General Manager - Northwood House Charitable Trust Company Ltd

Northwood House Charitable Trust Company Limited is looking to appoint a General Manager.

Northwood House is a Grade II* listed building dating from the 18th Century, set within beautiful parkland and gardens.

Since 2012 the House and Park has been under the guardianship of Northwood House Charitable Trust Company Limited, the sole Trustee of the Northwood House Charitable Trust which now owns the estate.

We provide public pleasure grounds and amenities, including car parks and recreational facilities, as well as restoring, conserving and maintaining a property with significant historical and architectural merit.

Our commercial activities cover a wide and varied range of entertainment and events, designed not only to contribute to the financial stability of the Charity, but also aimed at the provision of services and enjoyment for a wide range of demographics within the community.

The role of the General Manager is one of overall operational leadership – providing day‑to‑day oversight and management of all aspects of the business and estate.

You will need to lead and develop the existing professional and highly enthusiastic in‑house team in all aspects of their responsibilities – helped and supported by the Board of Directors as well as an army of volunteers.

You will be required to plan and deliver solid financial results whilst delivering exceptional customer experiences when the House hosts social events, business conferences, recreational and festive activities.

Good advocacy skills are essential – you will be the representative of the Charity to the whole Cowes community, as well as to the many island‑wide stakeholders who have involvement with the Charity’s activities.

You will also have significant involvement in coordinating and managing the Charity’s ongoing works of restoration and improvement to the estate. Experience in working in the charitable and/or heritage sectors would therefore be advantageous although by no means essential.

The salary package will reflect the responsibilities and seniority of the position of General Manager and the experience and qualifications of the successful application. Relocation expenses may be available by agreement for an appropriate candidate.

For a full job spec and further information please visit northwoodhouse.org.

Northwood House Charitable Trust Company Limited is committed to fair, lawful and transparent recruitment. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic. All information provided by candidates is handled in line with current data protection legislation and used only for recruitment and monitoring purposes. Any offer of employment will be subject to confirmation of the successful candidate’s legal right to work in the UK and completion of pre‑employment checks.

Job Purpose

The General Manager is responsible for leading, directing and producing the day‑to‑day activities of NHCTCL. They will report to the Chair of the Board of Directors, with whom they are expected to develop an effective working relationship.

Main Duties / Responsibilities

• Managing and overseeing the daily activities of the Charity and its staff, ensuring that it is run effectively and efficiently.
• Working effectively with the Charity’s staff and volunteers to maintain and improve the House and Park.
• Working with the board in preparing a strategic plan.
• Preparing an annual budget for approval by the Board of Directors.
• Monitoring key indicators of the Charity’s financial health and responding appropriately.
• Delivering the Charity’s business plan and, if necessary, helping the Charity to win new business from public and private bodies and the local community.
• Representing the organisation at external events and publicity opportunities within the community and media.
• Understanding all contracts and funding arrangements and ensuring that all services are delivered in accordance with contractual requirements.
• Managing resources effectively and undertaking responsibility for staff recruitment, induction training, monitoring performance, managing absence, and conducting appraisals and supervisions.
• Developing and maintains effective reporting, recording, and monitoring systems.
• Managing the health and safety of staff, volunteers and visitors to the House and Park.
• Ensuring the Charity and NHCTCL fulfil their legal, statutory, and regulatory responsibilities.
• Undertaking all reporting for the Board, ensuring that reports are produced and delivered to meet required deadlines, attending Board Meetings to present reports and updating the Board on service outcomes and new opportunities.
• Managing the complaints process and actioning any learning outcomes.
• Managing and appraising staff performance, supporting their development, and resolving any specific performance issues in a timely manner with the support of our external HR provider as appropriate.
• Holding regular team meetings promoting staff engagement.
• Developing own personal skills, knowledge and experience and maintaining an awareness of the internal and external environment in which Northwood House Charitable Trust Company Ltd operates.

Key skills

Leadership skills: A prime role of the General Manager is to motivate staff and volunteers and personal drive and energy is required to achieve this.

Advocacy skills: As the public face of the Charity, the General Manager needs to be able to effectively promote its aims.

Excellent interpersonal skills: The General Manager will need to build effective relationships with a variety of people within both the Charity and the wider community.

Financial acumen: The General Manager must set and operate a budget.

A quick learner: The General Manager will need some prior knowledge of the Charity, but also, once in post, must quickly appraise themselves of the structure and function of the organisation and respond accordingly.

Flexibility: The Charity is a relatively complex organisation and its activities are wide ranging in scope and timing, meaning the General Manager’s role and working hours must be adaptable to organisational needs.

Flexibility statement

This job description represents an outline of the intended role. It is NHCTCL practice to review the job description annually as part of the employee appraisal process. The job description should be read in conjunction with NHCTCL policies and procedures.

Person Specification

Job Title: General Manager

Criteria: E = Essential, D = Desirable

Assessed: A = Application, I = Interview, T = Test

Experience & Knowledge (may have been gained via paid or voluntary work)

• A minimum of two years’ experience in a comparable leadership role or the ability to demonstrate comparable competence.
• Managing a built environment or similar entity, ideally in the heritage or charitable sector.
• Providing customer service to internal / external customers.
• Significant experience of operating in an environment where high levels of organisational skills were required.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to liaise effectively with staff, volunteers and members of the public as well as representatives of external entities.
• Very strong time management skills with the ability to prioritise and manage conflicting priorities in an effective way.
• Be able to demonstrate through experience the competence, maturity and knowledge required to manage a team of staff and volunteers, make decisions, solve problems and manage time effectively whilst being creative, resourceful, assertive, and flexible.
• Previous experience working in a heritage environment or similar and/or the charitable sector will be a significant advantage.
• Experience of seeking grant funding and/or delivering outcomes in accordance with the provision of such grants.

Qualifications & Training (may equate to levels of experience)

• Leadership or equivalent qualification/experience.
• Hold other relevant qualifications, particularly in relation to the charitable or heritage sector.

Skills & Attributes

• Flexible in approach, adaptable and encouraging of new ideas.
• Able and willing to adapt working hours and patterns to the needs of the organisation.
• Fully IT literate.
• Working with and supporting others as part of a team.
• Ability to take ownership and personal responsibility for your actions.
• Acting with honesty and integrity in all interactions.
• Innovative; able to identify and respond to new challenges.
• Ability to handle confidential information with absolute discretion.

Other Requirements

• Able to work between the House and Park and other locations as may be required.
• Full driving licence and daily access to a vehicle.

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