Role Description

Job title: Chief Executive Officer

Salary: £110,000 - £125,000

Location: London / Hybrid with attendance in our Victoria office at least 2/3 days a week

Reporting to: Chair of the Board of Trustees

Direct Reports: Senior Leadership Team

Benefits: 30 days annual leave, flexible working environment, enhanced sick pay, 5% employer / 3% employee pension contribution, bike to work scheme

Purpose of The Role

As CEO, you will be the strategic leader of an organisation determined to bring about change. You’ll work with our youth activists, staff, trustees, and partners to deliver transformational impact. You’ll build a strong and inclusive culture, drive organisational change, and expand our reach and relevance across the UK and potentially beyond.

This is not a typical CEO role. Bite Back is bold, dynamic, youth-led and mission-first. We’re looking for a leader who shares our values, understands youth-led movement building, and brings the clarity, skills and commitment needed to guide us through a critical moment of growth.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Vision

  • Lead the development and execution of a bold organisational strategy with youth activism and food justice at the heart.

  • Maintain strategic clarity across the organisation, ensuring alignment, focus, and adaptability in a fast-changing landscape.

  • Ensure that young people are at the forefront of our public messages to advocate and secure change.

  • Ensure Bite Back is ambitious in impact, authentic in its voice, and always youth led.

  • Build and sustain a vibrant, inclusive and values-driven culture that is real, respectful, fresh, resilient and energetic.

  • Empower the Senior Leadership Team, supporting high performance, strategic alignment and personal development.

  • Enable collaborative teamwork, ensuring smooth coordination across programmes, advocacy, brand, and operations.

Stakeholder and Community Relationships

  • Build trusted, collaborative relationships with youth activists, staff, trustees, partner organisations and wider networks.

  • Ensure that power is shared meaningfully with young people and that their leadership is embedded across the organisation.

Fundraising and Financial Sustainability

  • Lead income generation, drive growth, and proactively secure new funds and partnerships.

  • Work closely with the Board and Director of Finance & Operations to ensure long-term financial health and operational resilience.

  • Build authentic, mission-aligned relationships with funders and donors that grow our reach and impact.

External Affairs and Public Profile

  • Work alongside young people to be a lead ambassador for Bite Back, amplifying our voice in media, government, and the public domain.

  • With young people, represent the organisation externally, forging new strategic partnerships and strengthening existing alliances.

  • Work closely with young people and the wider staff team to lead major moments of external engagement and advocacy.

Governance, Compliance and Organisational Oversight

  • Act as the lead executive to the Board of Trustees, supporting and delivering effective governance and providing timely, transparent reporting.

  • Ensure the organisation meets all regulatory and legal obligations, including compliance with Charity Commission and employment law.

  • Oversee risk management, safeguarding, financial stewardship, and long-term planning.

Person Specification

Experience, Knowledge and Expertise

  • Proven strategic senior leadership experience within an organisation that has grown its income, reach and impact.

  • Demonstrable experience influencing across a broad range of stakeholders to affect systemic change across education, government, business, and wider society.

  • Demonstrable experience of influencing government, media or food industry at the highest level.

  • Proven track record of successful fundraising to deliver significant organisational growth.

  • Knowledge and understanding of youth-led campaigning.

Skills and Attributes

  • Skilled at driving change with the ability to lead through complexity and scale.

  • Exceptional communicator—credible, compelling and empathetic across audiences.

  • An ability to be humble, putting young people at the forefront of change.

  • Emotionally intelligent and people-first—someone who leads with care, humility, and trust.

  • Skilled in building and empowering high-performing teams with strong collaborative culture.

  • Comfortable navigating ambiguity and taking bold, values-led decisions.

  • Excellent financial acumen, with a proven ability to manage budgets, analyse financial information, and drive fundraising efforts.

  • Willingness to be hands-on and operational, when necessary, while also being able to delegate and empower others to lead key areas of work.

Values and Commitments

  • Deep alignment with Bite Back’s mission

  • Able to be a role model for our values

  • Passion for youth-led change and the ability to hold space for intergenerational leadership.

  • Fierce commitment to inclusion in both culture and practice.

  • Courageous, curious and humble leader who’s ready to listen, learn and grow.

Our Approach to Work

  • A bold and open mind – you will be prepared to think differently about issues. Narrative shift is a key component of our work, and the successful candidate will be open and prepared to challenge their own mindsets and adopt a new way of thinking about our issue.

  • A level head – you will be comfortable working both reactively and proactively.

  • A sense of humour – we believe work should be fun and that we all perform at our very best when we enjoy what we do.

  • Creativity – you will be able to come at issues from new and surprising angles when required.

  • The ability to adapt to an ever-changing policy environment.