Group Board Member and Chair of Finance & Resources Committee - Dimensions Group (Remunerated Position)

Dimensions is a large and complex organisation supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people, including those with complex needs. We enable thousands of people to have greater choice and control over their lives. The people we support, tenants and their families are at the heart of everything we do, and we want every one of them to have a great life with excellent outcomes.

As part of our programme of rotation, one of our Board Members (and Chair of Finance & Resources Committee) is coming to the end of their term and we are now looking to replace them, bringing fresh ideas and experience to a strong and motivated Board. As one of the largest providers of support in England and Wales, our Board Members play a crucial role in ensuring that Dimensions continues to thrive, and to deliver our strategy of Even Better Lives for Even More People. This is an exciting time to join the Board – we are celebrating our 50th year and we will be developing our new strategy (2027-2032), giving you the opportunity to help us shape the future of this important organisation.

Operating in the highly regulated care and social housing sectors, our Group Board works in conjunction with our Group Executive Team to deliver our Vision and Strategy, they provide scrutiny and challenge and work hard to ensure that Dimensions adheres to its purpose and mission.

The conditions we operate within continue to be challenging. This is a sector that is both undervalued and under invested in. Recruitment is tough. Too many people with learning disabilities and autistic people are living a life that they wouldn’t choose for themselves.

We are seeking to appoint a Board Member who is an accountant by profession, with a proven ability to lead finance functions in large complex organisations. We are open minded about the sectors you have worked in, more important is the ability to operate at scale and to understand the challenges of working in a low margin business in regulated sectors. Comfortable operating at Board level, your experience as a Chair/NED/Trustee will enable you to lead our Finance and Resources Committee.

Most importantly, you will share our values and commitment for providing high-quality, person-centred support. You will be driven to use the skills and experience you have developed both professionally and personally to play a key role in the leadership of Dimensions. You will join a talented and well-run Board and Leadership Team to help us to continue to ensure that the people we support are at the heart of all the decisions we make.

Dimensions is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

For more information on the role, please click here or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at dimensions@vbsearch.co.uk.

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Operations Director (North) Linkage Community Trust

The Linkage Community Trust was established in 1976, born from the recognition that for many people with varying degrees of learning disability, there is a shortage of appropriate support for them to lead full, creative and purposeful lives in their community. We’ve now been successfully supporting people for nearly fifty years. We deliver high quality care, day services, employability services, sensory outreach and specialist further education throughout Greater Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

Following a restructure, we have added the position Operations Director (North) to our Executive Leadership Team. We are driven by the desire to run services across the whole charity which provide the best possible outcomes across the portfolio of Care, Day Services and Education. Reporting to the CEO, you will have a broad remit and a large team, you will instil a culture of continuous improvement. You will ensure the students and the people we support are at the centre of decision making whilst ensuring all our services are financially sustainable.

This is a broad and unusual role, working across care, day services and education. We are interested in speaking with people who have experience in one or more of these areas but are open minded about the ideal profile. Your strong leadership skills (from care, specialist education or both) will combine with a values driven approach. You may be currently at Director level or taking a step up in your career. Most importantly you will share our passion for ensuring that people with learning disabilities and autistic people lead full, creative and purposeful lives in their community.

The Linkage Community Trust is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at linkage@vbsearch.co.uk.

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Trustees - Making Space

For more than 40 years, Making Space has been supporting people with care needs and their carers to live independent and fulfilling lives. From Cumbria to Cambridge, we deliver support where people need it — in their homes, local communities, and through specialist services. We cater to people with a variety of health and social care needs, from complex mental health challenges and learning disabilities to dementia and older age. With a talented workforce of 1,000 people and a turnover of c£35 million, we are able to support around 10,000 people every year.

Our trustees have played an integral part in our success to date. We are now recruiting three new board members to help us to continue to develop the charity in supporting more people to lead great lives.

We are interested in your skills and experience but also your drive and passion. We are keen to speak to people from a broad range of sectors and professional backgrounds. Do you have any of the following experience?

• Lived or professional experience of the communities we serve

• Senior leadership experience within Local Government

• Strategic IT within complex organisations

• Business Development at a strategic level

We are also always keen to welcome people who have lived experience of caring for the people we support or accessing services similar to those we provide. Your approach as a strategic, values-driven leader is ultimately most important to us, whatever sector/s you have worked in.

You will need to bring experience of working at a senior level, with some Board level exposure but you may well not have been a Trustee before. That experience will have given you an ability to apply your commercial skills and behaviours to an organisation passionate about delivering its mission. Ours is a complex charity and we need Trustees who embrace and enjoy working with organisations which are multi-faceted, challenging to run, yet which deliver amazing and highly rewarding outcomes.

To reflect our ambition and commitment to be more representative at Board level, we particularly encourage and welcome applications from people with a disability, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people from the LGBTQ+ community.  

For more information on these exciting roles, please click here or for an informal confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654 or by email at makingspace@vbsearch.co.uk.

Interim Chief Operating Officer - National Autistic Society

The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for autistic people. Since 1962, we’ve been transforming lives, changing attitudes and helping to create a society that works for autistic adults and children.

We transform lives by providing support, guidance and practical advice for the 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK, as well as their three million family members and carers. Autistic people turn to us at key moments or challenging times in their lives, be it getting a diagnosis, going to school or finding work.

We are looking for an interim Chief Operating Officer to take on a critical role at the NAS, to continue to drive our Corporate Services forward to achieve the efficiencies we need to thrive for many years to come. You will be a qualified accountant, your financial leadership skills will be supplemented by a proven ability to strategically lead the key areas HR, IT, Estates and PMO.

You will have experience of leading finance and other disciplines in a large, complex charity ideally in social care, education, health or another related area. You will be passionate about change, dedicated to ensuring we use the right systems in the best possible way to get great results. You will share our passion for providing high quality education and support for autistic people. If this sounds exciting, please click here to learn more.

The contract will be for 6 months, starting around the middle of May. The role is home based, with some travel for Board meetings etc.  If you would like to arrange an initial conversation, please email rob.hilyer@vbsearch.co.uk or call on 07952 316 654.

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Interim Service Improvement - North London

We are working with a large national charity to source a service improvement specialist to turnaround a small operation in North London. The charity supports adults with learning disabilities, there are concerns about the support being provided. The successful candidate will need to quickly assess the challenges and find solutions. Leadership skills will be important, through the team you will need to drive the improvement needed to make the service great.
This is an immediate start, if you are potentially interested and available to start work quickly (in North London) please get in touch ASAP.

Interim Assistant Director (Wales)

Exciting opportunity to join a large social care charity to lead turnaround work in South Wales. We are looking for someone who has worked at a senior level in Wales, giving them exposure to the CIW (Care Inspectorate Wales) regulations. You will need a proven ability to lead services which are in need of improvement.
The salary will be in the region of £80k/annum, we may well be able to offer accommodation expenses for the right person.
If this could be of interest to you, please get in touch asap as CVs will be assessed on receipt.

Interim People Director - Southwest (social care)

Our client, a medium sized social care charity in the southwest is looking for an immediately available interim Director of People. I am interested in speaking with HR professionals who bring experience in change, transformation and employee relations. This will be a fixed term contract for around 6 months. Some experience of social care or a related area would be beneficial but not essential. Please get in touch asap for more details.

Interim Head of Estates

Our client, a large national social care provider is looking for an interim manager to lead on the strategic and operational management of their estate of properties, some of which are owned and some leased.
Experience of social care would be useful but not essential. Experience around renewals, acquisitions and disposals of property will be important, as well as the ability to manage a maintenance team.
The contract will initially be for 6 months (could go permanent) and will be on a FTC at c£70k and is home based with some national travel.

We are looking for someone who can start quite quickly, if you would like more information please get in touch asap.

Chair - Avenues Group

Avenues is a community where people smile, laugh and grow – and achieve great things. We love to go the extra mile for people, building confidence and encouraging individuality and independence so people enjoy full, happy lives.

We are a charity that specialises in supporting autistic people, people with learning disability, acquired brain injury and complex support needs.

We do this by supporting and promoting people’s intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual welfare, with around 2,000 staff and a turnover of £67 million, supporting around 650 people with social care across our subsidiaries in the South East, West Midlands, London and the East of England.

We have exciting plans; we have grown steadily in recent years through a series of acquisitions and through organic growth, but we have no intention of standing still. Guided by our commitment to dignity, high standards, ethical practice and pride in what we do, we will continue to seek opportunities to deliver excellent outcomes for more people through diversifying our services and expanding the locations we operate in, ensuring we do so with compassion and with a focus on helping people feel connected and a true sense of belonging.

Following a hugely successful tenure, our Chair Terry Rich will be standing down this year, leaving a high performing, diverse and dedicated Board of Trustees. We are now seeking to appoint a new Chair, who will bring the leadership skills which will help us navigate an evolving social care landscape with confidence and creativity.

As Chair, you will provide strategic leadership, uphold the highest standards of governance, and guide the Board and Executive Team to achieve Avenues’ ambitions for sustainable growth, financial resilience, and continued excellence. The Chair will ensure effective decision‑making, support a collaborative and values‑driven culture, and act as an ambassador for Avenues with key stakeholders.

You will need some understanding of social care, which could come through lived or professional experience. You are likely to have held significant leadership positions in large complex organisations. Your financial acumen, political awareness and commercial sensibility will help us to grow, to support more people to live the lives they choose and deserve.

The Avenues Group is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at avenues@vbsearch.co.uk.

Chief Growth and Service Development Officer - Avenues Group

Avenues is a community where people smile, laugh and grow – and achieve great things. We love to go the extra mile for people, building confidence and encouraging individuality and independence so people enjoy full, happy lives.

We are a charity that specialises in supporting autistic people, people with learning disability, acquired brain injury and complex support needs.

We do this by supporting and promoting people’s intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual welfare, with around 2,000 staff supporting around 650 people with social care across our subsidiaries in the South East, West Midlands, London and the East of England.

We have exciting plans for the future; we have grown steadily in recent years through a series of acquisitions and through organic growth. We are able to retain contracts and win new business because of the quality of our services and the outcomes they achieve. We are now adding this exciting new post to our Executive Team to enable us to achieve our goal to support more people.

As Chief Growth and Service Development Officer, you will report directly to the Chief Executive and play a pivotal role in driving the organisation’s growth agenda, overseeing property services, leading business development initiatives including fundraising and the incubation of non-core business services. You will be responsible for expanding Avenues’ reach, diversifying income streams, and ensuring the sustainability and excellence of our property portfolio and asset management.

You will have significant experience of winning new business in social care or a related area and will bring a passion and drive for developing new services and income streams. You will have knowledge of property services and an understanding of fundraising and the ability to lead teams in areas where you are not the expert but can inspire your managers to grow and develop their teams.

The Avenues Group is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here , or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at avenues@vbsearch.co.uk.

Executive Director - Bettertogether

Bettertogether is an independent not for profit organisation solely focussed on running Shared Lives Schemes. We were set up in 2016 and now hold contracts to run Shared Lives in Newham, Havering and Thurrock, supporting around 100 people to live as part of a Shared Lives household.

Shared lives is an innovative type of Adult Social Care offering support and accommodation for vulnerable adults provided by trained and approved Shared Lives carers from their own homes. Registered with CQC to provide personal care, the outcomes are fantastic.

·         Employment opportunities for local people.

·         Support for vulnerable adults in the heart of their community.

·         Flexible, person centred, individually tailored support.

·         Good value for local authorities.

As the Executive Director of Bettertogether, you will have overall responsibility for the smooth running and continued quality of the organisation. You will have experience of adult social care, although not necessarily in Shared Lives schemes. You will bring some prior knowledge and understanding of HR, IT, Finance and staff leadership. We don’t expect you to know it all, but you will need a real passion for learning. You will be excited by the prospect of leading all areas of this small, wonderful organisation.

This is an unusual opportunity, you may not have led an organisation like it before but if you share our passion for Shared Lives and are excited by the prospect of a broad and varied job, please click here for more information.

Bettertogether is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

For for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at bettertogether@vbsearch.co.uk.

Director of Support, Quality & Partnerships - Havencare

Join Us in Shaping Extraordinary, Ordinary Lives

Havencare began in Plymouth in 1987 with a bold ambition: to support people with learning disabilities to move out of long-stay institutions and into homes and lives that offered dignity, autonomy, and opportunity. Nearly 40 years on, that ambition has grown into a powerful, modern charity that now supports people across Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall to live rich, connected, extraordinary, ordinary lives.

Today, Havencare is evolving. We are modernising, strengthening our foundations, and expanding the impact we can have for the people and communities we serve. As part of this transformation, we are delighted to be recruiting our Director of Support, Quality & Partnerships, a pivotal role that will help shape our future direction and the experience of everyone we support.

This is an exciting opportunity for a values-driven leader who wants to be part of something meaningful. You’ll bring expertise in delivering and improving CQC-regulated services, ideally across a dispersed geography, and you’ll be motivated by the chance to influence quality, culture, partnerships and innovation. Your background may be in learning disability, autism services, or another area of social care; you may already be an experienced Director, or you may be stepping into your first executive role. What matters most is your commitment to our vision and your belief that every person deserves opportunities, experiences and connections that make life uniquely their own.

This is a hybrid role: you’ll be in Plymouth weekly, spend time in our services, and also benefit from the flexibility to work from home. Havencare embraces flexible working, with options including compressed hours, to help colleagues balance life and work in the way that suits them best.

Havencare is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and backgrounds will strengthen our organisation and enrich our leadership.

If you’re looking for a role where your leadership can create real, human impact and where ambition, compassion and collaboration truly matter we would love to hear from you.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here, or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at havencare@vbsearch.co.uk.

Interim Head of Quality - Large National Charity

We are working with a large national charity to recruit an interim Head of Quality on a fixed term contract for 6 months. We are interested in speaking with people who are immediately or quickly available who can demonstrate the ability to lead a Quality team through a time of change and transformatiuon. It is likely that the appointed candidate will have significant exposure to and experience of leading quality in CQC regulated services, probably in social care.

If this sounds interesting, please get in touch straight away using interim@vbsearch.co.uk

Interim Operations Consultant - Social Care

Interim Operations Consultant - Social Care (starting in January)
We are working with a charity in the South to recruit an interim leader who can join at a time of some change and transformation. Interested in speaking with people who have a demonstrable ability to lead restructures, whilst maintaining quality of services. You could have experience as an Ops Director or CEO but will need a good understanding of social care.
The role could be on a day rate (outside ir35) or a fixed term contract and it is likely to be three days a week for about three months.
Although starting in January, we are keen to make an appointment before Christmas, so if it sounds interesting please get in touch ASAP.

Chief Executive Officer - The Aldingbourne Trust

The Aldingbourne Trust is unique and inspiring, with a laser focus on providing opportunities for autistic people and people with a learning disability to live great lives, contributing to their communities and fulfilling their ambitions.

Our model is innovative and evolving, the organisation is complex and multi-faceted and delivers outcomes of which we are truly proud. We use social enterprises to attract visitors and customers, to drive revenue to the organisation. These enterprises provide training and development for people with disabilities – who are front and centre of everything we do. The more successful they are, the more we can reinvest our profits to create more opportunities.

After years of visionary leadership and dedication, our inspirational CEO Sue Livett will be stepping down next year, leaving behind a powerful legacy of inclusion, innovation and impact. The Aldingbourne Trust is a thriving successful charity, do you want to take it to the next level?

You will be primarily based at the Aldingbourne Country Centre, which is situated next to the South Downs Park and attracts around 80,000 visitors a year. You will have responsibility for the Centre, as well as our broad portfolio of services, all designed to help disabled people to learn, develop and thrive. You will have the emotional intelligence to learn the Aldingbourne way, where colleagues are treated respectfully at all times but to challenge where required. It is a cliché, but no two days will be the same.

It is likely that our next CEO will bring experience of the world of social care, but we are open minded about where this experience comes from. Your understanding of the challenges and opportunities for our organisation, could come from your time working in a social care provider large or small.  You could be an experienced CEO looking for a new challenge or could be currently at Director level in a larger organisation and looking for the chance to lead a charity for the first time.  You might have experience gained in the public sector at a local or national level.

You will need to be creative, entrepreneurial and innovative. We operate in a tough climate and we cannot stand still; we must keep evolving. Our organisation exists to change people lives, the more we grow the more impact we will have. Most importantly, you will share our values and passion for creating community based opportunities for the people we support.

The Aldingbourne Trust is committed to championing equity, diversity and inclusion throughout all aspects of the organisation’s work. As part of this, the Board has made a commitment to achieving greater diversity.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here, or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at aldingbourne@vbsearch.co.uk.

Interim Head of Finance

Our client is a well established, household name charity supporting young people, operating all over England and Wales. They have broad revenue streams, with a relatively complicated mixture of commercial revenue and fundraised income. During a period of transformation, they are seeking to appoint an interim Head of Finance who will lead and improve their current finance function. Leading a smallish team, you will need to have a hands on approach and a real eye for detail.
The contract is likely to be for at least 6 months; salary will be c£70k and the client is happy to discuss hybrid options although some presence in their Midlands office will be required.

For more information, please get in touch asap - interim@vbsearch.co.uk

Assistant Director, People - National Autistic Society

The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for autistic people. Since 1962, we’ve been transforming lives, changing attitudes and helping to create a society that works for autistic adults and children.

We transform lives by providing support, guidance and practical advice for the 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK, as well as their 3 million family members and carers. Autistic people turn to us at key moments or challenging times in their lives, be it getting a diagnosis, going to school or finding work.

We are and should be very proud of the positive impact we are having on the people we support, their families, their friends and their communities.  However, the climate for social care providers is challenging and as part of our response we have restructured our leadership group to create the exciting position of Assistant Director, People.

Reporting up to the Executive Leadership Team, supervised by our Chief Operating Officer, you will lead the people team to provide HR support across the organisation. Your leadership skills, combined with your experience of improving people functions will enable you to ensure we continue to innovate and enhance our reputation internally and externally. Our people are our biggest asset, we are committed to being an employer of choice in the sectors we operate in.

You will bring significant experience, gained at a senior level in social care, education or other parts of the charity sector which have a large workforce.  You will need to demonstrate a passion for serving internal customers well. We need you to assist the NAS in delivering a dynamic people strategy which will enable us to adapt to the workforce challenges currently facing the sector. Most importantly, you will share our passion for supporting autistic people and their families.

We are passionate about supporting autistic people into work, and particularly welcome applications from autistic people. We help autistic people from all backgrounds and strive to represent the same diversity in our staff and volunteers. We particularly encourage applications from people from all minority groups, who are currently under-represented in our workforce. Together, we can create a society that works for autistic people.  

For more information on this exciting opportunity, please click here, or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at NAS@vbsearch.co.uk

Executive Director for Service Growth - National Star

National Star is a vibrant national charity providing high quality education, personal development, care, accommodation and support services for young adults with complex disabilities and learning difficulties. At National Star, we are driven by our vision for a world in which people with disabilities can realise their potential as equal and active citizens in control of their lives. This sits at the heart of everything we do, from the personalised and world-class learning we provide via National Star College to training, specialist services and our work in the wider community. All of this is underpinned by both our passion to enrich people’s lives and by our moral and statutory responsibilities.

National Star is a complex organisation, with a projected turnover of c£50 million for 2025/26 and more than 1,300 colleagues. We have multiple regulators in England and Wales, we are commercially strong, but our margins are tight, so we must ensure that everything we do is carefully monitored and evaluated. Every pound we spend must help us to deliver better outcomes for the people we support and educate year after year.

Due to the quality of our services and the outcomes they deliver we have enjoyed several years of organic growth, improving our reputation and allowing us to support more people. Because of this sustainable, managed growth we are adding this exciting new role to our Executive Team. Our Executive Director for Service Growth will be accountable for the expansion and delivery of our services across the UK. You will be instrumental in our drive to win new business, developing relationships with the key commissioners and seeking out opportunities. You will have a belief in the power of partnership working and the diversification of services. You will have a keen eye for an opportunity and a passion for winning business; your operational background will enable you to provide support to the Service Directors.

You will bring considerable experience at a senior level of delivering services for people with learning and/or physical disabilities, in social care or education. You will have an operational background but will be able to evidence an ability to lead growth. Your strategic mindset will enable you to work across the whole organisation, spotting and exploiting opportunities for growth and development. Most importantly, you will share our values and commitment for providing high quality, person centred support and learning.

To reflect our ambition and commitment to be more representative at Executive level, we particularly encourage and welcome applications from people with a disability, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people from the LGBTQ+ community.  

For more information on the role, please click here, or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please contact Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at nationalstar@vbsearch.co.uk.

Interim Director of Support - Social Care

Our client, a well established provider of care and support is looking for an experienced Director to lead a large patch of services spread mainly across the South of England, with some in the Midlands. We are looking for an interim who brings significant experience of helping to turn around struggling services, who can demonstrate the ability to work with other senior managers to improve quality.

We are looking for an interim who can start quickly, a lot of the work will be home based but you will also need to be happy to travel. The role will initially be for around 4 months, CVs will be assessed on receipt so if you are interested please get in touch asap.

Head of Business Development (Bids & Tenders) - West Cenral London Mind

West Central London Mind are currently seeking a Head of Business Development (Bids and Tenders) to join their busy Business Development team.

You'll lead on coordinating, writing and submitting applications to win contracts and funding to resource projects, enabling us to both expand and sustain mental health and wellbeing services.

With a track record of successful applications under your belt (in health or social care), you'll bring a sharp eye for detail and exemplary organisation, project management and analytical skills. You'll also be required to create realistic budgets and work well under pressure to deliver within set deadlines.

Each application will involve working alongside a range of people at all levels to ensure that we capture the best data and outcomes to create compelling, innovative and winning bids, so the ability to relate, negotiate and examine will also be key skills that we are looking for.

West Central London Mind is committed to championing equity, diversity and inclusion throughout all aspects of the organisation’s work. As part of this the charity has made a commitment to achieving greater diversity.

For more information on the role, please click here, or for an informal, confidential discussion with our recruitment partners at VBS, please call Rob Hilyer on 07952 316 654, or by email at wclmind@vbsearch.co.uk