Director/Project Coordinator Role Description

Cumbria Yoga Foundation

Director/Project Coordinator Role Description

The Cumbria Yoga Foundation is seeking a part-time Director/Project Coordinator to lead our growing charity in delivering accessible, inclusive yoga across the county. This pivotal role combines strategic leadership, fundraising, financial management, and community engagement, while working closely with trustees, staff, and volunteers to achieve our vision of a healthier, happier, kinder, and more connected Cumbria. The successful candidate will bring senior management experience, strong financial and fundraising expertise, excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills, and a recognised yoga teaching qualification, ensuring we continue to expand our impact.

Salary and benefits

The role is part time 0.4 – salary is £40,000 FTE. 12 days holiday (plus bank holidays).

Key responsibilities

• Prepare a strategic plan and annual budget for approval by the board of trustees
• Operate within the annual budget
• Ensure management policies are up-to-date and in line with current legislation
• Recruit and work with the senior management team, members and volunteers
• Build relationships with politicians, the media and government officials in order to advance the organisation’s aims
• Establish and monitor key indicators of the organisation’s impact and financial health
• Represent the organisation at external events and publicity opportunities
• Maintain awareness of risks and changes in the external environment that affect the organisation
• Build an effective working relationship with the chair of the trustee board
• Supply regular reports to the trustee board and attend trustee and sub-committee meetings
• Ensure the organisation’s staff and volunteers are focused on achieving its mission and aims
• Ensure the organisation fulfils its legal, statutory and regulatory responsibilities
• Establish mechanisms for listening to the views of communities and partners on the organisation’s performance
• Develop and deliver the organisation’s business plan
• Working with the trustee board, ensure a sustainable income is achieved from diverse income stream
• Represent the organisation to the media and give interviews
• Liaise with communities and participants to inform strategies and programmes

Key skills/experience

• Leadership skills: A prime role will be to motivate staff and volunteers, with personal drive and energy
• Advocacy skills: The Director is the public and private face of the CYF and needs to be able to effectively promote the Vision, Mission and Values of the organisation
• Excellent interpersonal skills: the Director will need to build relationships with a variety of people, from participants and communities, staff members to senior corporate executives and opinion formers
• Financial acumen: The Director will set and operate a budget and develop fundraising activities that provide a sustainable earned income stream for the organisation. Experience of managing finances for charities is essential: bookkeeping, budgeting, payroll, cashflow, restricted funding management, management accounts, board reports annual reports and annual submissions to the Charity Commission.
• Fundraising: demonstrable experience of managing fundraising pipelines and planning, evidence of successful fundraising through trusts, foundations, local government, individual giving and corporate partners.
• Creation and management of policies in line with current legislation and best practice, for example: Safeguarding, HR, DEI, H&S, data protection, online safety and insurances.
• Project management skills: The Director will define the scope of all projects including the specific deliverables, deadlines and budgets required, ensuring quality and identifying potential risks and implementing mitigation measures – in line with community need, organisational strategies and bid requirements.
• IT skills: expertise in IT – currently this means effectively working with Microsoft 365 – and a willingness to adopt relevant new technologies as they emerge.
• Copywriting and bid writing: the ability to create effective and precise applications for funding is essential to the future of the organisation. General copywriting skills are also important in the preparation of presentations, press releases, web content and information packs.
• Marketing experience: creation of marketing strategies, delivering effective marketing, and managing campaigns including the management of agencies, designers, photographers and content creators.
• A quick learner: needs to be quick to grasp the breadth of service provision and the needs of the communities and participants.

Relevant Experience/qualifications

Experience in senior management or organisational leadership is essential. A unique feature of the job is the need to work closely with the non-executive trustee board, so any experience of working with committees or boards is advantageous. Experience of teaching yoga to community groups is essential (yoga teaching qualification required). Experience in fundraising is also essential. Demonstrable experience in IT skills essential.

Working arrangements

Working from home is essential for this role. The applicant will need to provide their own laptop and transport. Expenses will be paid by agreement.

Applications

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to Rob Fowler:

rob@cumbriayogafoundation.org

Closing date

Closing date for CV's will be Tuesday 16th September, with a view to hold interviews on the 30th September.

About Cumbria Yoga Foundation

Vision

Cumbria Yoga Foundation’s vision is to create a healthier, happier, kinder, connected Cumbria through accessible, affordable community-based yoga sessions in spaces that are welcoming and familiar.

We aim to empower and enable people to lead fuller lives by giving them the tools and practical solutions to discover their unique pathway to wellbeing through local, accessible, inclusive programmes

Mission

Our mission is to bring yoga to every community in Cumbria.

We work directly with thecommunity and strategic partners to offer the therapeutic benefits of yoga to those who may not otherwise be able to access it because of real or perceived health, cultural, systemic or economic barriers.

To amplify our impact, we will work with the community and strategic partners locally and nationally to deliver accessible, inclusive yoga practices where they’re needed most. We will support the existing yoga community and grow the network of wellbeing professionals delivering high quality, informed and respectful activities.

We will work to broaden the perception of yoga practices, advocating for accessibility, inclusion and equity across the yoga and wellbeing spaces of Cumbria.

Values

·      Kindness

We are a respectful and open-minded organisation, empathetically championing inclusion and equity in yoga spaces.

·      Quality

Everything we do is rooted in safety and best practice.

·      Connection

Community-hearted and community-led, our activities bring people together in welcoming, familiar spaces.

·      Accessibility

Building safer spaces that are welcoming and accessible in the broadest sense.

·      Eight limbs of yoga

Above all, we ground ourselves in the principles of yoga with honesty and integrity.

Background

CYF is a community initiative, originating in a series of free community-based wellbeing events open to all in welcoming, familiar environments. A committee of volunteers from the community worked together to formalise the organisation which became a registered charity in 2020.

Our programmes and impact have grown considerably in particular in the last 18 months, and we have ambitious plans for the future.