Chief Executive Officer | Devon Air Ambulance Trust

Chief Executive Officer - Devon Air Ambulance Trust

Use your transformational leadership skills to orchestrate and galvanise change in this £12m income complex organisation that delivers vital emergency medical services in Devon.

• Location: Exeter

Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT) is the charity that raises the funds to keep Devon’s two air ambulances flying and our fleet of Critical Care Cars responding.

Accidents and illnesses happen, and when they do, patients, whatever their age, circumstance or location, need specialist treatment fast. The speed with which our air ambulance doctors and paramedics can reach patients, identify their time-critical needs and provide their specialist life-saving treatments and interventions to slow, halt or even reverse the effects of a life-threatening condition is crucial in helping to achieve a successful outcome.

DAAT’s subsidiary, Devon Air Ambulance Trading Company Limited (DAATCL) provides, maintains the two free at the point of use, life-saving Air Ambulances.

When every second counts, getting the specialist skills of our Critical Care Doctors and Paramedics to the scene is paramount. Devon’s two emergency helicopters enable us to deliver expert critical care to patients wherever they may be.

We also have four Critical Care Cars, which enable our medical team to arrive quickly by road. They are especially useful when responding to incidents in built-up areas. They will also continue to respond when poor weather or essential maintenance prevents the aircraft from flying.

2023 was an extremely busy year for the Charity as a whole, and this was often reflected in the service we provided to our patients. We were deployed to 2226 missions, 1333 by helicopter and 814 by critical care car. Further information can be read here.

Of course, when delivering a medical provision, it is important not just to focus on quantity but quality, which we were judged on when the Care Quality Commission (‘CQC’) also undertook their first ‘Comprehensive Inspection’ of our service in June 2022. We were rated ‘Outstanding’, which is the highest rating we can attain and a significant achievement.

Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision

To end preventable death, disability or suffering from critical illness or injury.

Our Mission

To transform time-critical care through prevention, treatment and recovery.

Our Values

Our values guide how we relate to each other and inform the work we do and how we do it.

We’re motivated by shared values and the knowledge that our work makes a real difference in people’s lives. Because of our values and culture, we believe it’s important to attract, develop, and inspire our staff. We give our team lots of opportunities to grow and develop.

We are a Living Wage Employer and hold a Silver Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, awarded to employers who wish to pledge their intention to support the Armed Forces community. We are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 1) and have signed the charter as a Mindful Employer to support better mental health in the workplace. Also, we have committed to the ACEVO pledge to improve equality and diversity across the charity sector and the Menopause Workplace Pledge as we provide support and understanding for staff going through menopause. In our Best Companies staff engagement survey, we again achieved a 2-star Outstanding Company moving us up in the ranks as an outstanding company to work for. Read more here.

Read more about how we aim to deliver our vision, support our missions and demonstrate our values in our Strategic Plan.

Proud of our independence

Devon Air Ambulance Trust is a registered charity. Our ambition is: To be at the leading edge of outstanding delivery, development & transformation of critical care.

The Charity is wholly independent, which means that through the Devon Air Ambulance Trading Company Limited (DAATCL), which is registered with the CQC, we have our own Air Operating Certificate (AOC). Effectively the service and Charity are able to make more operational decisions without the need for a third party, therefore we can liaise directly with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Our Air Ambulances

Devon’s two Air Ambulances are state-of-the-art Airbus Helicopters. They are both owned by the Charity, which has many advantages over leasing. In fact, we have realised savings of over £12,000 per month per aircraft since we bought them.

Our wholly-owned subsidiary trading company holds the Air Operator’s Certificate, making the service truly independent. It has full control over all operational and developmental improvements.

We work closely with the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), which deploys the helicopters. Until spring 2019, our paramedic aircrew were employed by SWASFT and seconded to us, but we have since brought our crews ‘in-house’, and they are now employees of Devon Air Ambulance.

The Charity and the other Air Ambulance charities under the SWASFT umbrella fund a specialist HEMS desk (helicopter emergency medical services) staffed by a team of six based at the 999 control room. They monitor tasking and despatch the aircraft in order to optimise availability for the patients most in need.

With the retirement of our current CEO in March 2025, we are looking for our new Chief Executive to lead our organisation through transformational change. This is an exciting time to be joining our organisation, and on your ‘to-do list’ will be:

• The development of digital – how it can enhance our operations and how we communicate both internally and externally
• Culture and people development
• Community and public engagement
• Capital project to build a new combined HQ and airbase near Exeter Airport

Who we are looking for

With a passion for our mission and purpose, and a connection to the County of Devon, you will be a leader who knows how best to lead the transformational change of our complex organisation.

You may not know about all the technical and operational aspects of our organisation (which you will learn once you get here), but you will have the skills, knowledge, and capabilities to deliver a significant change programme in a sensitive, authentic, and people-focused way.

For further information about the role, or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners.

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Andrew Brown.