Director of Member Services (FTC)

Applications are being regularly reviewed. Apply ASAP if you are interested and have the skills and experience for this role.

Refer to the full candidate pack for a welcome note from the CEO.

About the Association

The Ombudsman Association (OA) is the professional association for ombudsman schemes and complaint handling bodies in the UK, Ireland, the British Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories.

Our membership criteria are recognised as representing best practice, as reflected in the UK Cabinet Office’s guidance for government departments and UK Companies House criteria for using the protected term ‘ombudsman’.

The OA provides and facilitates a number of opportunities for the sharing of best practice between members, including via the online OA Community, the various Networks for the staff of member schemes, and the annual conference.

The Vision of the OA is that throughout the public and private sectors:

• It is straightforward and simple for people to complain.
• People making a complaint are listened to and treated fairly.
• A complaint is dealt with quickly, fairly and effectively at the earliest stage by suitably trained staff.
• People have access to an ombudsman in all areas of consumer and public services.
• The learning from a complaint is used to improve services.

The OA’s objectives are to:

• Support and promote an effective system of complaint handling and redress in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Britain’s Crown Dependencies and Britain’s Overseas Territories.
• Encourage, develop and protect the role of an ombudsman in both the public and private sectors as the ‘best practice’ model for resolving complaints, according recognition through membership.
• Provide an authoritative voice and promote best practice and policy for those involved in complaint handling and redress to ensure an effective service for the public.
• Support open and transparent accountability and endorse principles of good complaint handling.

You can read more about our work in our Annual Report.

1.      The Role

This newly created 3-year fixed term role is accountable to the Chief Executive and will work with him to deliver the OA’s business plan and strategic objectives, taking lead responsibility for the development and delivery of the OA’s member services. This will include supporting the development and maintenance of the Networks and delivery of high-quality services for members, co-ordinating the re-validation of members, and ensuring greater organisational resilience through the development of funding and revenue generation.

The Director will have line management responsibility for the two other OA staff members; the Communications Manager and the Office Manager.

Key responsibilities for the role

1. Support the Chief Executive in delivering the OA’s business plan and strategic objectives, deputising for them in their absence.
2. Operational responsibility for developing and growing members’ services to promote sharing of good practice, including supporting current Network groups to remain relevant and vibrant for members, developing mechanisms for identifying and connecting with members’ needs, and developing new Networks or Working Groups when appropriate.
3. Develop and grow the use of the OA Community as a vibrant hub for OA members to engage on key issues and as a means of ensuring the OA is connected and delivering for members.
4. Plan, organise, and deliver the OA’s Annual Conference ensuring it is successful both financially and strategically. Liaising with the Chief Executive, agree the conference theme and organise the programme including keynote speakers, breakout sessions, registration, and evaluation.
5. Ensure the efficient and timely delivery of the re-validation programme of OA Members. Support the Validation Committee in their programme of work and ensure the co-ordination of applications, reports, and papers for Committee meetings. Engage with members in the re-validation process providing advice and support.
6. Undertake a review of the OA’s current funding and revenue generation and, where appropriate, develop and deliver new streams to ensure a more sustainable organisation moving forward.
7. Support and manage OA staff, providing appropriate support and supervision in line with OA policies and procedures. Agree and supervise a work programme with clear objectives for each staff member to deliver the OA’s business plan and objectives.
8. Any other reasonable duties as required.

Hours / place of work

The role is full-time, 35 hours per week, for a 3-year fixed-term. The role is fully home working, with some travel required during the year as set out below:

• Board meetings: There are four scheduled Board meetings a year; two taking place online and two in-person. The in-person meetings are hosted by members of the Board; the location of those physical meetings therefore rotates around the UK and Ireland.
• Annual Conference: The location of the OA’s Annual Conference also rotates around the UK and Ireland. Attendance at the three-day event, which takes place in June, is required. Travel will also be required for site visits to identify future venues.
• Engagement with members: Most engagement with members now takes place via online meetings, reflecting modern working practices. Sporadically there will also be opportunities, or the necessity, for face-to-face meetings across the UK and Ireland, and occasionally in the British Crown Dependencies or the British Overseas Territories.
• Line management: As a fully remote organisation, the OA’s staff are currently spread across the UK. As part of line management responsibilities and team activities travel will be required on occasion.
• Ad-hoc events: Travel might be required for ad-hoc in-person stakeholder events.

Offer:

• Salary of £60,000 – £65,000
• Home working (or current office if on secondment)
• 25 days of annual leave, plus Bank Holidays, and additional 1.5 days over Christmas / New Year shutdown period.
• Nest Pension Scheme, with 8.3% employer contribution, calculated on full salary.
• Group medical insurance, including optical and dental coverage, and Employee Assistance programme.

2.      Person specification

Essential

• Proven track record in a senior leadership or operational management role within a membership body, professional association, or similar organisation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong and effective relationships internally and externally.
• Demonstrable success in directly managing, mentoring, and driving performance within small teams.
• Ability to switch seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on delivery.
• Experience and understanding of income generation.
• Proven experience in budget formulation, financial forecasting, and resource allocation.

Desirable:

In addition to the above, experience or understanding of ombudsman schemes, complaint handling landscapes, or social and consumer rights would be beneficial but is not essential.

To apply

Please submit your CV and a covering letter, setting out how you meet the essential criteria for the role. Covering letters should be a maximum of two sides.  

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all job applicants. The information you supply in your application will be treated in confidence and will be used solely for assessing your suitability for the role.