Chief Operating Officer

The Wye and Usk Foundation

Location. Talgarth (Brecon) / Hybrid
Closing Date. 9 Nov 26

The Wye and Usk Foundation (WUF) is a charitable environmental organisation working to protect and restore the rivers Wye and Usk, their tributaries and the wider catchments.

We’re looking for a practical and forward-thinking Chief Operating Officer (COO) to help us deliver our mission by ensuring the Foundation has the people, systems and organisational capability to operate effectively and achieve its ambitions.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer, Senior Commercial Manager, Board of Trustees and management team, you’ll play a pivotal role in turning strategy into delivery, strengthening organisational performance and ensuring our resources are used effectively to maximise our environmental impact.

About the role

This is a broad senior leadership role for someone who enjoys bringing people, processes and priorities together to make an organisation work well.

You’ll provide oversight of the Foundation’s day-to-day operations, supporting managers to deliver effectively while improving the systems, processes and information that underpin organisational performance.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Operational leadership: Translating strategic priorities into effective operational plans, monitoring performance and driving continuous improvement.
• People and culture: Supporting managers, developing organisational capability and fostering a positive, inclusive and accountable working environment.
• Projects and resources: Overseeing project and programme performance, coordinating resource planning and ensuring commitments to funders and partners are delivered effectively.
• Performance and analysis: Developing clear management information and reporting tools to support decision-making, identify trends and improve organisational effectiveness.
• Organisational development: Strengthening systems, processes and ways of working to support the Foundation’s continued development and long-term sustainability.
• Governance and risk: Ensuring robust arrangements for risk management, compliance, health and safety, and organisational assurance.

You’ll work closely with our Chief Financial Officer on budgets, forecasts and resource planning, ensuring that financial and operational information informs effective decisions. A specialist finance background is not required.

About you

You’re an experienced operational leader who can see the bigger picture while understanding what it takes to turn plans into action. You’re skilled at building strong teams, developing positive working relationships across an organisation and bringing people together around shared goals. You’re comfortable working across different functions, managing competing priorities and creating a collaborative environment where people feel supported, engaged and empowered to deliver their best.

You’ll bring:

• Experience in a senior operational, business management or organisational leadership role.
• Strong planning, organisational and resource management skills.
• The ability to analyse information, monitor performance and turn data into practical insights and decisions.
• Experience of leading and supporting people, improving processes and managing organisational risks.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work with the Executive Team, staff, trustees, funders and external partners.
• Advanced Excel skills, with the ability to analyse data and develop effective management reports and tools.
• A collaborative, pragmatic and solutions-focused approach, with the ability to provide constructive challenge and drive improvement.

Experience in the environmental, charity or not-for-profit sectors would be beneficial. However, we’re equally interested in candidates who can bring strong, transferable operational leadership skills from other sectors.

Why join the Wye and Usk Foundation?

This is an opportunity to take on a key leadership role within a ground-breaking, dynamic and driven organisation. WUF is delivering novel solutions to the significant environmental challenges facing society, our rivers and their catchments. You’ll have the opportunity to shape how the Foundation operates, support a committed team, strengthen our organisational capability and help ensure that our people and resources are focused on delivering lasting results.

If you’re a capable and values-led leader who enjoys making organisations work better and wants your work to contribute to a meaningful purpose, we’d love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact [email protected]

The Wye and Usk Foundation is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.