Role OVO-View

Team: OVO Foundation

Salary banding: £65,000 - £80,000

Experience: Expert

Working pattern: Full-time

Role type: 12 month Fixed-Term Contract

Reporting to: Chair of the OVO Foundation Board of Trustees/ OVO’s Director of People Experience

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Leadership, Purpose, Impact

Top 3 qualities for this role: Collaborative, Strategic, Passionate

Where you’ll work:

At OVO, we understand that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why we created the OVO Way of Flexibility.

We’re ideally looking for this role to be based from our London hub, providing a dedicated space for collaboration, connection and teamwork. You’ll also have the flexibility to work from home. If you’re not able to be in London 2 - 3 days per week, we’d still love to hear from you but regular travel to our Hubs (Bristol, London and/ or Glasgow) will be required.

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here’s how:

We're OVO’s award-winning charity, supported by OVO and our customers. From reducing schools’ energy bills to planting Tiny Forests; we are a small and mighty team thanks to our brilliant partnerships. In 2023, we helped over 20,000 children and young people to access nature, climate action and education.

This role in a nutshell:

We may be biased but this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting roles in OVO. OVO Foundation - OVO’s very own award-winning charity - turns 10 this year and has developed a legacy of supporting children and young people through innovative programmes with great impact. The Head of OVO Foundation is responsible for delivering our charity's vision of a greener, brighter future for future generations. You will lead the Foundation team, work closely with our Board of Trustees, and build and maintain strong relationships with a wide variety of internal and external partners.

Your key outcomes will be:

Use strategic leadership to influence and connect:

• Implement OVO Foundation’s funding strategy
  • finding and creating innovative approaches to deliver on our vision
• Build strong relationships with the business, including senior leaders, promoting our work and helping to secure OVO Foundation’s future
• Lead the creation of annual roadmaps to enable the successful delivery of team objectives
• Contribute to the strategy and delivery of OVO’s social impact and ‘Way of Giving’, including volunteering opportunities for OVO People

• Actively contribute to grant-making and wider third sector networks to ensure OVO Foundation stays up to date with activity in the youth nature and climate education and action space.

  Ensure the success of our programmes and partnerships:

• Use critical thinking and analytical skills to identify and develop our portfolio of programmes and partners
• Ensuring all projects are successfully delivered, monitored and measured to agreed budget and schedule in order to reach key achievements and impact
• Drive opportunities to improve data collection and reporting processes

• Be responsible for excellent working relationships with our partners

  Find opportunities to communicate our impact:

• Seek opportunities to ensure that our work is well positioned, relevant and visible to increase our reach
• Work closely with the relevant teams to lead and be responsible for communications with OVO's customers
• Identify new opportunities to promote OVO Foundation’s work internally and externally
• Ensure OVO Foundation continues to be deeply embedded in OVO’s culture and OVO People feel proud of our partners and projects

• Represent the Foundation at external events and through collaboration opportunities with peer organisations

  Lead the charity’s governance and financial management:

• Support the Board to ensure we meet our financial, legal and regulatory obligations, and follow good practice in all areas of governance and operations, including new trustee recruitment
• Organise and prepare for engaging quarterly board meetings, including quarterly performance reports and guest speakers, to help our Board make great decisions
• Follow all charity regulations and annual reporting requirements
• Oversee development, implementation and review of policies and processes
• Accountable for due diligence of all partners and grant recipients
• Forecast and manage large grant-making and operating budgets, and closely track spend

• Oversee the administration of grant payments and management of accounts

  Support our people

• Support team to achieve personal and professional development goals
• Manage hiring and onboarding to OVO Foundation team as necessary

• Identify and encourage opportunities for close collaboration with other OVO teams

  Within your first 3 months month you’ll:

• Be a credible and authentic champion of OVO Foundation, able to influence relevant collaborators to work towards collective goals.
• Be known as a passionate, knowledgeable and approachable leader, having built excellent relationships internally and externally.
• Be familiar with the programmes and partnerships we support, including our key challenges and achievements.
• Ensure new partnerships are established and delivered.
• Deliver an engaging Q4 Board meeting, and have developed a plan for our annual strategy review in Q1 2025.

You’ll be a successful Head of OVO Foundation if you're …

• Passionate about doing the right thing for people and the planet, and particularly committed to equipping children and young people with the knowledge, skills and opportunities for their future
• Familiar with the funding landscape and how grant-making organisations operate and can bring about effective systems change
• Able to find and deliver opportunities to collaborate cross-functionally in a corporate environment, with solid understanding of the dynamics of corporate foundations
• Excited by partnership development. You’ll be able to spot promising opportunities to collaborate with external organisations
• Knowledgeable about good governance and working with a Board of Trustees to drive improvements
• Skilled in inspiring others. You will communicate the impact of our work - on paper and in person - and engage key audiences to support us.
• Experienced in developing a strategy and distilling it into goals and measurable objectives to support and drive the performance of OVO Foundation’s work
• A committed people leader, and successful in supporting your team
• Comfortable managing competing priorities in a small team and fast-paced environment
• Able to influence others. You will be skilled in using data and insight to demonstrate rationale and consequently make effective decisions and recommendations

Let’s talk about what’s in it for you

We’ll pay you between £65,000 and £80,000, depending on your specific skills and experience. If your expectations are a little different, have a chat with us!

We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us, and you, flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.

You’ll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal.

We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVO…and there’s flex pay. It’s an extra 9% of your salary on top of your core pay to use as you like. You can take it as cash, add to your pension, or choose to spend it on a huge range of flex benefits.

Here’s a taster of what’s on offer:

For starters, you’ll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays).

For your healthWith benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and more
For your wellbeingWith gym membership, gadget, travel and cyber insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, DNA testing, dental insurance, and more For your lifestyle With extra holiday buying, discount dining, culture cards, tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donations

For your home Get up to £300 off any OVO Energy plan (when you pay by Direct Debit), plus personal carbon offsetting and great discounts on smart thermostats and EV chargers
For your commute Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing, plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans

Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies? Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.

For your Belonging

To find better ways to support our people, we need to listen to each other’s experiences and find ways to build a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. As part of this, we have 8 Belonging Networks at OVO. Led by our people, for our people - so when you join OVO, you can play a part - big or small - with any of the Networks. It's up to you.

Oh, and one last thing...

We’d be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes yet we also believe it’s just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what we’re looking for but not every single thing, go ahead and hit apply. We’d still love to hear from you! If you have any additional requirements, there’s a space to let us know on the application form; we want to make the process as easy and comfortable for you as possible..