Charity registered in Scotland SC024328
Our aim is to relieve destitution and promote wellbeing for people within the asylum system in Scotland. We have been established in the city for over 30 years and are currently seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic CEO to lead us into the future in an ever changing landscape.
Chief Executive – Refugee Sanctuary Scotland
Purpose of Role
Provide visionary leadership to ensure the charity delivers effective support in combatting destitution and homelessness for refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. Champion the rights and dignity of displaced people while ensuring organisational sustainability and impact.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic leadership: Shape and deliver a clear strategy that responds to the evolving needs of refugees and asylum seekers.
- Advocacy and representation: Act as the charity’s public voice, influencing policy, raising awareness, and challenging misconceptions about refugees.
- Governance support: Work closely with the Board of Trustees to ensure compliance with charity law, safeguarding standards, and ethical practice.
- Operational management: Oversee services such as housing, financial support, legal advice, and social support.
- Safeguarding and welfare: Ensure policies and practices protect vulnerable individuals, particularly children and survivors of trauma.
- Financial stewardship: Secure funding through grants, donations, and partnerships; manage budgets responsibly.
- Stakeholder engagement: Build strong relationships with local authorities, NGOs, donors, volunteers, and refugee communities.
- Risk management: Identify and mitigate risks, including reputational, financial, and operational challenges.
Person Specification
- Proven leadership experience in refugee support, or related social justice sectors.
- Strong understanding of refugee issues, asylum processes, and integration challenges from lived or hands on experience.
- Commitment to safeguarding and trauma-informed approaches.
- Excellent communication skills with ability to inspire diverse audiences and advocate effectively.
- Financial and fundraising expertise with knowledge of charity funding models.
- Governance knowledge including charity law, safeguarding regulations, and international refugee frameworks.
- Strategic thinker with ability to translate vision into practical programmes.
- Cultural sensitivity and ability to work inclusively with diverse communities.
Refugee Sanctuary Scotland (RSS) exists to relieve destitution and promote wellbeing for refugees and people within the asylum system in Scotland. Our vision is a welcoming, inclusive, safe Scotland for refugees and asylum seekers, where all live free of destitution and have the means and opportunities to realise their full potential. Our mission is to provide refugees and people seeking asylum with practical support when it is most needed, build connections between people and use what we learn to campaign for change.
Role Purpose:
We are looking for a dynamic individual to join our small committed and vibrant team of staff who deliver incredible impact for their size. Your role will be focused on our strategic objective to ensure the charity’s sustainability by maximising and diversifying income and maintaining/developing the charity’s profile among the public, policy makers and other migrant justice organisations. You will be delivering strategic fundraising and communications, building partnerships, raising unrestricted and restricted funds from diverse income sources to support the sustainability of the charity.
To thrive in this role, you will need to be driven, organised, tenacious, creative, flexible, have good communication skills and be confident in inspiring existing and new funders and donors to donate to raise money. You will build strong relationships and partnerships both internally and externally, managing a varied portfolio of work that touches all aspects of the charity, write compelling funding applications, create campaigns and come up with new and innovative ideas to capture the minds and hearts of potential philanthropists. Our ideal candidate will be an individual who fits with the values of Refugee Sanctuary Scotland