Ventures Interim Chief Operating Officer
Reports to: Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Location: West London - currently operating an agile working policy with a minimum of two core days (Mon and Weds) in the office
Contract: Fixed term (to 31 st August 2023)
Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am - 5.30pm)
Closing date: 13/03/2023 at 10am
Interviews: Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified
Salary: £80,000 to £90,000 (depending on experience)
Introduction:
We are looking for Ark Venture's first Chief Operating Officer. This exciting new role will be integral to the growth of the Ark Venture's team and to the successful delivery of strategic and operational support to a range of new and existing ventures.
You will be a proven leader who is ready to wear many hats and help guide an ambitious and mission-driven team through a period of exciting growth while also supporting partner ventures tackling challenges facing children and young people.
As a core member of the team, you will report directly to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ark and work alongside the Ventures team, leaders of our ventures, the Ark Central Teams and external providers.
As a fast-growing team at an exciting inflection point, there is a lot of scope for you to positively influence our work and the success of our ventures. This role is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is passionate about improving social mobility and tackling educational inequality.
About the role:
The Chief Operating Officer is responsible for all aspects of business planning, financial management and operations (including co-working office space, IT, HR, quality assurance, governance, and risk management) for Ark Ventures.
The Chief Operating Officer will ensure ventures that we are developing, supporting, and funding benefit from operational leadership and support and appropriate financial and governance oversight.
As well as ensuring that practical operational arrangements are in place, you will create the conditions that help a growing team and an expanding portfolio of ventures to operate effectively and to focus on their mission, vision, and values.
Key Responsibilities:
Key Requirements:
About Ark
We're an international charity, transforming lives through education. Our network of 39 schools in the UK achieves great results for young people, and some of our schools are among the best in the country. The ventures that we develop and support are tackling some of the most challenging problems facing young people, both in the UK and around the world.
Many of these ideas start in Ark schools. Others come from innovators and partners outside of Ark. But they all share the ambition to address some of the most intractable issues in education and society and they all have the potential to deliver widespread system change.
Ark Ventures works to overcome the some of the barriers which prevent social issues being addressed at real scale. We provide ventures with bespoke support which includes expertise, access to funding, operational support and networks. The ventures we support are not-for-profit, but develop business models which are financially sustainable in the long term.
Our present group of ventures are broad in their ambition. They include Ark Curriculum Plus, which seeks to transform student achievement through unique curriculum and teacher development programmes; EdCity, an innovative education hub where we will bring together mission-aligned organisations in shared office space alongside a school and other child and adult education provision; and Little Village, which aims to provide support to early years children and their families in the form of a Baby Bank.
Benefits
How to Apply:
Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Monday 13 March 2023 at 10am but please note : we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.
For further information or a confidential discussion, please contact Ben Cartledge on Ben.Cartledge@arkonline.org
Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.
Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.
Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred.