Head of Operations

This is the most senior operational role at YUAF, and it exists to do one thing above all: hold the organisation steady and grow its income, so our Chief Executive can focus on strategy, key donors and the funding pipeline. You will be the person the team comes to, the steady hand behind the scenes that lets the work with young people thrive.

Fundraising sits at the heart of the role. You will build and hold a funder pipeline, develop relationships with trusts, foundations and corporate partners, and work with our contracted bid writer to win the grants that keep our work growing. Income is not a side task here. It is the reason the role exists.

Alongside that, you will own the systems that hold YUAF together. Impact and reporting, so funders see the difference we make and young people's stories are told honestly. Governance and the board cycle, from risk registers to board papers. Business planning and tracking us against our goals. HR, compliance, data protection and the everyday systems that stop good work depending on one person's memory. You will also line-manage four programme leads, running one-to-ones, appraisals and the honest conversations that help people grow.

You will not be doing this alone. We have a Finance Lead, the Chief Executive holds contracts and co-leads recruitment, and we bring in specialist HR advice when we need it.

The shape of the role. It starts at four days a week, with a settling period built in. Your first months are for learning how YUAF really works, getting close to the programmes, and spending real time with young people and the Studio Bus. Our quietest season runs across the winter, which gives you room to find your feet before delivery picks up again in spring. The role is designed to grow. As YUAF grows, and as income allows, it is intended to move to full time and develop into our Chief Operating Officer. We would rather appoint someone who outgrows this description than someone who fits it exactly.

How we work. We are a cause, not a company, and it shows in how we treat each other. We look after our team the way we look after young people. Wellbeing is part of how we run, not a perk. We work flexibly and mainly remotely, with a team day in London each week. For part of the quieter months, around December to March, our Chief Executive works abroad, and in those stretches you are the senior presence for the team here, so being able to show up in person when it matters counts.

Who we are looking for. Someone calm under pressure and organised to a level others rely on. Someone who builds systems, not just runs them, who diagnoses before they fix, and who brings the solution with the problem. Experience of fundraising and of the youth or arts world is welcome, though not essential. What matters most is range, judgement and the drive to grow with the role.

If you want a role with real purpose, real ownership and real room to grow, this is it.

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