Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Part-time role - £48,000 - £50,000 per year FTE plus pension. 15 hours per week, usually balanced across 3 or 4 days per week. Reports to Chairman.

Location: Hybrid role. Must reside in Hertfordshire and be flexible to work from Welwyn village office and home as needed. Must have own transportation for occasional meetings / events all over Hertfordshire.

About CPRE Hertfordshire

CPRE Hertfordshire is the countryside charity for Hertfordshire. We campaign to protect, promote and enhance the beautiful countryside across the county for the benefit of everyone. We are an independent charity federated with 40+ county charities and a national office, giving us local, regional and national reach. Our CPRE National Patron is King Charles III.

Job description

We are looking for an exceptional individual who can work with and motivate volunteers, take a strategic view on issues affecting the Hertfordshire countryside and represent CPRE Hertfordshire at events and through media. The role also involves management of a small staff team, the oversight of our Governance including finances, reporting, budget, fundraising, communications and volunteer management.

This is an exciting time to join CPRE Hertfordshire, as the candidate will be able to build and influence the new long-term strategy and annual plan with our Board of Trustees in advance of 2027.

The Chief Executive is responsible for:

1. Contributing to and driving the implementation of CPRE Hertfordshire’s strategy.

2. Delivering effective and efficient operational performance of the charity including robust contingency arrangements.

3. Providing exceptional leadership and management of the team – both paid staff and volunteers – and further growing our volunteer cadre.

4. Delivering the marketing and communications strategy, including membership acquisition and retention communications, email and social media marketing.

5. Leading and managing local Branch campaigns and projects as agreed by the Board of Trustees.

6. Devising and overseeing activities to increase recruitment of new CPRE members.

7. Devising fundraising activities in line with agreed targets in collaboration with the Board of Trustees.

8. Overseeing our planning activities, including interaction with those in national and local government roles and community groups, and ensuring the charity keeps up to date with current national and local planning policy.

9. Attending regular meetings with national CPRE and other county branches to share knowledge, formulate “one CPRE” policy positions, and participate in national campaigns.

10. Ensure that the annual operating budget is met and continually look for cost savings across all lines of expenditure.

11. Ensuring that all risk factors faced by the charity in undertaking its activities are clearly understood and mitigated as appropriate.

12. Ensuring the charity keeps up to date with appropriate external best practices and maintains compliance with relevant charity commission and other regulations such as HSE and GDPR.

Essential

1. Successful track record of organisational leadership from a not-for-profit sector role.

2. Demonstrable evidence of exceptional people and team leadership and management skills.

3. Good communication skills and knowledge of social media and websites to support delivery of a marketing strategy.

4. Experience presenting to large groups, taking part in media interviews and writing formal reports.

5. Experience of operational delivery, a completer-finisher.

6. Good financial management and budgeting skills.

7. Full UK driving license with access to own transportation (for occasional meetings and events around the county).

8. A passion for the countryside and protection of the environment.

Desirable

1. Experience with a variety of digital tools and technologies.

2. Knowledge of income generation/fundraising.

3. Good understanding of marketing and communications.

4. Strong project management skills.

5. Able and committed to taking on new knowledge, in particular of the planning system, sufficient for effective oversight of the planning team and activity.

How to Apply:

Please provide your CV along with a covering statement describing how your achievements, skills and experience match the requirements of the role and apply via Charity Jobs.

Recruitment Timetable and Process

Closing date for applications is Saturday 2nd May 2026 at 11.30pm and we will aim to respond to candidates on first interviews by Friday 8th May 2026. First interviews will be held on Wednesday 20th May at our office in Welwyn Village.