Interim Chief Executive Officer – North Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (NSDAS)
Location: Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell and Spelthorne (hybrid; 2 days per week on-site presence
Salary: circa £60,000 FTE (PAYE)
Contract: Fixed term 18-24 months, 4 days per week
Are you a seasoned, compassionate leader ready to stabilise and strengthen a trauma-informed frontline charity supporting survivors across North Surrey?
About North Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (NSDAS)
NSDAS is a specialist, survivor-centred charity formed as an independent Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2024 following a period hosted by Citizens Advice.
We provide confidential practical and emotional support to adults and children affected by domestic abuse across Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell and Spelthorne, delivering helpline and email advice, advocacy, safety planning, refuge and housing pathways, recovery programmes and targeted work for children and young people.
Our practice is trauma-informed and feminist in outlook, foregrounding safety, confidentiality and the lived experience of survivors.
We are a small, specialist organisation with an average headcount of around 18 (approximately 15 frontline staff and three support roles), supported by a committed cohort of volunteers.
Since independence our trustees have prioritised governance, compliance and capacity building; in our first independently reported year total income was c.£932k and trustees view the near-term financial position as stable while planning prudently for the medium term.
This interim appointment offers the chance to lead NSDAS through consolidation and prepare the charity for its next strategic phase.
As our next Interim Chief Executive Officer, you will:
- Strategy & Impact: Develop and deliver a clear 12-month operational plan, with pragmatic milestones and measurable outcomes that align with trustee priorities and service needs.
- Governance & Finance: Strengthen governance and risk reporting to the Board, maintain oversight of day-to-day financial control and cashflow, and support the Treasurer in preparing budgets and regular management reports.
- Operational Leadership: Provide stable, visible leadership and day-to-day operational management, ensuring continuity and quality of frontline services.
- Income Generation: Lead practical income-generation activity alongside trustees and fundraising staff, identify suitable funding opportunities and support bid development to diversify income and build unrestricted reserves.
- Service Quality & Safeguarding: Ensure survivor-centred practice, robust case recording, up-to-date safeguarding and lone-working protocols, and quality assurance across services.
- People & Wellbeing: Prioritise staff and volunteer wellbeing by embedding clinical supervision, promoting psychological safety and improving supervision and development arrangements.
- Community & Partnerships: Maintain and build constructive relationships with statutory partners (local authorities, police), Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership members and other key stakeholders; represent NSDAS at multi-agency forums.
- Brand & Profile: Advocate for local service needs, raise NSDAS’s profile within the local ecosystem and support trustee work to communicate impact and local value.
Who you are
- A seasoned senior leader with proven executive experience in a small to medium-sized charity or comparable organisation (c.8–20 staff; turnover circa £0.5m+).
- Demonstrable experience of leading organisations through change or transition while maintaining service continuity.
- Strong people leadership skills with experience managing sensitive HR matters, staff wellbeing and clinical/therapeutic supervision arrangements.
- A track record of successful income generation and relationship management with funders, commissioners and statutory partners.
- Financially competent with experience of budgetary control, reading management accounts and reporting to trustees.
- Excellent communicator, credible at both operational detail and strategic discussion, with highly developed stakeholder engagement skills.
- Knowledge of domestic abuse and trauma-informed approaches is essential (practical experience in the VAWG sector strongly preferred).
- Commitment to equality, diversity and survivor-centred practice and the ability to travel across the boroughs and work flexibly.
- Essential occupational requirement: This post is open to female applicants only as this is deemed a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
- Desirable: experience of working within statutory commissioning environments and experience of accreditation/standards (for example Women’s Aid) or practical organisational transition/partnership development.
Why NSDAS?
- Lead a values-driven, trauma-informed charity delivering critical local services and making a tangible difference to survivors’ lives.
- Join a small, committed team with a clear focus on staff wellbeing, clinical supervision and psychologically safe practice.
- A visible leadership role during an important phase of consolidation and strategic development, with clear 12-month priorities and trustee support.
- Hybrid and flexible working (3–4 days per week), regional travel as required and a meaningful, high-impact interim appointment.
- Opportunity to strengthen governance, diversify income and build unrestricted reserves for longer-term resilience.
For full details of the role including how to apply, please download the full appointment brief. For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Jenny Hills at Harris Hill at executive@harrishill.co.uk with times to speak and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile which will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 30th March 2026
As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications for this role from women from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.
