About Abigail’s Footsteps
Abigail’s Footsteps was established in 2010 in memory of Abigail Ward, who was stillborn on 29 April 2009. We support families affected by stillbirth and neonatal loss and work alongside maternity and neonatal services to improve bereavement care. We believe every family deserves compassionate, informed and meaningful support, and that every healthcare professional should have the knowledge, skills, confidence and space to provide excellent care during one of the most difficult times a family can experience.
Our work includes:
- Supporting bereaved parents and families with practical and emotional support.
- Funding specialist bereavement-care education and training for healthcare professionals.
- Investing in hospital equipment and dedicated bereavement environments.
- Supporting counselling and reflective practice for families and healthcare professionals.
- Working with NHS trusts, universities, professional bodies and partners to improve learning, care and standards.
- Raising awareness of baby loss and advocating for better support and care.
Our Purpose
- To ensure that families affected by stillbirth and neonatal loss receive compassionate support, and to help improve the knowledge, confidence and care of the healthcare professionals supporting them.
Our Values Compassion:
- We lead with empathy, kindness and respect.
- Families first: The experiences and needs of bereaved families inform our work.
- Courage: We address difficult issues and advocate for meaningful change.
- Partnership: We achieve more by working constructively with others.
- Integrity: We act openly, responsibly and with sound judgement.
- Excellence: We seek high standards, learning and continuous improvement
Job Description
Strategy and Organisational Leadership
- Lead the development, delivery and review of the charity’s strategy, annual operating plan and measurable priorities.
- Translate the Board’s strategy into clear delivery plans, budgets, outcomes, risks and accountabilities.
- Identify emerging needs, opportunities, risks and sector developments relevant to bereaved families and maternity and neonatal care.
- Ensure the charity has the people, structures, systems and resources needed to achieve its ambitions.
- Promote a compassionate, inclusive, safe, learning-focused and accountable culture. Ensure the voices and lived experience of bereaved families inform service development and decision-making.
Service Delivery and Impact
- Ensure the quality, effectiveness, safety and evaluation of all programmes and services.
- Oversee charitable activity supporting bereaved families and improving healthcare-professional education and bereavement care.
- Develop clear measures of outcomes, reach, beneficiary experience, impact and value for money.
- Maintain constructive working relationships with NHS trusts, maternity and neonatal teams, universities, professional bodies and sector partners.
- Provide the Board and stakeholders with clear reports on delivery, impact, learning and opportunities for improvement.
Income Generation and Finance
- Lead a sustainable, diversified income strategy, including trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, major donors, community fundraising, events, individual giving and other appropriate income streams.
- Build a credible funding pipeline and reduce dependence on any single source of income. Lead annual budgeting, financial forecasting and cash-flow management within the Board-approved budget.
- Ensure effective financial controls, management information, value for money and timely reporting. Support the Board and Treasurer to maintain appropriate reserves and meet statutory reporting requirements.
People and Culture
- Lead, motivate, support and develop staff and volunteers.
- Establish clear structures, objectives, supervision, appraisal, performance management and professional-development arrangements.
- Promote staff wellbeing, recognising the emotional nature of work in a bereavement-focused charity. Ensure lawful, inclusive and fair employment and volunteer management practices.
- Build leadership capacity, continuity and succession across the organisation. Governance, Safeguarding and Compliance Act as principal operational adviser to the Board, providing clear, timely and accurate reports on strategy, finance, operations, income, risk, safeguarding and performance.
- Implement Board decisions and maintain sound systems of internal control, risk management, policy review and record keeping.
- Ensure compliance with applicable charity, employment, health and safety, data-protection, fundraising and other legal and regulatory obligations.
- Ensure robust safeguarding policies, training, reporting routes, safer-recruitment practices and incident-management processes. Escalate material safeguarding concerns, serious incidents, fraud, legal issues, financial deterioration or reputational risks to the Chair promptly.
Communications, Profile and Influence
- Serve as a principal ambassador and spokesperson for the charity.
- Build relationships with supporters, donors, patrons, corporate partners, funders, clinicians, healthcare leaders, policymakers and the media.
- Ensure communications are accurate, compassionate, accessible and aligned with the charity’s values.
- Represent Abigail’s Footsteps appropriately in local, regional and national forums. Support advocacy and influence aimed at improving bereavement care and support following baby loss.
Person Specification
Essential Experience
- Significant senior leadership experience in a charity, healthcare, public sector, social-impact or comparable organisation.
- A record of developing and delivering strategy, managing organisational growth or change, and achieving measurable results.
- Experience of leading, developing and supporting staff and volunteers.
- Experience of budget management, financial planning, forecasting and financial sustainability.
- A successful track record of fundraising, income generation, partnership development, business development or securing external funding.
- Experience of working with a Board of Trustees, governors or a comparable non-executive governance body.
- Experience of managing risk, compliance, safeguarding or other sensitive organisational responsibilities.
- Experience of representing an organisation externally and establishing trusted senior relationships.
Essential Knowledge and Skills
- Excellent strategic thinking, planning, judgement and decision-making skills.
- Strong financial and commercial acumen.
- Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to lead with emotional intelligence, sensitivity and resilience.
- Understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection and professional boundaries.
- Ability to translate strategy into practical, focused and measurable delivery.
- Commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience.
- Ability to build relationships with bereaved families, clinicians, funders, trustees, volunteers, donors and partners.
Desireable Experience and Knowledge
- Experience in baby loss, bereavement, maternity, neonatal care, healthcare, family support or a related field.
- Knowledge of the UK charity regulatory environment.
- Experience of working with NHS trusts, healthcare systems, universities or professional bodies.
- Experience of campaigning, policy influence or advocacy.
- Knowledge of fundraising regulation and donor stewardship.
- Experience of managing a geographically dispersed or hybrid team.
Personal Qualities
- Compassionate, respectful and emotionally intelligent.
- Authentic, approachable and confident as a leader.
- Resilient, calm and pragmatic under pressure.
- Collaborative, inclusive and able to inspire confidence.
- Organised and able to manage competing priorities. Committed to the purpose, values and future of Abigail’s Footsteps.
Salary and Benefits Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 per annum, dependent on experience.
The final salary will reflect the successful candidate’s experience, skills and capacity to deliver the full scope of the role, while remaining proportionate to the charity’s size, income and responsibilities.
Benefits Annual leave: 30 working days’ paid annual leave per holiday year, in addition to recognised public and bank holidays.
Pension: The charity will contribute 5% of basic salary to the workplace pension scheme. Employees will ordinarily contribute 5%, giving a total pension contribution of 10%. Salary-sacrifice arrangements are available where applicable.
Wellbeing Support: The charity recognises the emotional demands of working in the bereavement sector and is committed to supporting staff wellbeing. The successful candidate will have access to our confidential Employee Assistance Programme, provided through BrightHR, offering practical and emotional support. Professional development and training opportunities Reimbursement of agreed and reasonable business travel expenses No bonus or incentive scheme applies to this role.
A recruitment pack is avialable upon request.
Interviews to take place week commenicng 7th September
Pay: £55,000.00-£65,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
