As our new chief executive, you won't just be responsible for making sure we're providing top-notch support. You’ll set the tone for how it feels to work at PSS, creating an environment where people feel connected to our purpose, understand where we’re heading and feel proud to be part of it.  

Turning strategy into action. You’ll help make sure we deliver what we’ve said we’re going to deliver, keeping people focused, building momentum and making sure we stay accountable for creating the impact we want to make.  

While the foundations are already in place, this is not a strategy that has been written and sealed away in a drawer. We are looking for a chief executive who will bring fresh thinking, curiosity and imagination to how it's delivered, helping us build on what already exists, identify new opportunities and shape what the next chapter of PSS becomes. 

We see this as a platform for leadership, not simply implementation.

We’re not saying you’re not already brilliant now, but you certainly will be once you’re working to our Be Brilliant framework.  

The Be Brilliant framework is a set of seven competencies that tell us what we need to achieve to ‘Be Brilliant’ at our jobs, and our PSS values tell us how we should do it. Our values guide our choices, and our actions help us hit the mark. 

You’ll have your own set of goals and actions that work towards your own framework, as well as overseeing the implementation of the framework for the four people you line manage. This will include six-weekly check-ins, a mid-year review and end-of-year review.  

You’ll need to work closely with our brilliant Board, building a great working relationship so you’re all working effectively together. Keeping them in-the-know about all things PSS so that they can make important decisions based on info that’s accurate and timely, and that we’re doing everything in line with good governance, charity law and other statutory responsibilities. 

You’ll be responsible for making sure PSS continues to grow sustainably, spotting opportunities, building partnerships and making decisions that keep us financially strong while helping us reach more people. It’s about thinking bigger and working with our teams to bring your vision into the right opportunities for growth. 

We’ll need you to work with our director of finance and people, to oversee budget setting and the review of financial performance, so that PSS is financially secure and is spending its money on the right things. You’ll make sure that every penny counts, so that PSS is cost-effective and provides the best value for money. 

Ultimately, responsibility for making sure PSS remains financially sustainable sits with you.  

Working closely with our head of communications, you’ll be the spokesperson for PSS, helping to protect our reputation. You’ll also be our cheerleader in the media, not afraid to take the spotlight to spread the word about the ace work we do, and why it’s important. You’ll be a credible ambassador for PSS externally, building relationships and helping make sure our voice is heard where it matters. This includes being politically astute and weighing in on conversations that affect the political landscape in relation to PSS and social care.  

Making sure PSS is somewhere everyone feels like they belong is a big part of how we do things. We’ll need you to drive change wherever it’s needed, making PSS a more equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation. 

The people we support are our reason for doing what we do, and they’re the only ones who know what it’s like to be them, so it’ll be your job to make sure that you get to know them and our services, and that we’re really listening to what people have to say, letting their voices guide the development of new services and the way we do things round here. You’ll support our fab director of operations to make sure what we do is the best it can be, and if it’s not, work to change that. 

A seasoned executive leader (ideally at CEO level, but it’s okay if you’re not) who can be a real role model when it comes to what a fabulous leader looks like. You’ll lead with vision, compassion and strategic clarity and have experience of leading growing, thriving organisations.  

You’ll have lots of experience in leading, developing and delivering cross-organisational plans that make change happen,  and are able to take the rough with the smooth, and deal with the ups and downs of leading an organisation like ours. 

We’ve always been rebels with a cause, but now we want to be pioneers with a plan, and a Big Plan we already have, but what we also need are cutting edge ideas and innovative ways to grow. We want out-of-the-box thinking that balances organisational sustainability with new strategies for supporting people. You’ll be catapulting us forward with new ideas and fresh thinking that makes sure we’re around for generations to come.  

But with all the plans to drive forward, we also need you to be someone who is accountable and can make sure we’re doing what we’re saying we’re doing. You’ll have your eye on the ball, and know what’s going on, who to follow up with and have conversations when we might be falling behind. You’ll also be able to hold yourself accountable too. 

We want our people to feel confident, assured and that they can trust the person leading our organisation. We’ll want you to spend time getting to know people and providing reassurance that like them, you’re someone who lives and breathes the PSS values of being big-hearted, open-minded, genuine, determined and professional. 

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, our organisation is all about our people, and being our chief exec, you’ll need to be a people person with a capital P. 

We want someone who is visible, approachable and comfortable building connections with people we support, teammates, partners, commissioners and communities. Someone who can represent PSS confidently, create opportunities through relationships, and inspire people to come along on the journey. 

Being the chief exec of a social care charity means you understand person-centred support and are committed to this type of working. As well as having your heart in the right place, we want your head in the right place, too. You’ll need a good business brain that can see where the challenges are in the health and social care sector (and society on the whole) and know where to start looking for the solutions. You’ll be up-to-date on what’s happening in social care commissioning and monitoring, and know what needs to be done when it comes to working in a challenging financial environment. You’ll be able support PSS’s growth ambitions and create and build relationships that will help us on that journey.  

As chief executive you’ll be wearing a lot of interchangeable hats at any given moment, so you’ll need to be someone who is organised, can work well under pressure, decisive, can evaluate risk effectively and make things happen at the right speed. And we’re not just talking about zooming us towards glory (although, that sounds fun!) it’s about knowing when to slow down and work at a pace that feels manageable for our teams and achievable for our goals. For anything that feels high challenge, we need to make sure we’ve got a high level of support in place. 

For as many wonderful things there are about social care, there are a lot of challenges too. You’ll need to be someone who can deal effectively with difficult situations of all shapes and size and navigate difficult conversations. 

A massive part of being a chief exec is understanding the governance and legal duties you’re responsible for as our leader. You’ll understand the role of the Board and how they work with you to help you steer the good ship PSS.  

Our services are who we are and what we do, but how well we deliver them, and the quality of our support will be down to you (and all of the people behind you at PSS!).  

If we say we’re going to do something, we’ll need to do it, but we’ll also need to bring people with us on the journey and make sure that when we’re supporting people, we’re doing it safely, legally and above board.   

Even though you’ll be our leader, we’ll still want you to work as a team. You’ll work closely with our brilliant Board, senior leaders and teammates across PSS, creating an environment where people feel empowered, supported and able to do their best work.   

How you communicate with people matters. You’ll need to be confident, friendly, professional and be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas clearly, whether that’s when you’re talking to someone we support, meeting with of one of our commissioners or keeping everyone working at PSS up to date with what’s going on. 

We have our own style of communication at PSS, often described as clear, human and warm, and it’s something that people love about us, so you’ll need to be someone who is totally on board with how we do that.