Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association (‘ENSA’ to our friends) exists to enable students to make the most of their university experience. We do this by representing, supporting, and developing Edinburgh Napier students to be successful in their studies; to try out new things; to engage in, and contribute to university life; to be healthy and happy; to bring about positive change; and most importantly have fun to make it an unforgettable experience.

As our CEO is moving on to pastures new, we are now looking to recruit a new Chief Executive Officer who will lead a motivated and dynamic professional staff of 14 and develop and support our three sabbaticals who, each year, are elected by the student community at Edinburgh Napier. The post-holder will have the opportunity to lead on the development and delivery of a new strategic plan as our Strategy 2021 – 2024 comes to an end.

About the Role:

Under the direction of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer is accountable for the leadership, management, and sustainability of the Students’ Association, alongside providing support to the Elected Officers enabling them to fulfil their duties to the best of their potential.

In this role, you will be required to coach, develop, and provide leadership to the Students’ Association’s staff and to take responsibility for ENSA’s management and administration within the accountability frameworks established by the Board of Directors.

The role holder will not only be forward-looking, with a continuous focus on improvement but also have a deep understanding and appreciation for student issues and student experience.

We truly believe in the power of diversity and understand that different viewpoints are important to achieving goals, that's why we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

For a comprehensive list of duties and full job description, please see the Recruitment Pack PDF.

What we will need from you:

• Experienced working at a board-level, either reporting to, or serving on a Board

• Excellent leadership, coaching and influencing skills to drive change forward.

• An excellent understanding of governance, compliance and university structures

• Writing high-quality reports and policy pieces

• Managing budgets and setting and overseeing internal controls

• Developing strategies and implementing strategic change Forging productive partnerships with stakeholders

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced individual to join Humanist Society Scotland as our Head of Ceremonies.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be involved in far-reaching wedding, funeral and naming services across the entire country. Over one million people in Scotland attend a humanist ceremony every year and this role holder has a unique opportunity to shape how these services are delivered across a wide range of communities the length and breadth of Scotland.

As the Head of Ceremonies, you will play a pivotal role in overseeing all aspects of our ceremonies department, ensuring seamless operations, maintaining high standards, and fostering relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

We are especially interested in hearing from someone who has experience in strategic development of marketing and promoting services.

As a highly motivated self-directed individual you will manage a network of over 140 celebrants and line manage two support staff. We are seeking someone with considerable people management skills and a strong knowledge of marketing and promotion to direct and ensure delivery of growing the current demand and market share for our services.

In order to avoid conflict of interest and as this role has key management responsibilities in overseeing the delivery of all of our ceremony services this role holder cannot also hold a position as a celebrant. Individuals who are interested in becoming a celebrant can register their interest here instead.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee Day-to-Day Operations:

• Provide guidance and support to the ceremonies support team, including line management of two staff.
• Maintaining strong relationships with key contractors such as our celebrant trainers, emergency out of hours support and celebrant area officers.

• Budget Management:

• Ensure good oversight and planning of related budgets including delegating responsibilities to members of team where appropriate

• Promotional Plan:

• Developing and implementing business plans for sustainable growth, based on sound research and analysis of the competitive markets and future opportunities and then creating and implementing strategies to grow the business.
• Utilise various marketing channels and techniques to reach target audiences effectively.

New Celebrant Recruitment:

• Oversee recruitment and training provision for new celebrants working closely with our trainers.
• Working with our celebrant network to develop meaningful mentoring relationships for new celebrants.
• Ensure feedback from trainees helps further develop and improve our training.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Coordination:

• Coordinate ongoing CPD opportunities for celebrants, including organising gatherings and training sessions to enhance their skills and knowledge.

Reviews Oversight:

• Oversee and coordinate professional reviews of ceremonies.

Complaints Management:

• Address and resolve complaints from clients in a timely and professional manner.

Relationships with External Stakeholders:

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, including funeral directors, wedding venues and other relevant partners.
• Collaborate with external partners to expand our celebrant network and reach new audiences.
• Sharing best practices and learning from professional networks of other humanist leaders and groups.

Person Specification:

• Proven experience in a leadership role, preferably within service delivery. This could be in the public, private or third sector.
• Previous professional success in creating a meaningful promotional and marketing strategy to help increase market share.
• Ability to proactively anticipate emerging trends and threats and apply business intelligence to react in response.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to multitask and prioritise effectively.
• Sound people management skills including the ability to handle delicate issues such as bereavement, complaints and conflict resolution.
• Strong customer service experience both internal stakeholder facing and external public facing.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated proficiency in budget management.
• Independent work ethic with ability to self motivate and direct including ability to work on own initiative and prioritise workload.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, and an understanding of GDPR principles.
• Has strong experience of ensuring that decisions are data-driven and evidence led.
• Is a committed team player and is used to collaborative working throughout the organisation.
• Good knowledge of humanist principles and practices.
• Professional experience of the wedding or funeral industries would be desirable but not essential.

Join our team and contribute to creating meaningful and memorable ceremonies that celebrate life and humanist values. If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a dynamic environment, we want to hear from you!