National Leader (Northern Ireland)

National Leader Northern Ireland

CAP celebrates the value of diversity, and our aim is for our workforce to be as inclusive as possible, as well as representing the communities we serve. With this in mind, we welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from candidates from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. We are committed to continuing to build an environment that embraces diversity and includes all.  

Context

CAP’s mission is to end UK poverty by equipping churches to reach their communities. We exist to empower and serve churches through exceptional partnerships, delivering impactful debt advice and coaching services. Providing accessible, community-rooted support to those facing financial and social challenges across the UK. Our approach is centred on empowering individuals, providing holistic support to achieve financial resilience through expert debt advice and tailored coaching products. This approach goes far beyond financial stability, creating lasting personal and relational transformation and contributing to a society where all can flourish. We are committed to fostering strong relationships with our church partners, ensuring a collaborative and effective service that continually improves to meet the evolving needs of local communities.

Purpose

The National Leader Northern Ireland role exists to serve our partner churches through excellent support of our church partners in Northern Ireland. They will work with the Head of Devolved Nations to set national priorities (in the context of CAP’s overall aims and objectives) and lead on the national strategy to deliver those priorities. They will ensure a strong sense of national identity and unity, with strong relationships between CAP’s Northern Ireland Hub Team and centres. 

Collaborative working across the organisation will be key to ensuring a consistent approach to how we serve The Church and our clients through excellent products and services. Working across CAP will also be essential to ensure that other directorates are engaging with partner churches in a way that inspires and equips them. 

The Church is the focus of CAP’s vision and, as such, we place great importance on how we interact with, equip and support them.  This role will help ensure that we fulfil our vision to see Transformed Lives, Thriving Churches and an end to UK poverty. An understanding of the church context of Northern Ireland, and an ability to build relationships within that context to build partnerships that help outwork our vision is vital.

Reports to: Head of Devolved Nations

Direct Reports: Currently 2 Service Delivery Staff: an Area Partnership Manager and the NI Partnerships Manager.

Passion

As National Leader NI you’d lead your Northern Ireland based team with passion and skill, inspiring and equipping our frontline workers and church leaders to bring CAP's vision to life within their communities. We'll strive for excellence together, always with compassion, relational warmth, and professional integrity. You'll be a vital listener, truly understanding the needs of our church partners and clients in your nation, and representing their voices internally. Simultaneously, you'll uphold CAP's policies with gravitas and clarity, ensuring our partners are supported in delivering essential services like debt advice and safeguarding.

This role will also hold the responsibility of representing CAP with credibility and influence to national industry and government stakeholders and denominational leaders, fostering valuable partnerships.

Role

Accountabilities:

Overview:

• National Leaders are responsible for the management and development of church partnerships within their designated Nation, supporting a portfolio of 40-50+ CAP centres/services. 
• National Leaders are responsible for creating a national development plan and collaborating with the Head of Devolved Nations to ensure plans are aligned with CAP's mission, built into wider CAP strategy and facilitating the delivery of impactful community services.
• Lead a Hub Team across the nation, inspiring and equipping CAP Local Workers and church leaders to bring CAP's vision to life within their communities.
• Support and develop church partnerships to deliver a growing diverse portfolio of services within their nation, encompassing debt help, job clubs, life skills, and Money Coaching. 
• Responsible for the successful operation of CAP Local services in the nation to deliver against CAP’s goal “To inspire and equip the UK Church to help people out of poverty and become followers of Jesus”.  
• To collaborate with the relevant Senior Hub delivery manager and Devolved Nations Hub to ensure aligned delivery of the National strategy and quick effective problem solving.

Leadership of services and Local CAP Workers

• To provide overall leadership of services within their nation; identifying areas to improve, creating and driving forward a strategy for excellence 
• To manage, develop and provide leadership to a team of Area Managers ensuring they are supporting their centres with compassion, care and excellence
• To own the delivery of strategies for the recruitment, training, and ongoing development of regionally based CAP staff, fostering excellence and empowerment.
• To ensure consistent application of best practices and quality standards across local CAP workers in national services.
• To identify services in need of additional support through management information alongside the Area Partnership managers, ensuring appropriate support is provided

Partnership & Representation

• Maintain strong Church Partner relationships, ensuring contributions support our work and expand our reach.
• Work closely with the Partnership Development Manager to agree a national strategy for opening new centres/services 
• Lead the national Area Partnership Managers to identify organic growth from existing partner churches.
• Work with the Head of Devolved Nations to identify and be the key CAP representative within the nation, engaging with churches, government, and industry stakeholders and denominational leaders, fostering valuable partnerships. 
• Actively cultivate and inspire a thriving CAP culture across the devolved nations, empowering CAP Local teams through clear and compelling communication.
• Champion CAP's mission of evangelism and discipleship, ensuring its centrality in all CAP activities. Work with the Head of Mission, Evangelism & Discipleship and Head of Devolved Nations to develop the overall MED strategy for the nation.
• To celebrate achievements and highlight success both within the nation and sharing with the wider CAP family 
• To lead the nation to engage well with the all opportunities to connect in to the central CAP organisation (e.g. events, attending conferences, supporting projects, PR and referral opportunities)
• To lead or assist on key events in the nation, including, but not limited to, United conferences, national selection days and national team days, frontline “revive” days and hub/cluster events

Quality & Compliance

• Ensure regulatory compliance for Debt Centres is adhered to and the quality of service delivered is maintained at a compliant level, in conjunction with the central compliance team.
• Through the Area Partnership Management team, ensure frontline complete all annual regulatory compliance, including safeguarding declarations, audits, and any other legal or statutory requirements.
• Work alongside the Training teams to support the training of all new CAP service workers, including delivering training sessions for Equip training, webinars, and other required training annually.

Fundraising

• Collaborate with Mission and Movement and Head of Devolved nations to support national relationships with major donors to CAP
• Play a central role in wider national funding opportunities linked to Service Performance and Delivery (E.g. Power NI)
• Support the Mission and Movement department in delivering impactful supporter engagement initiatives, such as donor dinners, while fostering a culture of proactive fundraising engagement to support both church and costs central to CAP. 
• Support with the seeking out of new localised funding opportunities to support the churches within the nation.

Representing CAP

• In line with agreed strategy, to represent CAP on national bodies or to government departments in the nation (e.g. Northern Ireland Executive)
• In some cases this involves a proactive building of strategic partnerships 
• Lead/ support relationships with organisations located within the nation (e.g. utility provider, mayor’s office etc)

Collaborative working across CAP

• Build and nurture collaborative, respectful, and strong relationships with colleagues across all departments through internal networking.
• In partnership with Mission and Movement and in line with our referrals strategy; build relationships and promote the work of CAP with referral agencies at a national level to increase the number of people seeking CAP’s help
• Empower teams to address challenges directly, fostering a culture of ownership.
• Attend and speak at some of the centre launch talks and other appropriate opportunities to promote CAP within the nation
• Support and/or be the key spokesperson for CAP in regional/national media

Management Accountabilities:

• Ensure team members conduct regular reviews to monitor progress and identify issues.
• Drive team performance through effective performance management and development.
• Represent Service Quality and Operational Insight within the Service Delivery Leadership Team.
• Deliver clear and effective communication to engage and inform team members.
• Promote a culture of self-development within the team.

Measurable outputs:

Overall performance of the services within region to deliver all relevant KPIs, particularly:

• Completion of health audits across Northern Ireland
• Agent sign-off targets achieved within Northern Ireland
• Achieve agreed target numbers of people helped across services within Northern Ireland supported by role (e.g., annually increased households reached and individuals debt-free).
• Achieve target service retention levels across all services in Northern Ireland
• Agreed partnership contributions received within a tolerance of 5%.
• Frontline participation in “Moments” recording to target 80%.
• 75% conference attendance for relevant regional staff/partners
• Staff and pulse survey engagement scores for their team to exceed 60%, with scores within agreed tolerances.
• Annual national plan to be in place and targets achieved in each year 
• All direct reports achieve agreed performance targets annually.
• National CAP staff training completion rates >90%.
• Retention rate of nationally based CAP staff >80%.
• Clear evidence of a thriving CAP culture across the Northern Ireland Network.
• Evidence of strong relationships cultivated with church partners, government, and industry stakeholders within the nation.
• Measurable increase in strategic partnerships built with external organisations (e.g., utility providers, local government).
• Measurable contribution to fundraising efforts and supporter engagement initiatives within their nation (e.g., number of donor dinners facilitated, funds raised).
• Successful alignment with referrals strategy, resulting in increased numbers of people seeking help from CAP.

Culture:

• Clearly live out and embrace the cultural values of CAP.
• Clearly demonstrate a heart and passion for the charity.
• Sincere acceptance, understanding and practice of the Christian ethos and purpose of the Charity.

Other Responsibilities Include:

• Being willing to pray with staff and fully engaged with our Christ-centred  culture.
• Encouraging friends, family and other contacts to support the charity through the Life Changer programme and other fundraising initiatives.
• Attending annual CAP staff conferences.
• Completing all compulsory CAP training within given timescales.
• This role falls within the scope of the FCA’s conduct rules, and you will be provided with training as to how these apply to the role. It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow these conduct rules.

The above job profile is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment. It may change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances.

Person:

Education:

• A level education as a minimum.

Experience:

Essential

• Minimum 3 years experience in a similar leadership role, managing teams to meet objectives, with a focus on service delivery
• Evidence and outworking of a deep love and passion for the church, and for tackling poverty and proclaiming Jesus
• Experience of leading a diverse team to meet key objectives or targets
• Proven ability to work on own initiative and lead diverse teams, including geographically dispersed ones
• Experience in collaborative and partnership working, both internally and externally, including church and industry stakeholders.
• Experience in training and developing effective individuals and teams, including managers
• Experience of having to meet deadlines or targets
• Experience of establishing a localised strategy

Desirable

• Experience of delivering and arranging training sessions
• Public speaking experience
• Experience of managing a remote/dispersed team
• Experience of of debt industry and knowledge of debt advice in UK
• Experience in at least one specialised area that impacts the role (e.g. complex clients, non-employee management, communications, process improvement, project management, fundraising, external relations) 

Skills/Abilities:

• A proven leader who can inspire, influence and deliver results
• A proven networker and influencer
• A driven leader with a desire for excellence
• A proven ability to collaborate with others and work effectively in a matrix organisation
• A strategic thinker
• Able to prioritise time, tasks and attention effectively
• A confident communicator who promotes CAP’s culture and values at all times
• Ability to challenge poor performance
• Ability to understand/sympathise with a variety of Christian denominations and streams within the UK
• Respectful, personable and friendly with good people skills
• Excellent communication at all levels - able to cascade key information to line reports and teams
• Ability to develop strengths, skills and motivation in others to maximise performance

Other:

The National Leader NI will be expected to travel across Northern Ireland and to the wider UK to attend regular training, conferences and meetings.

Christian commitment:

• The candidate must be able to give both verbal assent to and practical demonstration of Christians Against Poverty’s Statement of Faith and Core Values.
• Must be able to actively participate in prayer and worship, whether individual, small group or corporately, as an expression of their own personal faith and in line with CAP’s Statement of Faith.

All adults working in or on behalf of CAP have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. This includes: 

• A responsibility to ensure a safe environment in which CAP services can be delivered. 
• Identifying children and adults where there may be safeguarding concerns.
• Following the CAP Safeguarding policy in addressing any concerns appropriately.

Date: September 2025