Chief Executive Officer | Dreamflight

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Join Dreamflight as our next CEO and help provide amazing holidays for children with a serious illness or disability.

• Location: Hybrid/Buckinghamshire

Who we are

Dreamflight is an independent UK charity which provides amazing holidays for children with a serious illness or disability.

Since 1987, we have taken over 6,500 children on their holiday of a lifetime to Orlando and, in recent years, have expanded to also offer exciting activity breaks in the UK.

The children leave their families behind and are instead accompanied by teams of medical and non-medical volunteers to help encourage independence and confidence and provide lots of fun. Though Dreamflight holidays last a relatively short time, the benefits for these children are often life-long.

Dreamflight needs to raise more than £1.5m each year to provide such opportunities. Most of our income is raised by volunteers, from individuals taking part in bake sales and sky dives, to organised events such as balls and golf days. We also have good relationships with a number of corporate supporters and Trusts and Foundations.

With the current CEO stepping down after 11 years and with exciting plans to develop our offer further in future, we are now looking for a new Chief Executive to lead us into the next phase of growth and strategic development.

Who we are looking for

Our next CEO will be an outstanding people leader with a successful senior leadership track record in a relevant organisation of a similar scale. Experience leading teams and working with and galvanising volunteers across the UK and internationally would be an advantage.

You will be a visible and credible ambassador for the charity, able to represent the organisation with confidence and authenticity to a wide range of stakeholders, from our committed volunteer base to fundraisers and corporate partners to the young people we support.

You will be passionate about making a lasting impact on children’s lives and empowering our staff and volunteer teams to thrive.

While remaining sensitive to our successful legacy and mission, you will bring an appetite and vision for growth.

You will be committed to making each of our holidays the best they can be and to supporting more children by providing more and more diverse types of holidays in the future.

You will also be commercially astute with financial management and budgeting experience. Experience in developing successful fundraising strategies would be highly advantageous.

Above all, you will be motivated by our cause and the opportunity to change children’s lives – a collaborative and inclusive leader willing to roll up their sleeves and get ‘stuck in’.

About Dreamflight

Dreamflight was founded in 1986 by Patricia Pearce and Derek Pereira, both of whom worked for British Airways. Patricia had previously helped to organise a BA project, Skyride, which raised money to take underprivileged children on a one-hour ‘Christmas party’ flight. Patricia and Derek decided to go one step further and take deserving children to Walt Disney World, and Dreamflight was born.

The first trip took place in 1987, and over 6,500 children have now experienced their ‘holiday of a lifetime’. The next Orlando trip will take place from the 26th October to the 5th November 2024.

Children aged 8-14 with a serious illness or disability are nominated each year by doctors, consultants and specialists across the UK. Our Medical Director reviews all nominations and selects 192 children based on a range of criteria, including who will gain a real and lasting benefit from the experience. The children are placed in regional groups and our local experienced volunteer teams undertake home visits and regional meet-ups to get to know the children and families, complete care plans and answer any questions about the upcoming trip. Each October, all the children and volunteer carers come together in London to board Dreamflight’s privately-hired aircraft to Orlando.

Our values

We are:

• Committed to helping children realise their full potential
• Compassionate to deserving children and their families
• Safe: the children’s safety is our priority at all times
• Professional and organised in all aspects of our work

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

To access a full job description and application details, please fill out the form below.

To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.

Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk inserting “Dreamflight – Chief Executive Officer” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement on receipt of your application within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please make contact with our admin team.