Vacancy for Chief Executive Officer 

SAVTE (the Sheffield Association for the Voluntary Teaching of English) supports people to develop English language skills to help them gain confidence and become independent, active citizens. Working in partnership with disadvantaged communities in Sheffield, we offer a person-centred approach to practical language learning and increased participation in society. SAVTE’s mission goes far beyond traditional ESOL teaching provision. Our experienced network of volunteers supports learners in community settings or in their homes. We actively recruit volunteers from the communities in which we work to facilitate pathways to education, volunteering and work, and help reduce social inequalities.

SAVTE’s roots are in community-based provision. It was originally established when local steelworkers identified that their Yemeni co-workers were struggling to develop English language skills around their shift patterns. We now work with a range of local stakeholders to help meet the needs of a range of communities across Sheffield. For example, we work in partnership with other organisations as part of the ‘SPRING’ project to support newly arrived refugees, and work with two local community organisations to help them establish their own volunteer-led conversation groups. 

We are now seeking our next Chief Executive Officer to continue – and expand – the success of SAVTE’s work, and to drive the strategic development of our programme of work and our network of partners. 

Currently, we have around 130 volunteers and provide one-to-one learning to up to 74 people, and host 21 conversation groups for over 1400 people. We are aware that we could be reaching more people and raising the profile of the organisation in Sheffield, and that we need to diversify our income streams and get better at measuring and demonstrating the impact of our work. We are, therefore, seeking a dynamic and inspiring CEO to help us with this. The CEO will facilitate the growth and sustainability of the organisation, as well as bring in new ideas and innovative approaches to delivering community-based language support.  

Through this, we will empower more people, connect more communities, and change more lives through English language support.

Our most recent annual report can be viewed here.

About the role

The CEO will be a visionary leader for SAVTE. They will guide and develop the organisation so it can continue to deliver successfully against its mission and values. At the heart of the role will be the day-to-day management of the core functions of the organisation, and maintaining excellent governance practice. The CEO will also drive the financial development of the organisation by securing funding and exploring different opportunities for growing and strengthening SAVTE’s capacity to deliver. They will have overall responsibility for a team of around 12 staff, a network of 130 active volunteers, and an annual turnover of around £315,000.

The CEO will inspire SAVTE’s employees, volunteers and beneficiaries, and will build and strengthen partnerships with local and national stakeholders to ensure the organisation’s reputation and position continue to grow. Working closely with the Board of Trustees, the CEO will drive the strategic direction and success of SAVTE.

What we can offer:

In addition to an attractive benefits package, this role comes with the support of an experienced and committed Board of Trustees and a wide network of active volunteers. The CEO will be able to draw on the impressive history of the organisation in Sheffield and its excellent reputation for delivery and partnership working. 

About you :

In order to meet the challenges and opportunities described above, we are looking for a CEO who is passionate about creating real, positive impact for disadvantaged communities through community-based English language support. While some experience of English language education provision and/or community development is desirable, it is more important that you are a dynamic, strategic thinker who can inspire others to support the mission of SAVTE.

The CEO could come with experience and skills formed in a range of organisations and settings. You may already be a CEO or be someone who feels ready to step up and lead an organisation for the first time. Whatever your background, we will be delighted to hear from you, especially if you have outstanding management and leadership skills, proven ability to build networks and partnerships, and experience of successful fundraising or other income-generation approaches.


We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are keen to encourage applications from:

  • Those with lived experience of the issues faced by the communities we work with.
  • People with a multilingual background.
  • Those who have been ESOL learners.

Application process

We welcome questions or requests for more information about the role, and can arrange an informal conversation with members of the board of trustees before the application deadline. For questions and enquiries about this post, please contact:

Hannah Thornton at hannahthornton@savte.org.uk or;

Aaishah Aslam at aaishah@savte.org.uk 

To apply for the role, please send:

  • a covering letter detailing how your skills and experience align with the person specification,
  • the application form, and
  • a copy of your CV.

Please download the job description and the application form.

Completed applications should be emailed to savte@savte.org.uk by the deadline. 

Please also complete our anonymous Diversity Monitoring Form, accessible through this link: Diversity Monitoring Form. 

The information in the diversity monitoring form will not be used in the shortlisting and selection process, but will help us to improve our recruitment process.

Deadline

The closing date for applications is midday on 29th September 2025

We anticipate face-to-face interviews will be held in person at SAVTE’s offices in Sheffield in mid-October 2025.