership, strategic planning and delivery (20%) To chart the direction of the organisation in line with our mission, vision and 2023-2028 targets To review and support the team to enable them to deliver their projects To share West Wales Rivers Trust’s vision for healthier rivers by publicly showcasing our work and recommended approaches To monitor and evaluate all projects and provide information on outcomes to the Board of Trustees and relevant funders To act as West Wales Rivers Trust’s principal spokesperson, representing the organisation to a high standard in a wide range of contexts with a diverse range of stakeholders To seek out, develop and oversee partnerships with supporters, funders, other charities, and all relevant bodies/organisations To oversee effectively the delivery of all West Wales Rivers Trust’s projects and services, supporting activities and ensuring resource allocation that does not compromise on staff wellbeing and stays within our allocated budget. This will involve planning for and foreseeing any issues with team capacity to complete our deliverables. Management and delivery (15%) As a relatively small team which has undergone recent growth, our current CEO is actively involved in the project management of our larger projects. Therefore, this role will involve some time allocation for leading and supporting the staff team to ensure timely service and grant funded project delivery at a high standard. To liaise with senior staff to ensure best practice in recruitment, support and community management of volunteers Line management: You will be responsible for the line management of the SEO, Adopt a Tributary Project Manager, Farm Advisor and River Restoration Project Manager. Income generation (50%) To oversee the funding we receive, ensuring high level reporting to funders as per their individual grant terms To identify, research and secure new streams of funding and sponsorship from trusts, foundations, corporate and statutory bodies and any others to the value of £300-500k Present on Trust progress against a set agenda to the Board of Trustees at board meetings To ensure that service level agreements and targets are achieved To seek out opportunities for new income generation through the delivery of our core services Governance (10%) To ensure the organisation’s good governance in collaboration with the Board of Trustees To ensure staff wellbeing, safeguarding and other relevant policies are fulfilled and following up on any concerns with the appropriate authority To ensure that all major risks are identified and regularly reviewed for overall organisation risks (we have a risk register in place) and on a project-by-project basis, and that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate all such risks. To work with the Chair of the Board to plan board meetings, providing a written and verbal update on staffing, finances, services delivery, developments, and any other relevant matters To work with the Chair of the Board to recruit and induct new members to the Board of Trustees To ensure that the organisation’s financial resources are managed effectively Effective contract execution and framework management/ oversight Communications and public speaking (5%) To represent West Wales Rivers Trust externally at local and national levels To ensure the effective marketing and promotion of activities To raise the charity’s profile and maximise its reach across Wales through reports, blogs, social media and public speaking To represent WWRT at quarterly Welsh Rivers Trust CEO meetings To respond to any media related enquiries and represent West Wales Rivers Trust as appropriate Your profile We are looking for an exceptional individual that is committed to improving the health of our rivers. You will have substantial experience in leading small organisations within the not-for-profit sector. We’re looking for an experienced leader who has managed roles of HR, fundraising, partnerships, governance and public speaking. You will be an experienced fundraiser capable of seeking out and securing resources to assist with building the financial security of the Trust for the coming delivery period. As the lead spokesperson, you will have exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, so you can represent West Wales Rivers Trust work at events and promote our position to the wider public and in the media. Essential 5 years of experience of working in a senior role within an NGO (preferably eNGO) A proven track-record in fundraising from a variety of public and private grant makers including family foundations A track record of successfully implementing and reporting against organisational strategy Excellent interpersonal skills including being flexible, adaptable, collaborative and an ability to manage a full and varied workload, and staff team Strong time management, self-management and organisational skills, and ability to organise and prioritise own and others’ workload effectively and to work under pressure Flexibility to adapt and respond to a variety of situations and people, in order to meet changing needs Ability to inspire and motivate others Understanding and appreciation of river health and restoration methods Willingness to travel within the West Wales catchment to represent the organisation and to meet staff and Board Sufficient IT skills You are expected to have a private vehicle generally available for use in the Company’s business, and insured for business use. Desirable Experience of working within small, distributed teams Welsh language A geographical understanding of the rivers of West Wales. The position Hours This contract will be for a fixed term of 10 months. You will work 5 days every week to a total of 40 hours. You’ll be expected to work within standard UK working hours so that you are best placed to support staff and external partners. While we offer some degree of flexi-time, the role will require someone who is comfortable with the responsibility of time-sensitive tasks which may not always sit within your chosen working hours. Occasionally, you may be required to attend meetings during evening hours, however we operate a full and flexible TOIL scheme for this. We will accept applications from people who wish to become part of our team from across the UK, however our preference would be for someone based in or close to the West Wales catchment, due to the time, financial and environmental savings from reduced travel. West Wales Rivers Trust is a fully remote organisation. Our offer In addition to compensation, West Wales Rivers Trust offers: 25 days per annum paid annual leave (accrued on a pro rata basis), plus relevant public holidays A pension contribution of up to 9% Employers contribution Equipment to support your home-office setup An enhanced maternity pay policy Reimbursement of all expenses properly incurred by you in the performance of your duties, including a mileage allowance for all journeys undertaken in your private vehicle on the Company’s business at the rate of £0.45p per mile. Recruitment stages (dates tbc): Stage 0: Shortlisting based on CV and cover letter Stage 1: Interview (Round 1) Stage 2: Final interview (Round 2) We intend to respond to every applicant for this role to inform them of the outcome of their application, but as a small team with limited capacity we may not be able to offer specific feedback to those not invited to interview. Applicants will hear back from us by Friday 31st January. Recruitment will be subject to the receipt of 3 references.