Since COVID, workplaces around the world have changed, and rightly so.  However: for charities and other client-facing organisations supporting people facing multiple disadvantage, working remotely isn’t an option.  The relationship is the intervention, and you need to build people’s trust – much harder to do over the phone or on Teams.   And so my day begins with a walk to the office, almost every day.  I am a big believer in visible leadership, and if my staff have to come in, then so do I.

Every day is different.  Ara saw over 25,000 people across England and Wales last year, and with such a range of services I rely on my direct reports a lot for where my focus is needed.  The main elements of a director role are setting the direction and people management.  Every manager is only as good as the people around them, so my job is to make those people the very best they can be, and give them fulfilling work and the best rewards package we can.

Most days are back to back with meetings from 8am to 4.30pm, and these will range from operational (e.g. discussing a challenge within a service or reaching a KPI); strategic (e.g. speaking with commissioners, partners, and stakeholders on what clients need); and staff-related, ensuring that people feel heard.  Me and the senior team have worked hard to make the culture at Ara professional, inclusive and team-focused.  We are demanding but we reward well and support people to get to the standard we expect.  We always address performance issues quickly, and this requires me and the managers to be brave and honest in conversations.  Quite a bit of the journey to Director is getting used to awkwardness, and keeping the clients in mind with every conversation.  If you ignore a quality issue, somewhere down the line your clients are going to have a worse experience because of it.  It’s demoralising for other workers too, if they’re trying their best and they see some people coasting and not being challenged.

There are a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls, and a lot of what I think of as ‘translation’.  There are so many charities doing amazing work who aren’t able to articulate their impact to current and future commissioners.  There is not enough money in the UK for homelessness, drug and alcohol, prison resettlement and gambling harms.  But the charities who will get the money are the ones who can demonstrate the outcomes from their outputs, and how their outcomes are synced in with problems that local authorities, government departments, health boards and other funders need to solve.  Case studies are not enough; a lot of my work is making sure our services have the maximum positive impact, and actually deliver what we want them to.

A risk for any charity director is that, because of the meetings and the travel and the endless emails, you are so far removed from the clients that you forget what the purpose of everything is.  Proximity is everything – physically and mentally.  I visit our recovery houses and cook breakfast for the men and women we look after to try and mitigate this – I try for every 6 weeks but it depends on what’s in the calendar.  When you meet charity directors and CEOs who don’t spend time with their clients, it shows.  Some industries you can just be a generic Ops manager or director, managing what’s in front of you.  But we could all get paid more doing something else – I’m at Ara because I want to have a positive impact on the world, even in a small way.

This isn’t a 35 or even a 40 hour week job.  I’ll work evenings and weekends as it suits me, usually restricting it to reading new reports, research and publications, but occasionally working on a bid or answering emails if needed.  You work until you get the work done, but I’m conscious of not letting it impact on being a Dad too much.  Many an important email has been crafted with Peter Rabbit on the TV in the background, while being shouted at for endless toast by small people.  It’s a portfolio life, and you fit things where you can.

I genuinely love the job; I’m proud of the team and proud of the charity.  Being a Director is both a privilege and a great responsibility.  I’m responsible for 90 people’s livelihoods, and 25,000 other people’s happiness, most of whom I’ll never meet.     

Making a difference together

Ara supports over 25,000 people across the South West and Wales who face multiple disadvantages, helping them to make positive changes and rebuild their lives.

If you or someone you know needs support, our dedicated services are here to help. Find out more about how Ara can support you here.