ROLE: Deputy to the COO
BENEFITS
Salary: £32,240.00 – £36,400 per annum (Dependent on experience)
Hours of duty: 40 hours per week
Responsible to: COO
Location: Bolton Office
Annual leave: 28 days per year + 2 days for Eid (Pro Rata)
THE ORGANISATION
Established in 2001, Ummah Welfare Trust is a UK-based international relief and development charity. Inspired by the Islamic teachings of empathy, generosity and selflessness, the trust aims to alleviate poverty and suffering across the world, and also ensuring that the rights of those who are neglected and oppressed are fulfilled by providing sustainable development solutions relating to shelter, education, health, and spiritual wellbeing.
Knowing that we are all ultimately accountable to the Almighty, the charity strives to maintain transparency and accountability, and as such the charity also has a full and transparent audit trail from the donor to the beneficiary.
To find out more about the organisation please visit our website on:
THE ROLE
The Deputy to the COO role is a key member of the Ummah Welfare Trust senior management team, reporting to the COO. The post holder will assist the UWT's second-in-command and be responsible for optimising the charities administrative and operational planning, and day-to-day operational excellence.
The Deputy will represent the management and liaise with all UWT functional leads including Customer Services, Public Relations, Media, Charity Shops, Finance, Relief Containers IT, Warehouse, USL, Projects, Compliance and HR to ensure that each of these departments are following the procedures and policies in pursuant with their approved departmental objectives, ops plan, budgets and KPIs. The role requires an experienced and effective manager, with outstanding ability to lead across broad operational spheres with financial discipline. The overarching purpose of the Deputy to the COO position is to work with the COO to implement the administrative and operational strategy of UWT, thereby enabling the charity to deliver its charitable objectives and achieve sustainable growth.
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES
* Assist the COO in overseeing the functional heads to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the charity's various administrative, operational and commercial plans.
* Assist the COO in driving the charity wide enhancement of the administrative, operational and commercial processes, systems and launching of new initiatives through rigorous engagement with all the stakeholders, monitoring and by taking timely action.
* Take charge in the organisation of various charity events and campaigns.
* Take lead in bridging the communication gap between the management, staff and volunteers as well as external stakeholders including community stakeholders, donors and customers.
* Take minutes of all the management meetings and follow up and report on action points.
* Effective implementation of all policies and procedures related to the day-to-day administrative matters and operations of the charity.
* Also, assisting COO in the revision of the existing policies and procedures and development of the new policies and procedures when needed.
* In the absence of the functional head/manager, provide interim supervision to ensure the continuity of business.
* Take initiatives to promote and establish the Islamic principles, ethos and values related to the charity sector across the board and particularly in all administrative, operational and commercial endeavours; exemplify prophetic values of high integrity, self-sacrifice, volunteerism, excellence, and financial prudence.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
* Administrative Duties (Day-to-Day):
* Organise management meetings, draft and circulate minutes and action points, follow-up, and timely reporting to the management.
* Supervise the facilities management in consultation with the Customer Services, Procurement, Charity Shop Manager, PR Managers and Head of Compliance. Manage the budget for the facility, infrastructure and appliances repair and maintenance, fire safety, housekeeping, risk assessment and management, safeguarding, and security.
* Lead the organisation of various UWT events in coordination with HR, PR & Media, IT, Procurement, and all internal and external stakeholders.
* Providing oversight on procurement of supplies and services for UK operations to ensure efficient spending, value for money, and high level of accountability.
* Plan annual mystery shopping and surprise spot checks at all the branches to verify the compliance with the policy and procedures as well as the expected SLA.
* Supervise the annual digital archiving of all the project, HR and finance files
* Respond to the external inquiries, feedback and complaints in consultation with the COO.
* Monitor the time keeping, punctuality and expenses of all the managers and report to the management for any irregularities and non-compliance of the policies and procedures; and take necessary actions in consultation with the COO.
* Ensure that all managers prepare and timely submit the annual ops plan and budget as per the provided guidelines.
* Ensure that all managers conduct timely performance reviews including probationary, mid-year and end of year.
* Ensure that both HR and Procurement has properly maintained all the contracts and invoices with staff, contractors and vendors/suppliers respectively.
Organisational Development
* Fund Raising, PR & Media:
* Review the challenges with the existing UWT PR operations and media; collaboratively design and implement high impact, shariah compliant and efficient initiatives to enhance the PR & Media outreach to the donors within UK and abroad.
* Build capacities of the PR team through developing of the regional plans, training, monitoring and performance reviews.
* Push the recruitment of staff and volunteers and plan expansion of PR operations in the UWT underserved areas across the UK.
* Recycling & Charity Shop:
* Coordinate with the Recycling Manager and external stakeholders to expand recycling collection through increase in the collection points.
* Monitor the regular sorting of the used clothing & supply to charity shops and take necessary action in consultation with the COO if needed.
* Ensure the full operationalisation of the online charity shop in coordination with Manager Charity Shop and Manager Recycling
* Review other key players in the charity shop and recycling business and recommend ways to improve the returns from these two ventures.
USL:
* Review the existing USL model and its competitors and recommend practical ways to improve the financial performance of the USL.
* Assist and build the capabilities of USL team to successfully run the USL online shop.
Relief Containers Program:
* Continuously search for a warehouse that fulfils the requirements of the relief container program and facilitate its purchase.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
* Educated to degree level preferably business and management (Essential)
Experience
* Considerable experience of business development and management (Essential)
* Experience of customer service and building relationship with the stakeholders (Essential)
* Experience of using strategic plans to set and implement annual business and operational objectives (Essential)
* Experience of team management (Essential)
* Considerable experience of providing line management to staff (Essential)
* Experience of managing minutes, action points and report writing (Desirable)
Skills/Abilities
* Able to manage conflict and offer positive ways forward in difficult situations (Essential)
* Excellent public speaking skills (Essential)
* Able to develop strong working relationships internally and with people from other organisations (Essential)
* Accomplished at preparing clear written and verbal reports and giving presentations (Essential)
* Skilled in handling a busy workload, meeting deadlines and managing conflicting priorities (Essential)
* Competent user of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access) (Essential)
* Intermediate to high level skill in using MS Package (Essential)
Knowledge & Understanding
* Demonstrable knowledge and experience of the humanitarian and non-profit policy sector (Desirable)
Other
* Personal conduct and delivery of work should comply with the values and culture of Ummah Welfare Trust (Essential)
* Able to go on field visits whenever required, stay away from home overnight occasionally and attend some early morning/late evening and weekend meetings. (Essential)
* The ability to adapt working hours to meet the requirements of the organisation. (Essential)
To Apply
Please send your CV and a Covering Letter detailing how you meet the criteria to by 10th March, 2026. The position may close sooner if the right candidate is found.
For further information, contact
Note: This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £32,240.00-£36,400.00 per year
Benefits:
* Additional leave
* Bereavement leave
* Casual dress
* Company events
* Company pension
* Employee discount
* Enhanced paternity leave
* Flexitime
* Free parking
* On-site parking
* Store discount
Work Location: In person