Chief Operating Officer Responsible to: The Board of St John Scotland Responsible for: Service Development Manager, Volunteer Development Officer, Communications Officer, and Administration Officer. Full Time Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week with occasional evening and weekend work required. Place of work: St John Scotland head office in Edinburgh with regular travel across Scotland and with flexible working arrangements considered. Salary: £68,000 Purpose of this job St John Scotland is a national Charity. The majority of its service in Scotland is delivered by 12 Local Area Committees, within the overall strategic framework agreed by the Board. The Charity also supports work overseas, with current activity including St John Scotland-funded project work in Malawi and annual financial contributions to the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. The Chief Operating Officer will develop this new post to lead the Operations Team, and will be responsible for the delivery of all aspects of the St John Scotland core services and their enablers, including support to all St John Scotland Area Committees and local volunteers, in order to develop and deliver core services both nationally and within their local communities. The focus of activity is to grow and develop the community resilience support services in order to fulfil the Charity’s current strategy, including Patient Transport, Public Access Defibrillators, Bystander CPR Awareness sessions and Community First Responders; to grow and sustain the volunteer base that delivers them; ensure that the policies and processes that underpin them are in place; and to increase public awareness of St John Scotland both locally and nationally, growing ‘the brand’ and public recognition of the Charity and its activities. The Chief of Operations is responsible to the Chair and Board for the overall delivery of the Charity’s operational activities. Main Duties and Responsibilities • Secretary to the Board, and to the Finance & Risk Committee. • Lead the Operations team to drive and deliver St John Scotland’s core services (currently Patient Transport, Public Access Defibrillators, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, and Community First Responders). • Work collaboratively with the staff and Area teams to increase service delivery outputs of all four services. • Responsible for the recruitment and retention of the volunteer base that underpins service delivery. • Develop and maintain the critical effective working relationships with St John Scotland’s 12 Area teams, volunteers, and partners. Understanding, and being sympathetic to, local needs, ensure that volunteers have the skills, knowledge and resources needed for their roles to perform to the best of their abilities in delivering the core services. • Responsible for providing the Board of Trustees with quarterly and annual performance reports on, and costs of, the core services and key deliverables. • Routine oversight of the charity’s finances, both in terms of an investment portfolio and routine banking for 16 separate accounts. • Responsible for the development of a comprehensive costed annual operations programme for the delivery of charitable outcomes nationally and in each Area, ensuring a focus on the corporate strategy and providing clear and regular updates to the Board and key stakeholders. • Ensure the Charity’s compliance with the requirements of statutory bodies such as Companies House, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, and the Information Commissioner. • Responsible for collaboration with internal and external partners (such as, but not confined to, Scottish Government, Save a Life for Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service and other Third Sector providers) to partner with the delivery of operational output, and raise awareness of St John Scotland. • Research and make proposals for the development and enhancement of our current services within the strategic scope agreed by the Board, encouraging and enabling involvement from Area Teams. • With the Board, review and refresh the Charity’s 5-year strategy, advising on operational matters. • Work with the Priory Secretary as required for the delivery of non-operational outputs. • Carry out other duties in support of St John Scotland services, projects and activities as delegated by the Prior. Qualifications / Education • Educated to Degree level with evidence of ongoing professional development. Experience • Senior Management and leadership experience. • Working at Board level, and with a firm understanding of a Board’s role and responsibilities, and the role of a CEO in support of the Board. • Experience of working with investment managers and other professional advisors, handling a large and diverse portfolio of investments and property. • Financial planning and managing budgets. • Experience of volunteering or working with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. • Development and delivery of a complex strategy. • Community engagement to initiate projects, develop, deliver, and demonstrate impact. • Developing effective partnerships, and working in collaboration with third parties to deliver corporate objectives. • Programme and project management experience. • Experience of managing multiple concurrent projects. • Production of reports and delivery of proposals to Board and Chief Executive level. • Communication and negotiation with national bodies and organisations • Experience directly relevant to any of our core services is highly desirable • Safeguarding or child protection experience within a professional role, or lead experience in a volunteer role, is highly desirable. • Line Management Experience of up to 6 staff. Knowledge and Skills • Ability to work collaboratively with volunteers, colleagues, and partners to develop and deliver services. • Knowledge of governance and operational requirements of working within the charity sector. • Knowledge of challenges and demographic differences in all regions of Scotland • An awareness of community health resilience and equality issues is desirable. • Excellent IT skills, including experience of using the full Microsoft Office suite, SharePoint etc, with a particular focus on communication within a decentralised organisation. Personal requirements • Able to demonstrate leadership combined with a willingness to work alongside volunteers to support them and their activity, to empower others and work collaboratively. • Highly motivated and resilient. Able to use initiative, and demonstrate discretion, sound judgement and effective decision-making ability. • Excellent communication skills to communicate effectively with people and groups from primary school children to Board Members • Flexibility and adaptability • Accuracy and attention to detail • Clean UK driving licence and a willingness to travel on charitable business and work flexibly to enable effective engagement with our volunteer teams across Scotland. Applying for the role Please submit applications by CV accompanied by a covering letter, explaining how your skills and experience would be a suitable fit for this key role, by clicking the Apply button by 09.00am on 31 May 2024. Interviews will be held in Edinburgh in the week beginning 10 June 2024, and applicants selected for interview will be notified in advance.