The Key is a charity committed to inspiring young people to believe in themselves, especially those facing challenging circumstances. We work with nearly a hundred organisations across the North East who use the KEY+ Challenge to empower young people to use their voices, take part in activities and projects meaningful to them, build their skills and confidence, and become more active in their communities.

Through a wide variety of partnerships, young people are supported to complete the KEY+ Challenge, our youth-led skills development programme, built upon over 30 years' experience and founded on our core beliefs.

We are now seeking a new Chief Executive Officer to continue our journey and position KEY+ as an excellent kitemark for any organisations who want to evidence high quality skills development work with young people. We’ll be working in areas where deprivation and poverty are prevalent, with young people who are facing additional barriers. We’ll need to deliver on the funding pledges we’ve already secured, and we’ll need to continue to secure new funders.

Our CEO vacancy creates a brilliant opportunity to play a vital part in supporting young people to create inspiring stories at an important time in The Key's long-standing history. You will experience the difference our support makes to young people and witness the inspiring stories of their ideas, development, and progression. It’s the fuel that drives and motivates us to achieve more and we hope it drives you too.

It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) you’ll need enthusiasm, ambition, and strong values. Day to day, you’ll work with a committed team who are super focused on trying to help young people access the brilliant opportunities they deserve. Working hours are flexible with some office and home working.

This is a job that will guarantee you brilliant moments as you get close to the magic of what different groups of young people make happen when they get the right opportunities. Have a look at our website to see some of those amazing stories. If you’re interested and want to talk to us – please get in touch we’d love to speak to you and answer any questions.

The candidate pack contains details of how to apply and you can download it here. We're looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Deadline to apply is 11th February 2024.
Due to expected interest, we encourage interested applicants to apply early as we reserve the right to close this vacancies early.