we run a gift-shop/book-shop, cafe and events space. The trading subsidiary .... growth plan, and ensuring that business
The hackney pirates CEO Job Description & Applicant Pack
Key Facts Salary: Starting salary £40,000 - 45,000, depending on experience Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 14th November 2016 Round 1 Interviews: 24th and 25th November 2016 Round 2 Interviews: 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th December 2016 (one day per candidate)
Start date: 1st April 2017 (later start date possible if preferable for the candidate)
Contents Introduction from the Chair of Trustees
Page 1
About The Hackney Pirates
Page 3
Our Educational Programme
Page 4
Our People
Page 5
Our Finances
Page 6
Our Future
Page 6
The Role
Pages 8 - 12
About You
Pages 13 - 14
Diversity & Inclusion
Page 15
Employment Details
Page 16
How To Apply
Pages 17 - 18
Introduction from the Chair of Trustees Thank you for showing an interest in applying for the role of CEO at The Hackney Pirates. We are a dynamic, passionate and ambitious charity dedicated to supporting children who face disadvantages and who are under-attaining at school. We are seeking an exceptional leader who shares our values and ambition to support more children in their learning. Through our distinctive approach to working with young people in a positive, preventative way, we have already supported over 1000 young people in developing their literacy, confidence and perseverance. Since our establishment in 2010, we have developed a unique learning programme, opened our “Ship of Adventures” in Dalston, and established a strong network of schools, partners, volunteers and supporters. We have developed a positive reputation for educational innovation and rigour. Our innovative model has received a wide range of support, including from schools, national charity Teach First, corporate supporters and charity partners. The organisation is now embarking on an exciting period of growth. We are looking for an outstanding leader to build on the organisation’s existing successes and identify new opportunities for the charity to make an even greater impact. We hope to both grow our learning programmes in Hackney, and open new hubs in the coming years. This is a unique opportunity to lead a high-impact social change organisation in an incredibly exciting period of growth and development. We thank you for your interest, and hope that this pack inspires you to apply to join our team. Allan Beattie Chair of Trustees
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The role of CEO at The Hackney Pirates is an incredibly exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the problem of educational inequality in the UK. The Hackney Pirates is an ambitious and highly professional organisation, and their truly innovative approach to developing the literacy, confidence and perseverance of students on a magical pirate ship is hugely powerful.
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Brett Wigdortz Founder and CEO, Teach First
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About The Hackney Pirates The Hackney Pirates Vision
Young people who have fewer opportunities and are falling behind become fully rounded learners who are able to achieve at school and in the wider world.
Mission Statement
To support young people in developing literacy, confidence and perseverance by delivering motivating learning projects in a dynamic environment using the resources in our community.
Values
We believe in the exceptional potential of every young person, and we exist so that young people have the tools to decide their own path. We work for and alongside young people in everything we do. We believe in working with others to enable positive change in individual lives while striving for a fairer society. We are driven by a sense of possibility. We apply our hard work, our professionalism and our humanity to each choice we face. We are ready to listen to others from whom we can learn, and we never stop learning. 3
Our Educational Programme We work exclusively with children who have been referred by teachers because they are both falling behind and have fewer opportunities in their personal circumstances. We aim to make a transformative impact on their literacy, confidence and perseverance. We currently serve around 160 young people each week from our Ship of Adventures in Hackney.
Our educational model is based on the following key principles: •
Increased adult attention:
All our sessions take place with either a one-to-one ratio or in small group settings, with the support of our community of 300 volunteers.
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Unconventional learning environment:
We create a fantastical and exciting environment to support engagement with learning.
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Reading support:
We use a range of strategies to support increased enjoyment of reading and improved reading skills.
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Publishing projects:
We run writing projects which combine carefully structured literacy support with a motivating published end-goal. You can see some of our previous projects here:
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Teacher-led:
http://www.hackneypirates.org/adventures-in-learning
All our activities are planned and led by trained teachers, allowing a unique combination of targeted educational content with dynamic and motivating out-of-school activities.
In our current learning programme children attend one after-school session per week for a full academic year, representing around 100 extra hours of learning time per child. After children graduate, they are invited to join our “Jolly Rogers” Ambassadors group to continue to benefit from extra opportunities and to act as young leaders for the organisation. In order to understand our approach to learning and the difference it makes, please see our recent Theory of Change and Impact Report which can be downloaded at http://www.hackneypirates.org/our-impact
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Our People We have a strong team of skilled, experienced and passionate trustees, staff members, and volunteers who make our activities possible. You can see full profiles here:
www.hackneypirates.org/about/crew
The CEO reports to the Chair of Trustees. The CEO currently line manages four people, who in turn oversee the oversee the management of all other activities and staff members. The governance of the organisation is also supported and informed by a Young Person’s Advisory group, a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory group, and a Volunteer Steering group.
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Our Finances With a turnover of £343,000 in 2015/16 and an employee team of nine, The Hackney Pirates has grown rapidly from its volunteer-led inception. We work hard to continue to secure a range of different types of income and to achieve our fundraising targets. Our income currently comes from a mixture of charitable trusts and foundations, earned income from schools, corporate gifts and individual donations. The need for both more voluntary income and other revenue streams will increase significantly in future years. We need a CEO who understands the importance of fundraising and who can play a leading role in identifying and securing untapped sources of income and pro bono support. The charity also runs a wholly-owned trading subsidiary, through which we run a gift-shop/book-shop, cafe and events space. The trading subsidiary is managed on a daily basis by three Directors (of which the CEO is one), who are accountable to the charity’s Board of Trustees. The trading subsidiary employs a further three staff members.
His parents say he loves it, that he is much more confident and more resilient. He is braver in all aspects. (He is a) different child purely owing to The Hackney Pirates.
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Victoria Loughran Assistant Head, Morningside Primary School
Our Future Following several years of piloting, developing and measuring the impact of our activities, the organisation is planning for ambitious growth in the coming years in order to reach more children in our target group who would benefit from Hackney Pirates-like learning activities. Following significant work on developing a strong and stable organisation, we want to both grow our programmes in Hackney, and plan for broader expansion in new areas of London / the UK. Plans are still in development and the new CEO will play a key role in supporting the evolution of these plans, while maintaining the quality and sustainability of existing delivery. This is an incredibly exciting time to join the organisation and secure our plans to make a significant impact on many more young people’s learning.
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The Role Overall Purpose The new CEO will provide leadership, motivation and strategic discipline in order to achieve maximum social impact. The board has identified the following areas as a priority for the CEO:
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Ethos and culture: To drive the organisation forward with the balance of passion, innovation, professionalism, rigour and continual improvement which has characterised our work to date. To support and maintain a thoughtful, consultative and reflective approach to social change. Strategy for growth: To work with the Board and staff team to further develop the strategy for the charity going forward as we work towards a new chapter in the organisation’s growth.
I used to hate reading! I had to be forced to do it. Now I love reading, I read at home for 30 minutes a day.
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Moyin Year 6
Funding: To provide leadership in building and maintaining secure funding sources; to ensure that the organisation has the financial and other resources it needs to enable it to deliver its charitable goals. People: To continue to identify, develop and retain excellent staff to support the growth of our activities. Communications and network: To develop an external relations strategy commensurate with the organisation’s future ambitions.
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Key Responsibilities Inspirational Leadership
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To drive the organisation forward with the balance of passion, innovation, professionalism, rigour and continual improvement which has characterised our work to date.
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To ensure that the Board and staff maintain a collective sense of vision and purpose.
To ensure that all of The Hackney Pirates’ internal and external practices reflect the vision and values of the organisations.
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Strategy and planning
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Planning: To build on the existing organisational strategy in order to complete the design and implementation of the 3-5 year plan for the organisation.
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Impact: To ensure that positive impact on learning remains at the heart of the organisation; to support the Director of Learning to ensure that programmes are effectively focused on our Theory of Change; to ensure that evaluation of our impact continues to inform programmatic development.
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Strategic consistency: To ensure that all management policies, decisions and activities support the agreed vision, mission, values, and objectives of The Hackney Pirates; to ensure that The Hackney Pirates remains fully focused on achieving the strategic priorities; to ensure that appropriate business, operational and annual plans are developed, agreed and implemented that underpin The Hackney Pirates’ strategic plan.
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Team Leadership
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Ethos: To create a positive, purposeful, respectful and joyful environment in which young people, staff and volunteers can flourish.
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Management: To ensure that the organisation adheres to its management structures and performance management systems in order to fulfil its strategic objectives and to carry out its work efficiently, accountably and safely; to provide high quality and supportive management to between four and six direct reports.
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Staff development: To support the ongoing learning and development of staff members in order to consistently grow skills and leadership capacity within the organisation.
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Operations: To take an active role in day-to-day operations when needed. As the leader of a small organisation, the CEO needs to be willing to lead by example in taking responsibility for the smooth delivery of daily operations.
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Organisational structure: To develop and keep under review the organisation’s staffing and organisational structure to ensure that skills, information, knowledge, time and other resources are used to maximum impact.
Scaling and New Business/Fundraising
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Growth: To lead on the growth of The Hackney Pirates, both to maximise the delivery of programmes in Hackney, and open new hubs in other areas of London and the UK.
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Business development – Strategy: To lead the organisation’s business development activities, taking an active role in identifying and securing diverse sources of income for the organisation’s growth plan, and ensuring that business development activities are adequately resourced.
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Business development – Voluntary income: To identify potential funders and complete proposals / applications, along with other key members of the team; to further develop positive relationships with funding partners, including active relationship management and high-quality reporting.
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Business development – Schools: To continue to evolve the organisation’s approach for working with schools in order to secure increasing levels of income from schools.
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Business development – Trading: To act as a Company Director of the charity’s Trading subsidiary; to oversee the effective and profitable management of the trading subsidiary.
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Diversity and Inclusion: To ensure that an inclusive approach and a commitment to diversity is at the heart of the organisation’s activities.
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External Relations
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Planning: To continue to develop the organisation’s communications and external relations planning to ensure that key stakeholders are identified and engaged; to ensure that communications are adequately resourced and supported.
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Representation: To represent and promote The Hackney Pirates to the voluntary, educational and the statutory sectors, media, funders and partners; to encourage supporters of the organisation to direct their efforts to achieving The Hackney Pirates’ objectives.
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Networks: To continually build and maintain a strong and supportive network of supporters, advisers and critical friends.
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Community: To build and maintain a positive reputation in the local community/communities in which we operate.
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Stakeholder management: To ensure positive relationship management with key stakeholders e.g. local authorities, landlords and partner organisations.
Governance and Legal
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Statutory Duties: To ensure that The Hackney Pirates’ mission is safeguarded, statutory duties are satisfied and strategic objectives and decisions are well-informed, clear and implemented on schedule; to ensure that statutory reporting is completed punctually and accurately.
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Policies: To oversee the development of policies in the whole organisation, ensuring that these are legally compliant and facilitate due diligence.
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Board of Trustees: To ensure the Board receives regular and appropriate reports on the degree to which the organisation is achieving and implementing the strategic objectives, including reports on the quality of the programmes and performance against the financial and scaling plans.
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Board development: To work with the Chair to ensure the effective composition of the Board of Trustees, with an appropriate mix of skills and experience relevant to The Hackney Pirates’ work.
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Finance and Risk
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Financial management: To be responsible to the Board for the overall financial health of The Hackney Pirates including developing, overseeing and monitoring an effective programme of income generation and fundraising. Risk management: To ensure that the major risks to which The Hackney Pirates is exposed are reviewed regularly by the Board and systems are established to mitigate these risks.
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About You Skills •
Excellent leadership and management skills; the ability to balance both good leadership and management practices in order to effectively lead a small team
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Strategic thinking
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High quality written and verbal communication skills
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Creative and pragmatic problem solving skills
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High quality personal organisation skills
Experience and knowledge •
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Leadership: Significant leadership experience, whether as a CEO or senior manager; experience of monitoring and evaluating organisational performance (essential). Managerial responsibility: Significant track record of managerial responsibility for staff, finances and organisational performance (essential). Education sector: Significant knowledge of the education sector; the new CEO does not need to have been a teacher themselves, but must have sufficient knowledge of the education sector to command the respect of educational partners (essential). Charity fundraising: Proven track record in raising funds within the charity sector (essential). Governance: Understanding of the different roles of executives and non-executives and knows how to ensure these roles are carried out effectively (essential). Diversity and inclusion: Understanding of the opportunities, challenges and good practices involved in promoting diversity and inclusion (essential). Grasp of the issues we are tackling: Understanding (essential) and personal experience of (highly desirable) the social issues which we are tackling. Growth: Experience of managing organisational growth (highly desirable). External relations: Experience of managing organisational external relations (highly desirable).
Personal attributes •
A strong commitment to our vision, mission and activities
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Empathy, integrity, humility
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Hard-working; willing to go above and beyond to get a job done
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Outstanding people-management skills
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A team player
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A commitment to collaborative and consultative working, where appropriate
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A commitment to continual improvement
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A strong ability to self-reflect and commitment to ongoing personal learning and development
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A commitment to responsible innovation; a willingness to take risks when appropriate
The service is tailored to individual students and their needs and it is clear that The Hackney Pirates staff truly care about the wellbeing and progress of the students.
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Sophie Routledge Second in English, Hackney New School
Willingness to lead by example
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Resilience in the face of adversity
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Ability to respond to unexpected situations and fast-changing environments Flexible and willing to change course when needed
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Excellent attention to detail
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A willingness to engage their existing networks with The Hackney Pirates’ cause and to build new relationships in order to raise awareness and funds for the charity in line with our strategy
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Diversity and Inclusion We are passionate about putting together a diverse team of skilled and motivated individuals from a range of different backgrounds, in order to best serve the culturally rich and diverse communities we aim to work in. The young people that we serve come from a huge range of backgrounds - they speak dozens of different languages, have a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, and experience a broad range of different traditions, religious and cultural influences. We want our organisation to offer the best possible educational opportunities to all the young people we serve. We believe that in order to do that we need to be proactive about:
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Offering all young people a diverse range of role models
Ensuring that our decision-making processes are informed by a range of different perspectives
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Ensuring that our organisation reflects the community it serves
We are therefore particularly keen to encourage applicants who come from black and minority ethnic communities.
Our approach in general: We are keen to harness different perspectives, experiences, and talents in order to best serve the culturally rich and diverse community of Hackney, and the other communities we may grow to serve. We consider diversity to embody all the differences – life experiences, work experiences, perspectives, cultures, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, class, sexual orientation and other aspects of life – that make us unique individuals. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring that all applicants are treated fairly and with respect, irrespective of their actual or assumed background including gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic origin), religion/belief or disability.
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Employment Details Contract type: This post is a full time role on a permanent contract. However, the post holder will at times be required to work additional hours – including evenings and weekends – for which time off in lieu (TOIL) will be available. Overtime is not paid.
Location: You will usually be based at the Ship of Adventures, at 138 Kingsland High Street, London E8 2NS. However regular travel around London and the UK should be expected.
Salary: The starting salary for the position is £40,000 - £45,000 per year, depending on experience. Please note that the salary awarded will be in line with The Hackney Pirates‘ remuneration policy and salary matrix. Holiday entitlement: 26 days of paid holiday per year plus bank holidays. This includes the period between Christmas and New year, when our office shuts. This increases after two years of service to 27 days, and then a further one day for every additional year of service up to a maximum of 30 days.
What I love about working here is the shared sense of mission among all the people we work with. Everyone is incredibly dedicated and passionate about what we do, and there is so much potential to do more in the next few years.
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Hackney Pirates’ staff member
Pension: The Hackney Pirates is enrolled with the People’s Pension and makes the statutory pension contributions.
Criminal records check: Upon successful appointment, you are required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced check. Employment is subject to satisfactory receipt of this. Probation: This post will be subject to a probationary period of six months. Notice period: During probation the notice period is one month for both parties, and three months thereafter.
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How To Apply The Hackney Pirates’ recruitment process involves several steps which we believe will help us in identifying the best candidate for the role. This process is also designed to give you a better opportunity to understand the organisation so that you are confident the role is right for you. These steps are outlined here:
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Stage 1: Application form and CV.
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Stage 2: Some candidates will be invited to phone interviews.
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Stage 3: Some candidates will be invited to a short (1.5 hour) initial interview. Stage 4: For shortlisted candidates, we will take in-depth references from at least two colleagues / managers / direct reports. Where it is not possible to speak to current employers, we will discuss with you the most appropriate approach.
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Stage 5: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an assessment day.
This will include:
- An interview focused on previous learning experiences and employment history - An interview focused on skills, with one section to be prepared in advance - A practical activity, to be prepared in advance • Stage 6: Some candidates will be invited to meet the Board of Trustees, where they will also take part in an unprepared practical activity. • Stage 7: The confirmation of employment is subject to a DBS check, and the completion of the referencing process. We welcome the opportunity to discuss with you any reasonable adjustments required in relation to our application process. Please email us at
[email protected], or ring 020 3327 1777. Any information you provide at this stage will remain confidential.
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Next Steps
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Come and visit! We are holding two recruitment open
They are: • •
Please RSVP to
[email protected].
Please note that attendance at the Open Evening will have no bearing on the selection process and candidates will not be at any disadvantage if they are not able to attend.
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Questions: If you have any queries about any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information or wish to have an informal and confidential discussion, then please email the representative of our Chair, Allan Beattie, via
[email protected].
We will respect the privacy of any initial approach or expression of interest in this role, whether formal or informal.
evenings, which are an informal, commitment-free opportunity to see the Ship of Adventures and to find out more about the organisation, the CEO role and the application process.
5:30-6:30pm, Thursday 3rd November 5:30-6:30pm, Wednesday 9th November
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Make an application: To apply, you’ll need to send us a CV
In addition to completing the application form, please send your CV to
[email protected].
and complete an application form which includes an in-depth career history. This form is designed to give us more information than a traditional CV-based approach to find out about your skills and experiences. You can complete the form online at www.hackneypirates.org/ceo-application-form.
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The Hackney Pirates – www.hackneypirates.org – 138 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NS 020 3327 1777 –
[email protected] – Charity Number 1145115
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