Contract: Fixed-Term Contract

Salary: £34,164 – £37,496 per annum

Central London, like many cities across the world, is an exciting and stimulating place. However, for some, it is a place to go when things have gone profoundly wrong and there is nowhere else. When people are on the edge, homeless, isolated and in despair there must be a place to turn. The Connection is there to be with people as they overcome that isolation, recover and move on to a meaningful, fulfilling life.

However, this is not enough. The experiences of people on the edge matter. Their story must be told to those in a position of power and influence, so that homelessness, exclusion and isolation are not acceptable features of life in the UK.

The Connection at St. Martin’s empowers those who are on the edges of society to take control of their lives by:

• Providing practical support in an active environment designed to help people to recognise their own strengths, recover from crisis and move on;

• Collaborating with others who share our vision and mission not just in London, but other parts of the UK and the world;

• Sharing our learning with others, to deepen our own understanding and create a more socially just society for those on the margins.

About the role:

The Client Involvement Co-ordinator will deliver and develop our innovative plan to build co-production and a strengths based approach across CSTM, building on our core values. This role requires someone with a strong track record with clients to improve services which are designed for people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage. The post holder will be able to build the capacity and skills of others to engage clients in the design, delivery and evaluation of services. They will also have experience of developing policies and procedures to balance legal compliance with client accessibility. Finally, the Client Involvement Co-ordinator will have the credibility and personal leadership to effect cross charity change regardless of level of seniority.

So, are you interested in this rewarding role that comes with some really great benefits? To apply, please submit an application highlighting that you meet the requirements of the role set out in the person specification attached. Only candidates that provide this, and who meet the essential criteria within the person specification, will be considered for an interview.

Details of the full job description, which includes the detailed person specification can be found attached here.

Please find the application form attached here.

This is a 1-year fixed term contract, covering maternity leave.

Closing date: Friday 19th February 2021

Interview date: Monday 1st March 2021

The Connection at St. Martins (CSTM), based in the heart of London has been helping homeless people
since the First World War and is one of London’s largest homelessness charities. Historically The
Connection at St Martins has limited experience of trading and enterprise. As part of our five-year
strategy,2018-23, we have a stated ambition to change this. We will be scaling up our enterprise revenue
from less than 1% of our turnover in 2018 to nearer 5% over the next 4 years, with activity from the newly
formed trading subsidiary, Show Your Connection Ltd, forming the significant portion of this growth. We
want to achieve a mixture of purely profit-making activity alongside activity which creates training and
route to work opportunities for the people using our services.

Show Your Connection Ltd will encompass a mix of activity. Its flagship enterprise is currently Poster Bakes,
an in-house bakery producing vegan doughnuts, iced buns, mince pies and more. This is all ordered online
and delivered by bicycle courier locally, or sent through the post nationwide where possible. Alongside
Poster Bakes we have our Enterprise Kitchen, a commercial production kitchen producing a range of baked
goods and grab and go food that is sold through our partners on site, as well as through wholesale
partners across London. In conjunction with this we continue to build and develop our online store, a
crucial platform for generating revenue as well as trialing collaborations with both producers and our
service users.

Having formed the trading subsidiary in March 2020, we are now looking for an independent Chairman
with experience of social enterprise as well as business experience of running and growing food and drink
businesses in a challenging environments. We would like to find a Chairman who shares our passion and
commitment for food businesses, and has the skills, knowledge and experience to support excellent
governance and oversight of our work. We value diversity of perspective and we welcome applications
from all backgrounds and fields, those with lived experience, those who have previous direct experience of
Board level governance and those who do not.

The role is unpaid but immensely rewarding in terms of the positive impacts of both Show Your Connection
and CSTM’s work on people’s lives.

Role of the Chairman:

Key responsibilities of the Chairman of Show Your Connection Ltd are:

• Guiding the Board in the initial governance and overview of the new trading subsidiary

• Contributing actively to giving Show Your Connection strategic direction, setting overall policy,
defining goals and evaluating performance against agreed targets

• Exercising expert judgement and scrutiny for Show Your Connection, chairing and contributing fully
to Board meetings and sub-committees to ensure excellent governance

• Leading on decision-making, risk management and control to protect the trading subsidiary and its
relationship with the charity, its clients, staff and volunteers

• Exercising integrity, creating a culture which helps to achieve the trading subsidiary’s core purpose

• Supporting the executive director and wider team, where appropriate

Board meetings are held up to eight times a year, usually at CSTM’s premises in Trafalgar Square and in the
late afternoon/early evening. A strategy away day takes place once a year.

Qualities required:

We welcome applications from candidates with the relevant skills and expertise to undertake the role
effectively, who have a deep interest in social enterprise, as well as an understanding of the trends, issues
and environment for homeless people and rough sleepers in central London, and who are eligible to act as
a charity trustee.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have a background in any of the following:

• Social Enterprise

•Funding in a social enterprise environment

•Commercial growth from start up to sustainable business

•Lived-experience of homelessness

Recruitment Process:

Notifications of interest consisting of a C.V. together with a supporting statement (maximum 2 sides of A4)
and names of two referees whom we may approach should be sent by email to jobs@cstm.org.uk.

To obtain an information pack and if desired to arrange an informal discussion with either the Executive
Director or one of the Board directors please contact Ellen Dench either by email on ellen.dench@cstm.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7766 5544.

The closing date for applications is 21st February 2021 – Midnight. Interviews for potential candidates will
take place in early March.