Chief Operating Officer

Job Description

Do you want to have an impact on childrens livesEach year, eight children in an average class will leave primary school unable to read well. These children often struggle in school, and beyond. Reading isnt just about books. Its about reading a road sign, a safety manual, a birthday card. Its understanding a job application and the prescription that could help save your life.Bookmark has an incredibly simple vision: we want every child to read. When a child can navigate words, they can navigate the world. Thats why were giving children the reading skills and confidence they need for a fair chance in life, through our flexible volunteer-led programme. The Bookmark app matches schools with fully safeguarded, vetted and trained reading volunteers, at the tap of a button. Each volunteer delivers one-to-one reading sessions for a six-week programme with a child who needs extra help with their reading.Help us change the story for more childrenWe are looking for a knowledgeable Chief Operating Officer to join Bookmarks Senior Leadership Team. Reporting to the CEO, you will lead the operations team in recruiting, onboarding and engaging our volunteers, and growing and developing our relationships with partner schools.Youll ensure the team will meet its objectives and drive the day-to-day operational excellence of Bookmark, leading our team to be efficient, productive, and effective. We have grown quickly and transformed our service delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have exciting times ahead as we continue scale the operation to reach significantly more children.Were a growing team of hard-working people, who care about what we do. We love to roll up our sleeves, try new ways of doing things, and support each other so that we can achieve our goals. If that sounds like you and you share our vision and values, wed love to hear from you.Bookmark is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and opportunity for flexible working arrangements to support team members from different backgrounds.Please apply via the button below.OBJECTIVESStrategy

Design and implement operational strategies, plans and processes in line with the Bookmarks vision

Lead annual operational planning for the charity

Lead and develop the target operating model, to be underpinned by robust transformation plans and compelling business cases

Define and implement appropriate operational roles, structures and processes to support the changing needs of Bookmark and to support the anticipated growth and transition of the business

Contribute as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) ensuring collaboration across the charity

Ensure robust monitoring and reporting of operational targets provides assurance to the SLT and trustees of operational effectiveness

Drive a robust risk management culture across the charity

Oversee health and safety adherence across the charity

Operational Excellence

Ensure that safeguarding is at the heart of our operation

Oversee day-to-day operations of the charity and the productivity of the operations team

Accountable for attainment of all operational KPIs, and ensure that team and individual targets are clearly understood and delivered

Maintain and update operational dashboards

Evaluate performance against the targets, reporting on and analysing key data and metrics

Use the data and metrics to develop the target operating model and drive a more effective operation and accurate forecasting

Embed best practice volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and management procedures and standards

Manage the balance of school business development and engagement with the supply of volunteers

Ensure effective change and project management processes are embedded in the operation

Develop and encourage a culture of continuous improvement across all functions, with clear objectives and efficiency gains outlined and delivered

Introduce new innovative processes and systems as required, ensuring scalability and efficiency

Develop and maintain operational policies, procedures and business processes to both internal audit and national standards

Leadership

Lead the operations teams to deliver results in support of the business plan

Responsible for acting as mentor and coach for direct reports, leading by example and developing individuals personal development plans

Lead effective people management and build a culture that ensures the teams thrive

Ensure operational hiring needs are met to deliver the charitys growth ambitions

Deliver succession plans to create high performing teams

Actively encourage innovation and improvement from others

Continually challenge and focus on streamlining processes, making change happen through leadership and changing behaviours and culture

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Extensive experience within operations management, particularly in resourcing or volunteer management

Experience of working in a fast paced, complex work environment with multiple stakeholders

Ability to work both strategically and operationally, avoiding unnecessary complexity

Ability to work under pressure, consistently meeting tight deadlines and able to offer practical solutions

An excellent track record of achieving outstanding levels of effective service delivery, via the development of highly motivated teams operating to high standards of performance

Demonstrable ability to turn strategy into operational performance and an ability to deliver through others

Proven people leadership skills, able to adapt within the start-up mentality and provide tangible guidance to line managers

Ability to articulate a vision clearly and concisely, inspiring others to follow you and live up to their potential

Demonstrable competency in strategic planning and business development

A strong team player, combined with the energy and enthusiasm to drive change and improvement throughout the charity

A performance-driven mindset

Strong strategic, analytical, investigative and problem-solving skillsHig