Interim Chief Executive
Interim CEO (Maternity Cover)
30 hours per week (4 days)
Community Furniture Stores (CFS)
Location: York, Scarborough & Selby (with some flexible working)
Salary: £47,000 pro-rata
12-month contract starting June/July 2026
Lead a grassroots charity making a real difference across North Yorkshire.
Community Furniture Stores is looking for an experienced and values-driven leader to join us as Interim CEO for a 12-month maternity cover period. This is a unique opportunity to guide a much-loved local charity through an exciting year of growth and impact.
Following the successful merger of our York, Scarborough and Selby stores into one charity with a trading subsidiary, we’re now delivering our ambitious 2026–2028 strategy, “Looking Out.”
Our focus is simple but powerful: increase our impact, strengthen communities and amplify our voice.
As Interim CEO, you’ll provide confident leadership during this important transition year, working alongside a passionate staff team, committed volunteers and a supportive Board of Trustees.
About Us
Community Furniture Stores tackles furniture and digital poverty across North Yorkshire.
Through our three stores we provide affordable furniture and household essentials to people who need them most. But we’re about more than furniture.
We also:
Provide volunteering opportunities that build skills and confidence
Run an IT ReUse project helping tackle digital exclusion
Deliver a Community Bike Project supporting people without access to transport
Every item sold or donated helps build stronger, more connected communities.
The Role
As Interim CEO you will ensure the successful delivery of our 2026–2028 strategy and operational plan, maintaining momentum, strong performance and a positive organisational culture.
You will:
Lead the implementation of our “Looking Out” strategy, ensuring clear priorities and measurable progress
Drive fundraising activity, securing grants to support services and projects
Line manage four senior staff, fostering a collaborative and empowering culture
Oversee organisational financial performance and budgets
Build and strengthen strategic partnerships across the region
Support the continued development of our volunteering programme
Work closely with our Board of Trustees, ensuring strong governance and compliance
Ensure high standards of safeguarding, health & safety and organisational risk management
Who We’re Looking For
We’re seeking someone who combines strategic leadership with a practical, collaborative approach.
You will bring:
✔ Strong leadership and communication skills
✔ Experience delivering organisational strategies and operational plans
✔ Proven success in grant fundraising
✔ Confidence leading and supporting teams
✔ Knowledge of safeguarding and health & safety responsibilities
✔ Excellent IT skills and digital confidence
✔ A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
✔ The ability to travel between York, Scarborough and Selby
Desirable Experience
Senior leadership experience within a charity
Retail operations experience
Designated Safeguarding Officer or Health & Safety qualifications
Understanding of challenges facing the voluntary sector
Why Join Us?
This is a chance to:
Lead a well-established community charity
Help tackle poverty and digital exclusion
Work with a passionate team and supportive Board
Make a visible impact across North Yorkshire
If you would like an informal conversation about the role, please contact our CEO: katy@cfstores.org.uk
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Volunteer Coordinator
Community Furniture Store, York
Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do – and this role puts you right at the centre of it. We’re looking for a passionate Volunteering Coordinator to lead and grow our volunteering programme across three community stores, supporting people to build skills, confidence and connection while making a real local impact.
Permanent
Salary £26,000 FTE Hours 22.5 hours
Benefits Competitive
Closing date 22-03-2026
About the Role
We are looking for someone to coordinate our Volunteering Programme across our three stores. Your role will be to recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers at CFS. You will be responsible for managing our database of volunteers, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on volunteer engagement, and communicating with volunteers. You will work closely with store staff to facilitate the day-to-day support of volunteers in store. You will work with a variety of community partners across North Yorkshire to coordinate volunteer referrals, and represent CFS in the voluntary and community sector. The role comes at an exciting time for CFS and is an opportunity to continue to develop our approach to volunteering through expanding opportunities, running events, and establishing partnerships across the sector, in order to make volunteering at CFS a good quality, accessible, and rewarding experience.
This is a permanent position which is currently funded by external grants.
Key Responsibilities
• Recruit and induct new volunteers to provide meaningful opportunities to the local community and support CFS to achieve its mission of fighting furniture and digital poverty
• Design and deliver Volunteer Training to ensure volunteers are equipped and empowered for their volunteering responsibilities • Maintain our volunteer database and coordinate volunteer rotas across the three stores • Build and maintain excellent working relationships with volunteers and be the main point of contact for their welfare and wellbeing
• Develop positive working relationships with relevant local organisations to promote a joined up approach to volunteering
• Work closely with the Operations Managers and IT ReUse Project Lead to support the growth and development of the Volunteering Programme in the three stores and IT ReUse
• Undertake regular evaluations and collect feedback to ensure volunteers feel supported and heard
• Collect feedback to review and optimise the volunteer experience
• Celebrate and recognise volunteers including through events
• Ensure all correct legal, Health and Safety and GDPR requirements are fulfilled in relation to volunteering
• Willingness to take on any additional, related tasks as required by CEO in order to support smooth running and development of the organisation
This role can be based at any of our York, Selby or Scarborough stores, with scope for flexible working. You’ll spend regular time across all locations, typically being in-store at least two days each week, and will therefore need to be able to travel between stores.
What we'd like from you:
Essential
• Experience of working or volunteering in the charity sector
• Excellent communication, organisational and time management skills with the ability to effectively meet deadlines
• Ability to build and maintain relationships
• Understanding of the importance of Safeguarding
• Ability to work effectively as part of a geographically dispersed team
• Strong IT skills and experience of using MS Office products
• Commitment to supporting people living in furniture and digital poverty
Desirable:
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Practice
• Experience of collecting and analysing data
• Experience of designing and delivering training
• Knowledge of database systems
• Driving license and access to a car
In return, we can offer you:
• Sociable and consistent working hours in a friendly and supportive team
• Holiday entitlement inclusive of bank holidays increasing with length of employment
• Feel good factor of working for an important local charity really making a difference to communities in York
We do not expect candidates to meet all the criteria and would encourage people to apply who are interested in the role, share our values and have a desire to make a positive impact in our local community
Join us in making a difference
If you're excited about applying your expertise to create positive social impact during a period of organisational transformation, we'd love to hear from you. Please click Apply Now to submit a CV and Cover Letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role by
For an informal conversation about the role, please email our CEO at katy@cfstores.org.uk. Interviews will be on Thursday 26 March 2026.
Previous applicants for this position, need not reapply.
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