Chief Executive Officer

Salary: £135,000 - £165,000
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time
Location: Hammersmith and Caversham
Hours: 40 Hours per week

As CEO, you will be the visible leader and ambassador of British Rowing – representing a sport with deep heritage and an exciting future. The Chief Executive will be responsible for the delivery of the British Rowing Transformation Plan, ensuring outcomes are aligned to the needs of the organisation, its members, its clubs and partners. This will require considered leadership and sound business judgement as British Rowing seeks to establish a more united and robust organisation. 

You will:

1. Lead the delivery of our transformation programme, ensuring the organisation, its systems, and people are aligned to succeed.
2. Strengthen our reputation as one of the UK’s most effective and forward- looking governing bodies.
3. Build new partnerships and revenue streams that enable sustained investment in participation and performance.
4. Champion inclusivity, integrity, and innovation across everything we do.
5. Inspire confidence among staff, volunteers, athletes and stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead Transformation and Growth: lead the team to deliver the transformation programme, ensuring regular reporting against milestone to key stakeholders, surfacing of issues and risks and identifying and delivering appropriate mitigating actions, ensure that British Rowing has strong business planning and risk management systems in place which ensure timely delivery of these strategic plans.
2. Inspire and Empower People by providing inspirational leadership to the senior team, ensuring clear performance objectives, robust performance review and appraisal processes, with regular feedback and ongoing development programmes for the team. 
3.  Governance and Accountability: Work with the Chair to optimise the contribution of the Board and senior leadership team, to ensure the Board is able to operate effectively and make well-informed decisions. Ensure exemplary standards of governance, risk management, and transparency across the
   organisation and the sport.
4. Financial Stewardship and Commercial Development: Oversee financial performance, develop new income streams, and ensure investment decisions deliver sustainable value and impact.
5. Stakeholder Leadership: Build trusted, influential relationships with key local, regional and national partners. In particular, build strong relationships of trust with the Home Nations, Regional Rowing Councils, clubs and competitions – such that they share and own the vision of the transformation programme. 
6. Culture and Values Define, embed and role model the organisational culture and values and embers throughout the organisation and the broader sport.
7. National and International Representation: Maintain and strengthen the relationships with the national partners including UK Sport, Sport England and the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations. Act as the Accountable Officer for funding agreements and maintain strong relationships with national and
   international partners including World Rowing.

Please click here to see the full Job Description.

Experience and Expertise

• An accomplished senior-level executive with demonstrable experience of motivating and leading teams through growth and change.
• Experience leading an organisation successfully through a significant transformational period and building commitment throughout all stakeholder groups.
• Experience of operating at board level, providing the Board and stakeholders with a clear understanding of the issues and risks and progress of the organisation to enable them to fulfil their fiduciary duties. 
• A deep understanding of the importance of good governance within an organisation and the experience of having managed its delivery
• Excellent financial awareness, with a proven ability to control budgets and forecasts.
• Has experience of effective risk management across physical and financial risks as well as effective safeguarding.
• Experience of developing a brand and a good understanding of what digital transformation really is, and how it can generate and drive growth, efficiencies and commercial opportunities

Key Skills and Attributes

• An inspirational, inclusive and collaborative leader – high integrity and ethical standards, passionate about the power of sport to transform lives and communities – a leader who can demonstrably engage and unite people behind a compelling mission
• Commercially astute with the ability to develop and drive strategy to enhance income streams and partnership potential for the organisation and its members. 
• The skill, ability and experience to continually develop members of the senior management team in a high performing organisation.
• A collaborative and empowering leadership style
• Ability to drive change to take the sport through a new era, whilst taking the broader membership and stakeholders with you through consultation, listening and consistent communication.
• Ability to promote, embed and advance equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation

Besides the salary and 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays) pro rata, you’ll also get:
● 7.5% employer pension contribution (when you contribute 3%)
● £20 per month with Betterspace (our wellbeing platform)
● Company Health Insurance and Health Cash Plan
● Life assurance (x3 your salary)
● Cycle to work scheme
● Free and secure parking in Hammersmith
● Free annual ROW Membership
● Bonus annual leave between Christmas and New Years Day

To apply for this role, please submit your cover letter alongside your CV. We’re going to close applications on 17th of November but, if you like the sound of the job, please apply straight away as we reserve the right to close applications early if we find the right candidate!

Interviews: 
First round either 27th or 28th November. 
Final Interview: 10th December

Our passion is rowing in all of its forms. British Rowing is the governing body for rowing, responsible for supporting grassroots rowing in England and preparing the GB Rowing Team ready for the Olympics, Paralympics, and other international competitions.

Our vision is a sport that welcomes and has an offer for everyone. Our mission is to create a healthy, inclusive and life-enhancing sport. We are a membership organisation with over 30,000 individual members, supporting over 550 affiliated clubs and 230 affiliated events. We cover all types of rowing - whether it’s on the river or lake, on the sea, at home, or in the gym. 

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all individuals, regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnership. If you require reasonable accommodations to participate in the recruitment process, please let us know by indicating your needs to the HR team in the application form or by emailing hr@britishrowing.org.