DIRECTOR AT ST FRANCIS LEPROSY GUILD, LONDON
The mission of St Francis Leprosy Guild is to contribute to the alleviation of the suffering caused by leprosy throughout the world, by encouraging and enabling Catholics to embrace leprosy sufferers and meet their needs, following the example of St Francis.
Despite the development of successful multi-drug therapy, leprosy has not been beaten – yet. By the year 2000 the number of new cases had reduced to around 200,000 annually. But the rate of reduction has levelled off to about the same level each year since then. The challenge today is to reach out to detect cases of leprosy where and when they emerge, so that transmission of the disease can be prevented. Successful outreach to detect new cases means training local primary health care workers in leprosy detection and treatment.
The Guild may be a small organisation, but as the leading Catholic charity working in this field we are having a significant impact. The outreach projects that we have been able to support were involved in detecting nearly 2% of the world’s new cases of leprosy last year alone. An end to leprosy is tantalisingly in sight and the Guild is determined to play a part.
Following a thorough strategic review in 2017, the Guild has reconfigured around a new strategy that is focused less on recurring ‘maintenance grants’ to projects, and more on outreach projects that contribute to the goal of ending leprosy. It has reconstituted as a CIO, introduced safeguarding policies for all overseas partners, and instigated a successful donor recruitment campaign. The charity has also begun a parliamentary advocacy programme.
The current Director has informed the Trustees that he wishes to retire by the end of 2020. The charity therefore seeks a new Director to build on this process of transformation, and help us seek out ways of spending our money wisely, in particular through support for active case finding projects. Whoever takes on the Director role will be joining an exciting organisation with serious growth potential, at a significant moment in its development.
We offer a competitive salary for this post, and trustees are open to either a full time or part time option.
Please go to http://actionplanning.co.uk/jobs-board to download the full Candidate Information Pack. If you have any queries, please email Hayley McDonald at hayley.mcdonald@actionplanning.co.uk
Closing date: 9.00am, Monday 5th October
Registered Charity Number 1188749