About us
Monmouthshire County Citizens Advice Bureau (MonCA)
Our values:
● We’re inventive. We’re not afraid of trying new things and learning by getting things wrong. We question every idea to make it better, and we change when things aren’t working.
● We’re generous. We work together, sharing knowledge and experience to solve problems. We tell it like it is and respect everyone. ● We’re responsible. We do what we say we’ll do and keep our promises. We remember that we work for a charity and use our resources effectively.
Three things you should know about us:
1. We’re local, and we’re national. We are a local independent charity that operates as a member of a national organisation. We have offices and outreach across the county, offering direct support to local people.
2. We’re here for everyone. Our advice helps people solve problems, and our advocacy helps fix problems in society. Whatever the problem, we won’t turn people away.
3. We’re listened to - and we make a difference. Our trusted brand and the quality of our research mean we make a real impact on behalf of the people who rely on us.
Overview of Citizens Advice and Monmouthshire County Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice has been part of the national support infrastructure longer than our NHS. For nearly 90 years, we have helped people manage everyday problems, whether that be legal rights, social security entitlements, access to services, dealing with official agencies, or seeking redress from retailers and landlords. We help people find a way forward when difficult times affect their lives. The twin aims of the Citizens Advice service are:
● to provide the advice people need for the problems they face.
● to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.
Our focus as an organisation in Monmouthshire is to:
● Sustain and embed advice services in local communities.
● Regional Collaboration in the Welsh Context.
● Identify Advice need and fund it.
You will find more information about us on the Charity Commission website where you will find our most recent published accounts. Further information is available on monca.org.uk , including our impact reports, case studies, delivery locations and the profiles of our board and senior management.
The Citizens Advice service is free, independent, impartial, confidential, and non-judgemental. It aims to be equally accessible to everyone who seeks or needs its help, regardless of age, class, race, religion, gender, disability, or sexuality. All advice staff, whether paid or voluntary, are trained to provide an accurate, quality service and to be supportive to clients. We are a trusted provider of advice services locally, regionally, and nationally. We can trace our local service back to the early 1970’s but our roots stretch back to the founding Citizens Advice Bureaux in 1939.
For the financial year 2025-26 our revenue stream was in excess of £360,000, with 12 staff members and 40 volunteers involved in delivering our advice services to over 2,500 local clients. Our primary office is in Caldicot, with other offices in Chepstow, Abergavenny and Monmouth.
From here, we deliver a range of services by phone, webchat, email, in-person by appointment and drop-in. We also run weekly drop-in services in more than 10 community venues across Monmouthshire, including Food Banks and Schools. We deliver a range of specialist services from our offices. This includes:
● Advicelink Specialist Welfare Benefits, which can help people with a range of benefits problems.
● Advicelink Community Advice offers general welfare rights advice across Monmouthshire
● Advice service to users of Foodbanks across the county
The Role:
Due to the retirement of our current part-time CEO, MonCA are looking for a new part-time CEO to join our team and manage our work to continually improve the support we give to the citizens of Monmouthshire.
MonCA is a small charity and, unusually amongst Citizens Advice Bureaux in South Wales, our advice-giving is primarily resourced by volunteers. Our small number of staff, led by a part-time Chief Operations Officer, provide management, technical and training support to the volunteers as well as specific expertise in more challenging client cases. Particularly given the part-time nature of the CEO and COO roles, is it critical that the CEO builds an effective and trusting working relationship with all of the management team.
MonCA is primarily funded through contributions from Monmouthshire County Council and the County’s Town and Community Councils, along with Welsh Government Grants and additional project funding from a range of grant-giving bodies. The criticality of working with these organisations and ensuring that we have their continued support, as well as the creation and submission of effective bids for funding, is of vital importance to the charity and can be expected to be a critical part of the role.
MonCA is part of the Citizens Advice South-East Wales (CASEW) network and the CEO will be expected to play a full part in that organisation, both supporting its common aims and seeking maximum advantage to MonCA of membership. Applicants should note that the part-time nature of the role whilst running a full-time organisation, in addition to supporting the Board of Trustees who meet (quarterly) in the early evening, means that the applicant will be expected to have a degree of flexibility and will need to manage their time effectively to achieve their objectives.
Our CEO retires in March 2027, but we feel that it would be prudent to have a handover period leading up to that point and we may thus be flexible on start dates.
We will expect applicants to demonstrate their capability to fulfil, in collaboration with their team, the following duties and requirements as laid out more fully in the Job Description:
● Strategy, Planning & Development
● Ensuring that the charity is effective, efficient and fit for the purpose it serves
● Leading and managing the Human Resource
● Financial Management
● Project Management
● Partnership working with the Trustee Board
● Communications and Stakeholder Management
● Effective working relationships
In addition, the applicant should demonstrate the following experience and core strengths:
● Experience of Citizens Advice. Given that funding and organisation are Welsh-centric and the developing collaboration across CASEW, additional weight will be given to experience in Wales and in CASEW Bureaux.
● Experience of running a charity, with additional weight given to experience of the requirements of the Charities Commission and Companies House.
● Leading and managing through others.
● Communications skills.
● Stakeholder management.
Applicants should complete an application and submit a CV along with a supporting statement of up to 2000 words to Steve Read, Chair of the Board, at steve.read@monca.org.uk by 11:59pm on 11th October 2026. Questions about the role may be sent to the same contact e-mail. We would encourage all applicants to explore our website and in particular the page on “Paid employment” within “Working With Us” that outlines the extensive benefits of MonCA employment.
Job Description
JOB TITLE : Chief Executive Officer
GRADE/SALARY HOURS 8.5hrs per week (£11,000 - £12,400 depending on experience) Suitable for a secondment
DURATION: Permanent, subject to continuous funding
LOCATION: Caldicot, Monmouthshire
RESPONSIBLE TO: Chair of Trustees
Purpose of Post
To provide leadership in the planning and provision of a professional, accessible, responsive, sustainable and quality assured advice and information service within the aims of the Citizens Advice service; develop and sustain professional relationships with key stakeholders; support the Trustee Board. Responsible for the direction and supervision of the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Main Duties and Responsibilities
1. Strategy, Planning and Development
● Liaise with the Board in relation to the development of the charity’s strategic vision and be responsible for leading the implementation of it. Be responsible for the development and delivery of the charity’s agreed business plans.
● Identify and assess strategic risks, issues and opportunities and take responsibility for initiating and leading associated action.
● Seek out and implement opportunities for innovation and ensure that the charity remains at the forefront of positive change in the not-for-profit advice sector.
● Maintain an awareness of the operating environment such as those legislative developments, social trends, and local needs likely to affect demand for advice and opportunities for service development.
● Seek out, develop and nurture beneficial partnerships with supporters, funders, other charities, and all relevant authorities/organisations.
● Work towards the achievement of long-term sustainability, developing the charity’s business model and maximising income, for example from fundraising, service contracts and earned income.
● Participate in wider initiatives as appropriate, seek out and exploit best practice/learning from experience and contribute to the work of relevant stakeholders.
2. Ensuring that the charity is effective, efficient and fit for the purpose it serves
● Execute accountability for the Staff and volunteers and leadership of the whole organisation.
● Take executive responsibility, through the COO, for all functions including administration, HR, health & safety, finance, fundraising, communications, and IT.
● Ensure the charity has the appropriate policies and procedures in place to comply with the legal, financial, and regulatory requirements laid upon it.
● Ensure that the charity’s contracts and projects are delivered to the highest standard with due regard for timescales, required performance and budgets.
● Oversee the COO’s implementation of the charity’s operational plans.
● Ensure the development of common practices in order that standards of service delivery are met, and appropriate systems are in place for staff supervision, performance recording, statistics, follow-up work and quality control.
● Ensure that the charity’s financial resources are managed effectively and that the charity remains efficient, in good financial health, identifies risks/issues and take appropriate avoidance/mitigation action.
● Maintain accountability for effective financial management and control systems; oversight of delivery against multiple income streams within budgets and performance targets and responsibility for production of management accounts and annual reports.
● Act with the COO to ensure the quality and effectiveness of service provision through ongoing evaluation and consultation and devise and oversee the implementation of appropriate responses.
● Maintain a system for regular feedback from clients and other stakeholders; maintain records and respond appropriately to suggestions and complaints.
● Proactively develop new services in response to identified advice needs.
3. Leading and managing the Human Resource
● Lead by example, instilling a culture of effectiveness and inclusion, supported by coaching, training and development.
● Create a positive working environment in which equality and diversity are well-managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff/volunteers can do their best.
● Manage the effective conduct of recruitment, selection and induction of all paid members of staff and volunteers.
● Ensure effective line management of staff by implementing policies and procedures with the aim of developing supportive employment practices and acting appropriately and in accordance with procedures when issues of concern are identified.
● Identify and support staff development and training needs through the provision of regular supervision, reviews and appraisals.
● Review, monitor and implement the MonCA Training and Development Plan and the Volunteer Strategy in support of the above.
● Implement relevant policies and plans to ensure the staff team are supported by the availability of appropriate IT and other resources.
4. Financial Management
● Maintain, through the COO and Finance officer, effective day to day control of the charity’s finances in compliance with the Finance Procedures and the annual budget approved by the Board.
● Oversee the preparation of the charity’s annual budget, financial and variance reports to the Trustee Board, and the annual accounts in consultation with the Finance Officer, Treasurer and Accountants as appropriate.
● Act to secure the charity’s sustainability and progress development plans by taking forward the finance strategy, to include the identification of funding opportunities and submission of bids in response to appropriate opportunities.
5. Project Management
● Ensure the sustainability of MonCA’s projects through planning, support and monitoring and ensuring activities and funding are properly accounted for in compliance with recording and reporting requirements including reports to the Trustee Board and compiling the charity’s Annual Report.
6. Partnership working with the Trustee Board
● Ensure the Board is provided with all the necessary information and guidance it requires to discharge its responsibilities, including the evolving operating environment, policy trends, opportunity and risk appraisals, human resources, and the financial health of the charity fully and effectively.
● Work with the Board to ensure that the charity’s overall governance structure, policies and procedures are appropriate and effective, taking remedial measures and implementing changes, as necessary.
● Participate in all Board meetings and report to the Board on progress against the business plan, strategic risk management and agreed objectives.
● Ensure the Board’s responsibilities under company and charity law are met and are in line with governance best practice. Undertake the role of Company Secretary.
7. Communications and Stakeholder Management
● Ensure that the Charity’s internal and external communications strategies are robust and provide up to date information needed for all employees, trustees, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
● Promote and protect the aims, principles, policies, interests, and reputation of the charity’s service.
● Oversee appropriate publicity through effective relations with the media and other community organisations.
● Develop effective relations with appropriate authorities, agencies, organisations, and individuals, including councillors, MPs, MSs and relevant statutory and non-statutory organisations.
8. Effective working relationships
Given especially that this is a part-time role, success requires a true partnership with the COO and other key staff to execute our strategic vision. The CEO must champion a seamless, transparent working relationship with the COO, leveraging their operational expertise to scale the business, drive daily performance, and achieve the Charity’s overarching objectives.
TO APPLY PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK. REMEMBER TO UPLOAD YOUR CV AND COVERING LETTER AT THE END