Chief Operating Officer

Why this role existsExperience, qualification, and soft skills, have you got everything required to succeed in this opportunity Find out below. We deliver practical legal support that changes lives. To grow responsibly, we need a COO to build operational excellence and keep systems ready to scale. What you will lead • Financial leadership — Build, manage and monitor the annual budget; lead forecasting and cashflow; produce reports; oversee accounting, payments, payroll and invoicing; maintain strong controls and compliance; track restricted funds; support grant bids and donor reporting. • Day-to-day operations — Maintain efficient systems across casework, admin and volunteers; design policies, SOPs and QA; oversee IT, digital tools and case management; ensure GDPR-compliant data handling; lead operational responses to risk and regulation. • Strategy and organisational development — Work with the Executive Director on strategy; lead service development, scaling projects and national expansion; improve volunteer pathways, client experience and internal processes; provide data-driven insight for the Board. • People, volunteers and HR — Support recruitment, onboarding and retention; develop clear HR processes and documentation; ensure supervision, wellbeing and safeguarding frameworks. • Governance, risk and compliance — Manage risk registers and mitigation plans; lead internal audits and quality reviews; prepare Board papers; ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and charity requirements. You’ll thrive here if you show • Ownership and follow-through: you take responsibility and land the work. • Planning under pressure: you bring order, rhythm and clarity. • Bold, informed judgement: you improve systems based on evidence, not habit. • Entrepreneurial drive: you simplify, standardise and scale what works. • Inclusive practice: you design operations that are easier to use and safer to deliver. • Clear communication: you turn complexity into simple actions and updates. • Team-building and collaboration: you help staff and volunteers succeed together. • Constant learning: you refine processes and leave usable documentation. What you will bring • Significant operational leadership in a non-profit, legal, community or mission-driven setting. • Strong financial management across budgeting, forecasting, reporting and controls. • Ability to build robust systems in a small but scaling organisation. • Strategic, organised and analytical working style. • Confident people leadership and clear communication. • Understanding of governance, safeguarding, risk and regulatory compliance. • Commitment to trans equality, dignity and client-centred practice. Helpful extras • Experience in legal services or legal operations. • Managing grants or donor-funded programmes. • Experience scaling an organisation or building new infrastructure. • Knowledge of trans community needs and support services. Practicalities • Hours: part time, with occasional evenings or weekends around live moments. • Location: Central London base with sensible hybrid flexibility. • Reporting line: Executive Director. • Salary: based on experience and time commitment. The Co-Founders Mindset We are building a trans rights revolution at the Trans Legal Clinic. We deliver work that changes outcomes for people, case by case and system by system. That calls for a particular mindset. We call it the co-founder mindset. Co-founders take the mission personally, set the pace, turn ideas into working services and campaigns, bring others with them, and make change you can point to. Co-founders are entrepreneurial: they spot openings others miss, move decisively, and create momentum. Co-founders build teams, drawing in volunteers who believe in our mission, care deeply about our clients, enjoy working with us, and keep one another going. Co-founders are bold: they are willing to innovate, to be first, and to change the status quo; they check the source, avoid assumptions, solve problems, make firm, collaborative, evidence-based decisions, and take responsibility for results. Co-founders are pioneers. If you want responsibility, pace, and the chance to pioneer new routes to justice and public impact, this is the place to build your career. Our Recruitment Criteria Ownership and follow-through You are a self-starter who owns tasks and takes responsibility without waiting to be asked. You carry your work through to a tangible result. You define the problem, set a course, keep the right people informed, and deliver what you said you would. Bold, informed judgement You are willing to change accepted practice when the evidence supports it. You check primary sources rather than rely on assumptions, weigh real options and risks, make a clear, evidence-based, collaborative decision, and stand behind it. Entrepreneurial drive You spot openings other people miss and turn ideas into useful services, processes or campaigns. You move decisively and get others working on the plan alongside you with clear roles and timelines. Planning under pressure You keep priorities straight when time is tight. You organise people and tasks, set simple checkpoints, communicate early when plans shift and always deliver. Inclusive practice You design work that is easier for others to take part in with people who face barriers in mind. You identify what is getting in the way, make practical changes that remove those barriers, and check the effect with the people involved. Clear communication You write and speak in plain English and adjust tone and detail to suit clients, volunteers, partners and the public. You choose the right format for the moment and make it easy for people to act on what you say. You like feedback, don’t get offended and see it as a chance to improve. Team-building and collaboration You bring people with you and help groups perform well together. You draw in volunteers who believe in the mission and care about our clients, set shared expectations, handle disagreements well, and leave relationships stronger. Constant learning You improve your own practice and the system around you. You reflect honestly on what worked and what did not, learn quickly, and turn that learning into simple tools or habits that make future work better. • Team-building and collaboration: you lead creatives and volunteers well. • Constant learning: you test, measure and iterate. What you will bring • A strong portfolio showing strategy-led creative across static, motion and copy. • Three or more years in creative communications or campaigns (agency, newsroom, charity or in-house). • Confident in Adobe Creative Cloud and either Figma or similar; comfortable with short-form video editing and basic motion. • Platform literacy across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube, and working knowledge of analytics and paid promotion. • Clear writing and an ear for tone; calm leadership and useable feedback. • Sound judgement on reputation, privacy, GDPR and consent. • Commitment to trans-led practice and the communities we serve. Helpful extras • Clinic or not-for-profit experience. • Familiarity with gender recognition, healthcare advocacy, discrimination, housing and employment. • Basic SEO and email automation. Practicalities • Hours: full time, with occasional evenings or weekends around live moments. • Location: Central London base with sensible hybrid flexibility. • Salary: £25,000. • Reporting line: Executive Director. The Co-Founders Mindset We are building a trans rights revolution at the Trans Legal Clinic. We deliver work that changes outcomes for people, case by case and system by system. That calls for a particular mindset. We call it the co-founder mindset. Co-founders take the mission personally, set the pace, turn ideas into working services and campaigns, bring others with them, and make change you can point to. Co-founders are entrepreneurial: they spot openings others miss, move decisively, and create momentum. Co-founders build teams, drawing in volunteers who believe in our mission, care deeply about our clients, enjoy working with us, and keep one another going. Co-founders are bold: they are willing to innovate, to be first, and to change the status quo; they check the source, avoid assumptions, solve problems, make firm, collaborative, evidence-based decisions, and take responsibility for results. Co-founders are pioneers. If you want responsibility, pace, and the chance to pioneer new routes to justice and public impact, this is the place to build your career. Our Recruitment Criteria Ownership and follow-through You are a self-starter who owns tasks and takes responsibility without waiting to be asked. You carry your work through to a tangible result. You define the problem, set a course, keep the right people informed, and deliver what you said you would. Bold, informed judgement You are willing to change accepted practice when the evidence supports it. You check primary sources rather than rely on assumptions, weigh real options and risks, make a clear, evidence-based, collaborative decision, and stand behind it. Entrepreneurial drive You spot openings other people miss and turn ideas into useful services, processes or campaigns. You move decisively and get others working on the plan alongside you with clear roles and timelines. Planning under pressure You keep priorities straight when time is tight. You organise people and tasks, set simple checkpoints, communicate early when plans shift and always deliver. Inclusive practice You design work that is easier for others to take part in with people who face barriers in mind. You identify what is getting in the way, make practical changes that remove those barriers, and check the effect with the people involved. Clear communication You write and speak in plain English and adjust tone and detail to suit clients, volunteers, partners and the public. You choose the right format for the moment and make it easy for people to act on what you say. You like feedback, don’t get offended and see it as a chance to improve. Team-building and collaboration You bring people with you and help groups perform well together. You draw in volunteers who believe in the mission and care about our clients, set shared expectations, handle disagreements well, and leave relationships stronger. xsabvtc Constant learning You improve your own practice and the system around you. You reflect honestly on what worked and what did not, learn quickly, and turn that learning into simple tools or habits that make future work better.