The Parks Trust Chief Executive Appointment Brief September 2021
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Letter from the Chair
Dear Candidate I am delighted that you are interested in applying for the role of Chief Executive at The Parks Trust and I am very happy to share further details of the position with you. The Parks Trust is an inspiring and highly valued organisation in Milton Keynes, and is well known and respected further afield for its unique model for the stewardship of public open space. As we approach our 30th birthday next year, we are in an enviable position of being both well established, with a firm financial standing, and also to have exciting opportunities ahead of us. We have been very fortunate to have been led by David Foster for the last eighteen years, and we are looking to find someone equally talented to take over when he retires next summer. David took on the role when the financial viability of the organisation in the long term was much less certain. As well as moving us ever closer to our goal of long-term financial security, he has also developed a workforce that is passionate and dedicated to the mission of creating beautiful and inspirational parks, lakes and landscapes that will be loved by the people of Milton Keynes forever.
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As the city continues to grow, there are many fascinating challenges ahead, not least how to ensure that the high quality of existing green spaces is also secured for the new developments as Milton Keynes continues to expand. Another is how our unique model might be harnessed to help other hard-pressed organisations manage their green spaces better. Our part in supporting measures to tackle the climate crisis and the ecological crisis is also going to be of increasing importance. The role of Chief Executive is a fantastic opportunity for someone who wants to build on David’s achievements and take the Trust forward in championing a new green infrastructure strategy, and leading the way in green stewardship, helping other towns and cities to learn from our success. You will be supported by a hugely talented senior leadership team who are committed and driven to achieving the Trust’s strategic goals, and the Board of Trustees who are also engaged and supportive. I do hope that you will be interested in applying for this challenging but very rewarding role. Zoe Raven Chair
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Who we are
We are an independent charity that cares for over 6,000 acres of parkland and green space in Milton Keynes. This includes the river valleys, ancient woodlands, lakesides, parks and landscaped areas alongside the main roads that represent 25% of the city and we continue to take ownership of additional areas of green space as Milton Keynes expands. In most places parks are owned and managed by the local authority, but the city’s founders wanted to be sure that such a unique green landscape would be managed and protected forever, without having to compete for funds with other council priorities. So, The Parks Trust was created in 1992 to care for most of the city’s green space and was endowed with a substantial property and investment portfolio. The income from this portfolio funds our vital work of nurturing and enhancing the landscape. We are entirely self-financing. We are supported by over 200 volunteers who are vital to the work of the organisation.
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We also have a large community engagement programme which includes outdoor learning which engages over 5,000 children and adults each year and a huge, varied events programme which see over 1,500 events and licenced activities taking place in the parks each year from festivals and concerts to fitness groups and guided walks. Milton Keynes continues to be one of the fastest growing urban areas in the UK. By 2050 Milton Keynes Council anticipates the city will be home to a population of around 410,000 (from 385,000 in 2021) with perhaps another 100,000 living close by in nearby areas. The city is now 50 years old and people who live here are hugely appreciative of the quality and quantity of green space. The Trust continues to take on new green spaces as Milton Keynes expands.
Our Mission "To create beautiful and inspirational parks, lakes and landscapes that will be loved by the people of Milton Keynes, forever."
Strategy In order to achieve our mission we have three key areas of focus in our business plan; •
our work to care for our parks, what we are doing to make them beautiful and inspirational and how we will expand the network.
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our community engagement work and all that we do to help ensure the parks are valued, understood, well used and loved by the people of MK.
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our work for the long-term benefit of Milton Keynes and to safeguard the future of the parks, forever.
The exciting challenge ahead is to develop the role of the Trust as Milton Keynes grows and to fulfil our objective that new developments in Milton Keynes benefit from the same extent and quality of green space as the original areas, and continuing to develop our work in community engagement and outdoor learning, to ensure that our parks are loved and respected for the long term.
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Finance and Resources
We have a property portfolio valued at around £120m and a financial investment portfolio of around £37m. These two portfolios provide the bulk of our income, but we also generate around £1m from our day to day operations such as farming, forestry, leisure and events. We have an annual turnover of around £10m; around 75 permanent staff, 100 casual staff and 200 volunteers. We are in good financial shape with a healthy increase last year, of £12.9m in net assets which brings our total endowment fund to £129.3m (from £116.4m in 2020). We managed to achieve these figures in a very tough year, largely due to performance of our investment portfolio. In addition, we released two small areas of land for development and received additional endowments in return for several areas of new greenspace we took on in the year. As we are entirely self-financing, our financial strategy is to grow the asset base to an extent where it can be considered financially sustainable for the long term. For more information please see our 2020/21 Annual Report https://www.theparkstrust. com/blogs/the-release-of-the-parks-trustannual-report-202021
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Culture and Values
We have exceptional staff and a culture that is greatly valued by everyone here. It is genuinely a great place to work, with a dedicated and extremely capable team. We are proud that this is reflected in some of the words our team use to describe the place: ‘happy, rewarding, fulfilling, innovative, nonbureaucratic, high standards, challenging, clarity of purpose, caring, continuously improving’. At The Parks Trust we are all: Committed
Responsible
Collaborative
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We take ownership for our decisions
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We are always open and honest
We form relationships that allow us to share expertise, collaborate, listen and learn
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We work together as one cohesive team
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We safeguard the land and the environment for future generations We take personal pride in whatever we do
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Governance and Management We are governed by a Board of 15 Trustees who all live and work locally and have the mix of skills and experience necessary to run what is now a sizeable social enterprise. Our management team of 7 oversee the management of our land; an extensive community programme; our environmental policy and biodiversity work; property; finance; marketing and HR. In addition we have a sizeable leisure operation at Willen Lake, our busiest park with nearly 1m visitors a year, that operates through our subsidiary company Whitecap Leisure.
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Central Services (H+S, IT)
Finance Team
Finance Director
Reception Team
HR Manager
Organisation Chart
Property Team
Head of Property
Great Linford Manor Park Project
Events & Community Engagement Outdoor Learning
Volunteering
Community Rangers Direct Works Farming Partner
Biodiversity
Planning New Parks
Head of Environment
Marketing & Communications
Head of Marketing, Events and Community Engagement
Operations Team
Operations Director
Chief Executive
Willen Lake Team
Willen Lake General Manager
Role Description Job Title: Chief Executive Location: Milton Keynes Reporting to: Chair and Trustees Direct Reports: Director of Landscape and Operations, Finance Director, Head of Marketing and Community Engagement, Head of Environment, Head of Property, HR Manager, General Manager - Whitecap Leisure
Key Responsibilities 1. Provide inspirational leadership of The Parks Trust. With the Board and Management Team, continue to refine the long-term vision and strategy for the Trust and ensure this is delivered.
3. Ensure the Trust identifies and responds to challenges and opportunities, such as: •
a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse local population
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the continued expansion of Milton Keynes and the development proposed in the Oxford to Cambridge Arc
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the increasing number of visitors to our parks and their changing behaviours and expectations
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climate change, its impact on the landscape and biodiversity
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the growing expectations on the Trust to lead the way in being an environmentally sustainable organisation
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the financial pressure on local councils and their growing inability to manage their parks and landscapes to a decent standard
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the performance of the Trust’s investments in commercial property and financial assets
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changing social, economic and legislative conditions that may affect the supply and cost of labour, materials and services and our ways of working.
2. Operationally, you will have to ensure: •
the Trust’s reputation remains strong;
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it remains a great place to work and to volunteer;
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the Trust’s parks are safe and attractive places to visit and continue to make Milton Keynes a great place to live and work; the Trust makes good tangible progress towards our target of being carbon neutral by 2030;
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the Trust’s commercial property is attractive to rent; and
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the Trust remains financially sustainable, now and forever.
4. Manage the organisation so that it is efficient, effective, and economic and all that entails. Encourage innovation, and find new and better ways to do things. Measure and report on the performance of the Trust to the Board, the people of Milton Keynes and other stakeholders. 5. Develop the Management Team and ensure they are empowered, working harmoniously, have a clear sense of purpose, and are finding their work rewarding and fulfilling. Manage a challenging work life balance and support colleagues to do likewise. 6. Ensure the Trust’s policies and plans are appropriate, reviewed regularly and are being followed – these include our financial strategy, business plan, risk register, business continuity plan, site management plans, health and safety policy, biodiversity action plan, safeguarding policy, policy for the acquisition and disposal of land, GDPR. 7. Manage the Trust’s partner and stakeholder relationships and ensure the reputation of the Trust remains strong and that it is regarded as a transparent, accountable and responsive organisation which is valued as an asset to Milton Keynes and makes a major contribution to the success of the city. Of particular importance are: •
public sector bodies including Milton Keynes Council, the Parish Councils in Milton Keynes, the neighbouring local authorities, Local Nature Partnerships, Internal Drainage Board.
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third sector organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts, Community Foundation, MK Community Action,
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Local businesses and business organisations such as MK Business Leaders Partnership, My MK, locally based universities, Destination MK.
8. Build and maintain awareness and understanding of the Trust, locally, regionally, and nationally. Promote the Trust’s model for long term green infrastructure ownership and encourage its adoption elsewhere. 9. Identify and mitigate any threats that have the potential to limit the Trust’s ability to achieve its purpose. 10. Ensure the Board continues to provide a high standard of governance and: •
Fulfils its legal obligations and fiduciary duty
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Has high quality information so as to make sound, informed decisions
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Sets the strategic direction for the Trust and monitors the performance of the Trust
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Its membership is regularly refreshed and has appropriate succession plans in place
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Has the right mix of skills and experience and is suitably diverse and understands the needs of the whole community
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Has an effective Committee structure
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Has a solid and mutually supportive relationship with the Management Team.
11. Nurture the culture and values of the organisation which have evolved over the years and which are intangible yet priceless assets to the Trust.
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Person Specification Experience •
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Experienced public speaker, able to be a key external ambassador
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Track record of working with a wide range of public, commercial, charitable and local communities
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Highly developed people management skills, experienced at role modelling behaviours to motivate and inspire others
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Successful track record of leadership within a complex, externally focussed organisation
Experience of networking, persuading, influencing and forming effective relationships with leaders and stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors including local counciles, business and other leading public bodies Outstanding communicator, verbally and in writing, able to represent the organisation in the media, at community events and across social media
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Experienced at handling a complex set of demands in an efficient, orderly way
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Experienced at supporting good governance
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Flexibility and sensitivity in relating to a wide variety of different people within and outside the Trust
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities •
Excellent communication and influencing skills
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Skilled at networking, building and maintaining a variety of stakeholders
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Able to be a convincing advocate for the Trust and be able to talk passionately and sincerely about our parks, lakes, woods and landscapes and the benefits they bring to the city
Personal Qualities and Attitudes •
Entrepeneurial and visionary leader
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High standards of probity and a strong sense of public duty
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Highly self-motivated and have drive and ambition, both for yourself and for the Trust
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Calm under pressure and able to take rational decisions that are always in the best long-term interest of the Trust
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Good commercial acumen
Terms Annual salary: £120-£130,000 Annual leave: 25 days, rising to 28 days after three years service, plus the option of buying or selling up to five days holiday each year
Benefits You will be joining a ground-breaking organisation with a great range of staff benefits including: •
ongoing support and training,
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excellent contributory pension scheme (up to 10% employer contribution),
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income protection and life assurance cover,
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enhanced maternity and paternity allowances,
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occupational sick pay,
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employee assistance programme (EAP),
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great office in a parkland setting with free parking.
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How to apply
Please forward a CV together with a supporting statement (maximum two pages of A4). Please ensure that you have included mobile, work and home telephone numbers, as well as any dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the recruitment timetable At Prospectus we believe passionately that a truly inclusive workplace leads to increased social impact. We are committed to supporting our clients build more inclusive teams. To understand how we are performing, we ask that you kindly complete the brief equal opportunities questionnaire when you submit your application via our website.
Please be assured that your responses are kept confidential, separate from your candidate record, are not part of any application you make, and that the consultants never see individual responses to the questionnaire. Applications should be made via the Prospectus website at: https://jobs.prospect-us.co.uk/jobs/details/ hq00178832
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Recruitment Timetable Deadline for applications: Friday 1st October 2021 Interviews with Prospectus: w/c 11th October 2021 Interviews with The Parks Trust: w/c 1st November 2021
Queries If you wish to have an informal discussion about the opportunity, please contact our retained advisors anna.Mandl@prospect-us. co.uk or Linda.Griffiths@prospect-us.co.uk by email with a copy of your CV. If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact Prospectus executive. admin@prospect-us.co.uk
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