JOB DESCRIPTION CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - Lumos Foundation
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JOB DESCRIPTION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
ABOUT LUMOS
Lumos is an international children’s charity founded in 2005 by children’s author J.K. Rowling to end the
harmful practice of institutionalisation of children. Lumos’ mission is to fight for every child’s right to a family
by transforming care systems around the world. Our vision is for all children to grow up in safe and loving
families.
Despite clear evidence of the harms of institutionalisation, an estimated 5.4 million children worldwide
continue to live in institutions. Separated from their families and communities, these children are deprived of
the love, attention and opportunities they need to thrive. We’ve made important progress in closing harmful
institutions and reuniting children with their families. And where children are unable to live with their birth
families, we promote alternative family-based care, such as kinship care and quality foster care. Thanks to our
tireless efforts alongside many other champions of care reform, the harms of institutionalisation are now more
widely understood. A global movement is underway and the UN, the EU and some large development agencies
have joined individual countries in pledging to change how they care for vulnerable children. We are
committed to ensuring that global policy commitments are translated into local action, leading to sustainable
change for vulnerable children.
1
Over the past 15 years Lumos has worked directly in different countries around the world to demonstrate that
it is possible to change systems of care and fulfil children’s rights. Building on our heritage and direct
experience of systems reform, our new strategy focuses on sharing learning with others to reach more children
and amplify the impacts of our work on children’s lives. Our new strategy for 2021-2023 has three priorities:
Building Global Expertise: We’ll use our knowledge and experience to support those responsible for reforming
care systems in their own countries. This will include providing technical support, evidence and guidance to
help design and run better care systems, as well as learning exchanges where they can share experiences and
challenges.
Catalysing Change: We’ll use evidence to motivate and press governments to reform the way they care for
children. This will involve leading targeted research and advocacy campaigns to identify and tackle the drivers
of institutionalisation, promoting accountability by tracking and highlighting progress, and influencing
international funding, programmes and policy.
Demonstrating & Innovating: Building on our heritage of successful programmes showing how care systems
can be reformed, we’ll use what we’ve learnt in the past to support partners with their own reform efforts.
Over the next two years, as we complete our current country demonstration work in Eastern Europe, we’ll
identify programmes in new regions – building expertise and evidence of what good care reform looks like in
new and challenging contexts, particularly for those children that typically get left behind.
Find out more about our work at www.wearelumos.org [add link to 12-page strategy]
And hear some of our stories here:
www.wearelumos.org/stories/2020/05/19/back-loving-home
www.wearelumos.org/stories/2019/12/19/promise-education-diegos-story
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES SUPPORTING THE STRATEGY
During the past year, Lumos has carried out three major reviews: a culture review; a governance review; and
an organisational review. Action plans have been developed to implement the recommendations of these
reviews, providing strong foundations for our strategy for 2021-23. There is a high level of commitment from
trustees and staff to the change programme and to delivery of our bold new strategy and plans for the next
phase of Lumos’ development.
The culture review was conducted by external consultants. It provided a rigorous, independent assessment of
culture within Lumos and recommended better ways of working. The consultants, along with trustees, staff
and senior managers formulated a shared plan of action to ensure the charity has the leadership, systems,
processes, values and ways of working to operate effectively as a global charity. An implementation group
meets fortnightly to review progress and highlight areas for further collaboration or of concern.
The governance review was carried out by Lumos’s auditors. It focused on board composition, committee
structure, global relationships and the board’s effectiveness. The review found that many of the elements of
good governance were in place and recommended a quarterly reporting process based on an organisational
results framework which had been developed; some revisions to the committee structure; and increased liaison
with the Lumos Foundation USA. Most of the recommendations have now been implemented.
2The need for an organisational review arose from an increasingly challenging fundraising environment
compounded by the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic. The review was designed to explore how
Lumos could achieve maximum impact for children whilst keeping within the framework of the financial
resources likely to be available to it. The review commenced in April 2020 and included a situational analysis
both internal to Lumos and externally and an appraisal of alternative potential operating models. The process
was highly participative with trustees joining staff in working groups and seminars. The organizational review
provided the evidence base and framework for our new strategy.
The board accepted the principal recommendation that during 2020-21 (or as grants expire) Lumos should
safely transition away from its current country demonstration work in Eastern Europe and refocus our activities
around three priority areas: Building Global Expertise (through developing our offer of systems change,
technical advice and knowledge exchange); Catalyzing Change (through original research and advocacy);
Demonstratration and Innovation (capturing transferable learning from direct programmatic work). This will
achieve impact for children through partnerships and activities designed to build governments’ and other
stakeholders’ capacity to lead national care reform. Future demonstration programmes will be strategically
selected to maximise learning and potential for wider replication.
The review also made recommendations to simplify and clarify Lumos’ structure; to bring its income and
expenditure into balance by the end of 2022; and to locate the leadership of the fundraising function in the UK
whilst maintaining a more limited capacity in the US. These recommendations were accepted and are
currently being implemented.
The current interim chief executive was appointed in September 2019 with a remit to see through these three
reviews and commence implementation of the recommendations including the immediate staff changes. That
work is well underway and the exciting task of implementing the new strategy can commence. Trustees have
decided that the time is now right to appoint a permanent chief executive to deliver the ambition of the new
strategy and lead Lumos to the next stage of its development.
Role Description
Leadership
• Mobilise the organization to achieve our mission with a focus on the three priorities of our new
strategy: Building Global Expertise; Catalysing Change, Demonstrating and Innovating.
• Nurture a thriving organisation where people are passionate about their work and strive for excellence
in everything they do. Be a champion for the work of the Culture Review Implementation Group in
creating a people centered culture.
• Strengthen our fundraising strategy and income generation, ensuring sustainable and diverse sources
of income and resilience in the face of the effects of the global pandemic
• Lead, empower and develop the Executive Leadership team to deliver our strategy and model our
values
• Build Lumos’ profile and credibility as a thought leader in the field of child rights and care reform.
Finance and Fundraising
• Ensure plans to bring income and expenditure into balance are delivered through a robust fundraising
strategy and achievement of fundraising targets.
3• Give active and significant support to Lumos fundraisers and take a leading part in the cultivation of
potential and actual donors. Support the Director to diversify the fundraising base and ensure
sustainability.
• Engage with corporates and high net worth individuals, attracting new donors and continuing to grow
the charity’s partnership base and international network.
• Be accountable to the Board for strategic finance and operational financial management, consolidating
financial stability, efficiency and impact.
Governance
• With the support of the Board of Trustees and in collaboration with the General Counsel oversee the
implementation of the recommendations from the governance review.
• Ensure the Board are enabled fully to carry out their role and that governance meets the highest
possible standards, that Lumos is fully compliant in all areas.
• Ensure robust project planning and reporting are championed and embedded through the new
Programme Management Office
Systems Change & Programmes
• Support the new Director of Global Systems Change to develop an effective strategy for sharing our
learning so that Governments and partners have the appropriate tools, resources and understanding to
create meaningful change.
• Support the Director of Programmes to deliver a portfolio of excellent services for children, ensuring
safe and successful transition of current country programmes and documentation of transferable
learning. Support the Director of Programmes to deliver safe and quality services in line with annual
plans and donor requirement
Evidence and Advocacy
• Engage and influence multiple stakeholders nationally and internationally within central, national and
local governments, with the commercial sector, the voluntary sector and in the media, enhancing the
visibility of Lumos and its ability to inspire social change.
• Guide the formulation of the organisation’s position with a view to influencing policy that achieves
change in line with Lumos’ priorities.
• Represent the work of Lumos at the highest levels with partners, across the political spectrum and
globally; act as a champion and advocate for the organisation externally.
• Champion original research to deepen understanding of the drivers of institutionalisation and identify
opportunities for prevention.
• Oversee the measurement and evaluation of our work to achieve the appropriate reporting of
demonstrable impact.
Partnerships
• Strong commitment to working in partnership with other leading actors in this field.
• Develop an approach to partnership working that advances the work and impact of the organisation,
convenes diverse stakeholders and enables the organisation to act as a catalyst for social change.
• Foster positive relations with all stakeholders including
4Person Specification
Experience, Knowledge and Skills
• Professional qualifications and experience in a relevant field coupled with sound senior leadership in an
NGO or public body.
• Demonstrable knowledge and credibility as a leader in the field of children’s services, child rights or
child protection
• Global mindset and experience of working in diverse systems and with diverse groups and cultures.
• An experienced people leader with a track record of successfully building high performing teams and a
culture of equality, diversity and inclusion
• Financial acumen, with experience of income generation and appreciation of the complexities of
cultivating a diverse portfolio of sources of funding
• A proven record in the cultivation of donors and success in raising high value funds.
• Experience in leading organisational change in line with overall strategy and in response to a dynamic
external environment.
• Knowledge and experience of leading systems change programmes and achieving social impact
• A strong demonstrable commitment to transparency, accountability and good governance with
knowledge and experience which is relevant to our work as a not-for-profit organisation.
• A talented relationship manager experienced at working with governments.
• Demonstrable ambassadorial skills, including the ability to employ a wide range of advocacy skills to
make the case to both internal and external audiences.
• A skilled influencer, comfortable engaging with and deploying research, data and other evidence to
inform debate and change social policy and practice.
• A talented, persuasive and compelling public speaker; skilled with the media and with the appetite to
use media and other public and digital platforms to convey messages and inspire evidence based
changed.
Personal Attributes
• Commitment to children’s rights
• Passion for our mission and drive to deliver our new strategy
• A real ambition to scale up our work across the world.
• A commitment to children’s rights and social justice
• Places a high value on their ability to positively impact others
• The personal authority and credibility to command wide respect and confidence, internally and
externally.
• A collaborative, consensual, leadership style, with the ability to motivate and drive an organisation to
deliver outcomes;
• Courage, imagination and confidence to make bold decisions and embrace change and ambiguity.
• Committed to social change, the value of evidence and the impact of research and policy in practice.
The Chief Executive Officer will have the support of a passionate team of staff. An experienced Executive
Leadership Team and fully supportive, engaged and inspired Board of Trustees in the US and the UK.
5Safeguarding Statement
Lumos recognise that the rights of safety and security are aligned with its core mission of ending
institutionalisation. Effective and robust safeguarding sit at the heart of our mission and values, and accordingly,
Lumos is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of children and vulnerable adults in all its work. We
expect all staff, associates and volunteers to share this commitment. Lumos will carefully screen all applicants
and any offers of employment are subject to appropriate employment and background checks, as well as suitable
references from previous employers.
Lumos is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of children and adults at risk in all of our work. All
staff and associates must:
• Carry out all duties with an awareness and understanding of the Safeguarding requirements within their
area of responsibility.
• Ensure work complies with all safeguarding policies and procedures that apply to the role.
• Ensure the that their behaviours and actions support the safeguarding of children, young people and
adults at risk as appropriate.
Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer is expected to:
• Ensure organisational safeguarding strategies reflect statutory requirements and best practice.
• Ensure these are understood and implemented within the area of responsibility.
• Create a proactive and positive Safeguarding Culture.
• Ensure that the organisation meets its statutory Safeguarding requirements.
• Ensure that strategic risks are effectively managed
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Lumos is wholly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and against all forms of discrimination.
We are committed to creating and sustaining a positive working environment that encourages, supports and
gives a voice to all, so that we can best support the children we serve. We must ensure that all staff are
equally valued, included, empowered and respected across the organisation and in everything we do. Lumos is
fundamentally built on diverse, multi-national and multi-cultural teams. This is something we cherish as a key
strength and an integral part of our identity. Our organisation values and celebrates the diversity, culture and
experience of each member of staff, provides equality of care, and support to everyone.
We pledge to listen carefully, to educate ourselves continually, to promote open dialogue, and to seek out and
deal with discrimination and prejudice wherever it occurs in Lumos.
Our Values
Children are at the heart of everything we do. Every child needs love and care in order to flourish – and we’re
proud that this is reflected in the values we hold within our organisation. We want to see all children grow up in
safe and loving families. Our core values drive us forward in our vision, underpin
every aspect of our work and strategy and are critical to helping us maintain a thriving and effective
organisation. By making sure every individual feels valued and empowered, we can bring about the very best
outcomes for the children we serve.
• We embrace COLLABORATION
6• We strive for EXCELLENCE
• We show RESPECT
• We always CARE
• We are PASSIONATE
WE ARE LUMOS
ALL CHILDREN
SHOULD GROW UP
IN SAFE AND
LOVING FAMILIES
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