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Jan 2019

CEO Information Pack

48-62 Woodville Road Harborne

BirminghamB17 9AT

January 2019

As Acting Chair, I am proud to introduce you to Focus Birmingham, one of the leading charities tackling visual impairment and disability in and around Birmingham.

In 1848 Birmingham Royal Institute for the Blind (BRIB) was established. In 1997 the operations of BRIB were transferred to three new charitable companies of Queen Alexandra College (QAC), Focus Birmingham and New Outlook Housing Association. Focus Birmingham is a specialist charity providing expert support, advice and information to anyone in the Birmingham and wider area affected by sight loss and disability. We are very proud of our history and the services we are providing.

You will be part of a team that is passionate and dedicated to achieving its core objective to deliver quality services which are ‘user led’ as much as possible.

The organisation employs over 140 staff and provides a wide range of high quality, innovative services to support visually impaired and disabled people to increase their independence, exercise choice and have more confidence in their everyday lives.

This is an exciting opportunity for a new CEO to be appointed. On behalf of the Focus Board we look forward to hearing from you.

Kindest regards

John CadeJohn CadeActing Chair to the Focus Board

Local support for sight impaired and disabled people. www.focusbirmingham.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 1065745. Registered Company No. 3353444.

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About Us

Focus Birmingham (Focus) is a registered charity and the biggest provider of support, care, advice and guidance to those with visual impairment and other disabilities in Birmingham. With more than 2 million people with sight loss across UK, we exist to ensure that individuals with visual impairments and other disabilities are fully supported in living their lives independently and in a fulfilling way. Focus Birmingham wants to extend the impact it has on the lives of blind, visually-impaired and disabled people in the West Midlands enabling them to reach their full potential through high quality services, delivered by skilled and well-motivated staff.

The best way to understand us is through our services

Low Vision Services: Our Low Vision Centre has an international reputation in the diagnosis, management and support of people with sight loss. Our award-winning staff provide both clinical and practical expertise and we’re proud to say we have one of the best VI resource centres in the country. The service is aimed at the vast majority of visually impaired people who have some useful vision, and is there to give optical help beyond the provision of spectacles, with assessment and therapy, the prescription of vision aids, advice on equipment and rehabilitation training.

Community Visual Impairment (VI) Services: Our Community VI services include support, information and specialist advice to people affected by sight loss. We work on individual needs to offer reassurance and practical assistance and partner with social services where appropriate, supporting hundreds of people to access essential support services and to make social contacts within their communities.Day Services: Our day services teams work with adults from the age of nineteen upwards, with no upper age limit, to deliver stimulating programmes of activities which are tailored to the needs of the individual. We specialise in working with people with visual impairment and other complex needs and providing person-centred care and support with a wide range of opportunities for learning and socialising so that each person can achieve their full potential.Supported Living Services: Millward Place – Supported Living Scheme consists of 14 self-contained one-bedroom apartments which have been specifically designed with the tenant’s specific needs in mind and to provide a safe and secure long-term home. All the current residents at Millward Place, which was developed by Bromford Housing, are supported by Focus Birmingham. This service is registered with the CQC.

Partnerships: Focus Birmingham works to transform the lives of the city’s visually impaired residents. We are the foremost provider of specialist sight services in the area and work closely in partnership with Guide Dogs, Queen Alexandra College and others to further develop local services and to establish our Harborne site as a hub for VI services, where information and professional support can be readily accessed.

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“We are the leading charity providing high quality, innovative services to blind, visually impaired and disabled people in Birmingham and the wider area. We are a centre of excellence, working in partnership with others to develop pathways of care and support that achieve the best possible outcomes for people”.

Our Vision and Mission

Focus Birmingham’s core values are integral to what we do as an organisation and underpin how we work together and deliver our services. All our employees and our volunteers have a role in championing our charity and ensuring all our vision, mission and values are embedded in the daily work of the charity.

Our VisionTo fashion a world where sight loss and other disabilities do not limit or determine opportunities and where people value their sight.

We aim to achieve this by:

Providing services and support directly to people with sight loss and disability to improve their everyday life.

Changing the attitudes and behaviour of individuals towards people with sight loss and disability. Working in partnership with other organisations to identify new opportunities to achieve our vision

Our Mission

Policies

Focus Birmingham maintains a list of policies. Some are organisational wide, and others are department procedures that set out guidelines for all operations <public/staff resources/Focus Birmingham Policy Manual>. Staff must read all the policies your line manage considers relevant and, in some cases, you will be asked to sign that you have read and understood the policy and retain personal copies.

If policies are updated, you will be advised and a revised copy made available for you to read. Policies will be in electronic form and paper editions held in the HR department. Failure to keep yourself updated on the policies and procedures will be considered a performance issue. A current list of updated policies is available at Appendix 2. However, policies are constantly being reviewed and updated so please speak to your manager or HR for a latest copy of any Focus Birmingham policy.

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Our Values

RespectWe will listen to and empathise with our service users and colleagues to understand their challenges, differences and difficulties. We will work to ensure services are person-centred and will make improvements as a result of user feedback.

Care

We will be compassionate, helpful and support the wellbeing of everyone. We will promote understanding, compassion and empathy towards those who are in need of our services.

Empowerment

We will empower all to enhance their full potential through learning and development. We will share information to ensure better understanding to create a uniformed approach to our purpose.

Excellence

We approach each day with the energy, passion and persistence to exceed expectations. We will encourage improvement through training and development.

Professionalism

We will act with openness, integrity and trust at all times. We take personal responsibility for achieving our objectives. We will do what we say we are going to do.

InclusivenessWe will work together with honesty and trust, coupled with respect for all to promote inclusiveness and equality.

Collaboration We will stand united together as one team across all functions and work with external partners to make a real difference.

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Key Highlights 2017-2018Barclaycard Donation Makes Business Awards a Double SuccessA welcome £8,000 boost was received by Focus after an organisation specialising in the needs of Asian businesses in the West Midlands adopted it as its chosen charity.Focus was selected by the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce during its annual awards and dinner at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre. And, after raising £4,000 through the sale of raffle tickets on the night, Focus was then awarded a further £4,000 by Barclays who agreed to match the funding.The money was raised by four members of staff – Manoj Patel, Mohammed Fiaz, Inderjeet Seera and James Whitaker. The cheque was later presented to Focus by Mr Whitaker, Area Business Manager at Barclays Corporate in Birmingham, who said: “We were delighted to be associated with this prestigious event and to offer our fundraising support to such a worthwhile cause.”Nigel Bland, interim Chief Executive at Focus before the appointment of Susan Hoath, said: “It was a phenomenal evening at the Asian Birmingham Business Chamber of Commerce Awards. “We were very pleased to raise £4,000 on the night, but delighted with the support we received from Barclays. We cannot thank them enough for their support, which will enable us to continue providing our vital services to those living with sight loss and disability in Birmingham.” The Asian Business Chamber of Commerce awards dinner, held last November, was the organisation’s 30th such event. Its president, Saqib Bhatti, said: "We were delighted to have selected Focus as our nominated charity of the year. There are some fantastic local and national charities that are involved with the ABCC, but this year Focus stood out. A local charity working with those with disability and sight loss, we hope to support them in their work going forward and wish them every success on their path."Interserve Spin Doctors cycle challenge in Wales for Focus Birmingham

We were delighted at Focus Birmingham to have the Interserve team come to visit us last year and have a tour of the services we provide. The Interserve team consisted of Tariq Mahmood, Sajid Hussain and Amer Shahrez (pictured on the left) who had selected Focus Birmingham as one of the charities that they will be fundraising for in their cycling challenge last April. They cycled the infamous Lon Las Cymru route. This 250-mile route

crosses the country’s most mountainous countryside. They will be starting from Holyhead and crossing valleys, hilltops, estuaries and straits until the final destination at Cardiff Bay.

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Key Highlights continued...

Focus News Inside Out Newsletter Our Spring/ Summer edition of Focus News Inside Out was mailed out to over 20,000 of our supporters, service users and funders. The newsletter contained news, pictures and updates on the charity’s services and fundraising work, as well as meeting our new Chief Executive Susan Hoath as she made her debut to the Inside Out newsletter last year.

In this edition, you could read all about the transformation of our sensory garden by one of our corporate fundraisers, as well as a number of inspirational stories on people facing sight loss and disability and how Focus was able to help them by providing the necessary support.

You also get a snapshot of our wonderful fundraisers who become inspired to get involved in some of our upcoming fundraising activities and help raise phenomenal amount of money for the charity.

Bank Staff Take Up Gardening In Aid Of FocusStaff from a leading bank took on a Groundforce-style challenge to help transform the gardens at Focus Birmingham.

The 12-strong team from Lloyds Bank changed out of their business clothes into gardening gear before equipping themselves with spades, forks, hoses and paint brushes.

The major transformation of Focus Birmingham’s two gardens at Harborne took place on April 7 as part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility – Make a Difference Day.

Their combined challenge included a general tidy up, removing any rubbish or unwanted items, jet washing tiles, varnishing and painting garden furniture, removing some fencing, and planting a number of shrubs and other plants. As well as the labour, Lloyds also bought around £250 worth of plants to help transform the Focus gardens.

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Our Impact

On Excellence – Focus wants to extend the impact it has on lives of blind, visually impaired and disabled people in the West Midlands and champions best practice to transform lives.The Elizabeth Gunn Centre supports people with disabilities and sight loss. These can range from learning disabilities to mental health issues. The centre provides a range of stimulating activities and opportunities for people that often have very limited life experiences outside the centre. On Learning – We build ability

and confidence through skills that create independence, promote social interaction and enjoyment in being out and about. Our services include Rehabilitation, Social and befriending schemes, Helpline, Physiotherapy, teaching Makaton sign language, practical skills for those newly diagnosed with sight loss and disability. .

On Independence – Our community programmes help people learn skills and techniques to manage for themselves. It has helped them make new friends, enjoy new experiences and has improved their health and well-being. On Innovation - Our Low Vision Centre provides more than 550 hours of support, stocks over 250 items to make life easier for those with visual impairment, trains optometrists and rehabilitation officers of the future at Aston University and

Birmingham City University.On Commitment – Focus Birmingham volunteers are an integral part of the charity, providing services at our Harborne site, in our service users’ homes across the city and in the wider Birmingham community. We are fortunate to have 90 dedicated volunteers who bring their own brand of expertise and contribute towards supporting service users and our staff. The volunteer roles range from administration to working directly with service users who are visually impaired or have other disabilities.

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Latest Published Accounts for Year Ended 31 March 2018

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Governance and Strategy

GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Focus Birmingham is a registered charity (no.1065745) and a company limited by guarantee (no. 3353444) with its own constitution - the ‘Memorandum and Articles of Association’ as amended in July 2016. It is entered in the Central Register of Charities as Focus Birmingham. The company is referred to as such, or as the “charity” “the charitable company” or “Focus”.The Trustees of Focus Birmingham are responsible for overseeing the management and administration of the charity and have ultimate responsibility for the charity’s activities. The Trustees are also the Directors of the company. Trustees are elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting or join as co-opted members at the invitation of the Board of Trustees. Induction and training is available for all Trustees. The role of the Board of Trustees is to:

Ensure that Focus Birmingham acts in accordance with its Memorandum and Articles, charity law, company law, and other relevant legislation or regulations.

Ensure that Focus Birmingham applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects (“the relief of blind and partially sighted people and those with other disabilities and in particular the promotion of and assistance with services for and with blind and partially sighted people and disabled people to enhance their quality of life”).

Provide strategic direction to the organisation, setting overall policy, setting targets and evaluating performance against agreed targets.

Safeguard the good name and values of the charity. Protect and manage the property of the charity and to ensure the proper

investment of Focus Birmingham’s funds. Oversee the financial affairs of the charity.

The Board are fully aware of the revised Charity Governance Code which was issued in July 2017, and are taking steps to ensure compliance with its requirements where considered appropriate. During the year the full Board of Trustees met quarterly and all meetings were quorate. The Board also operates three subcommittee’s, which also meet quarterly, with current membership being:Finance and Audit Contracting and

PerformanceBusiness and Development

Mr R Hindle Mr J Cade Mrs J Mc DougallMr J Cade Ms V Griffiths Ms M TsaloumasMr C GascoigneMrs J Mc Dougall

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All Committees have a nominated Chair, who is the first named trustee in the above lists; terms of reference for each Committee are in place and were reviewed and updated during the year. All Board meetings and the Contracts and Performance Committee also have a Service User and Staff representative in attendance.

The day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the charity’s paid staff, and in particular to the Senior Management Team, whose members during the year were:

Interim Chief Executive – Mr Andy Haynes

Director of Services – Ms Cate Burke

Director of Finance – Mr Nigel Bland

Optometry Lead – Mr A Miller

The key management remuneration policy is set by the Finance & Audit Committee and is reviewed on an annual basis as part of the budget-setting process.

FOCUS BIRMINGHAM SERVICES

During the year 2017/18, Focus Birmingham provided a wide range of services including:

Accommodation based care and support through a specialist supported living scheme for visually impaired people, delivered in partnership with Bromford Housing and both promoting and supporting opportunities to live more independently;

Case Study: Choice and Independence

A, a tenant in our supported living scheme, was able to fulfil a life-long dream this year. Focus provided her with support to plan, book and take a trip to Japan to experience the culture, food,music and landscape of this unique place. A member of staff accompanied A to act as guide and personal assistant.

Comprehensive specialist day care services providing social activities and learning opportunities for up to 100 people with multiple disabilities each week;

Case Study: Improving physical health and wellbeing, increasing independence

A wide range of activities were offered in the day service this year, with an increasing emphasis on opportunities to learn how to take care of myself and to stay or become more active. Siblings T & C have been attending the day service for 12 years. Their father told us “They would be lost without it and would probably regress if they didn’t have this service. It has also prepared them… for independent living.”

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Specialist assessment and support programmes, such as physiotherapy and communication skills, designed around individual needs, care plans and support plans;

Community integration opportunities: in partnership with local arts and leisure venues, events organisers, and sports clubs (etc).

Case Study: Dealing with life experiences

Focus worked in partnership with Birmingham Rep and the RNIB to design and deliver theatre-based activities for people with sight loss and other disabilities. This partnership has enabled Focus to give a voice to people affected by sight loss to tell their stories and explore the barriers that they face.

A specialist Low Vision service providing assessments, advice, equipment and support at venues across Birmingham which offers over 2,000 appointments each year and issues specialist low vision aids and equipment tailored to individual needs;

Counselling and emotional support services designed specifically to support people living through the traumatic experiences of sight loss;

Independent Living Skills advice, information and training, including demonstration and support to purchase assistive technology and everyday living aids;

Hospital-based advice and information services working alongside NHS eye care services;

Individual and group support services to enable and promote independence and tackle social isolation (including advice and guidance, social groups, activities and befriending schemes Case Study: Community and individual support emotional health and wellbeing G, an 85 year old great grandmother, was referred to Focus when her failing eyesight meant she could no longer join in activities with her family and friends. She attended our Low Vision service first and was then referred to the Community VI (Visual Impairment) team who did a full assessment of her needs and helped her find ways to stay safe and independent at home and introduced her to local social groups and activities. “Focus have helped me in other ways too. They have given me coloured buttons for my cooker and microwave so I can see what to press, and they’ve also given me a magnifying mirror to help me with my reading. I’ve always loved reading books. On top of that, I go to the coffee mornings every week and attend the macular group which meets monthly so I can speak to people in the same position as me. And I’ll shortly be going on holiday with Focus to Llandudno. “I can see a bit but I don’t know what I’d do without the help from Focus.”

Telephone helpline offering access to information and guidance and signposting or referral to local services;

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Resource and information centre offering: o Accessible IT, training and support o Daily living aids and specialist equipment, o Low vision and sight loss information and advice;o Information on relevant national and local services.

Supported, fully-accessible facilities in which small and larger groups can come together to learn, lead, engage and participate in a wide range of activities.

OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In setting our objectives and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Our mission is to be… “a leading charity providing high quality, innovative services to blind, visually impaired and disabled people in Birmingham and the wider area. We are a centre of excellence, working in partnership with others to develop pathways of care and support that achieve the best possible outcomes for people.’

In June 2017, the Board agreed a set of strategic objectives to direct the priorities of the organisation over the next three years:

Objective One: To offer high quality services and support to people, based on their needs and planned in partnership with individuals, their families and carers.Objective Two: To work with colleagues and partners to improve access to services: making sure that our service users reflect the communities that we support and extending our reach to meet growing populations of need.Objective Three: To build and maintain an organisation that reflects our values and enables flexibility for growth and change within a financially sustainable model.  

Following major changes to the charity in 2015/16 and 16/17, the year 2017/18 has been a period of review and analysis against these objectives, led by Trustees and the Senior Management Team. Many of the achievements in this period have been internal change and structural improvement, but the Trustees are able to report a number of key developments in year, which have included:

- The capture of a Theory of Change for Focus Birmingham, identifying the impact that we have on the people we support and the five key outcomes areas of our work: oWe enable people to live more independently;oWe increase opportunities for people to exercise choice; o We improve people’s physical health and wellbeing;o We improve people’s emotional health and wellbeing;o We increase people’s confidence to deal with life experiences. - The implementation of an intensive volunteer development programme, almost doubling the number of volunteers and embedding a robust process to recruit, train and support volunteers in diverse roles across the charity;

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- The introduction of a new, single, database system to monitor and manage our services and to document and record the outcomes achieved by our service users; - The recognition of our service by local NHS and Local Authority Commissioners as both setting and achieving high standards of service delivery; - The successful transfer of a small residential home to a sister charity (New Outlook House Association); realising benefits for residents, families, staff and both charities; - The expansion of opportunities for social engagement and inclusion through informal groups, clubs, events and activities; - The publication of our work to audit and improve the accessibility of local primary care services for visually impaired people (supported by NHS England, West Midlands); - The delivery of holistic sensory impairment services through a partnership with Birmingham Institute for the Deaf and the Disability Resource Centre;

- The building of stronger relationships with local corporate trusts and sponsors to deliver specific initiatives and activities for our service users; - The continued development and delivery of training and education programmes through our Low Vision service including our active support for the Optometry and Visual Impairment Rehabilitation courses at both Aston University and Birmingham City University; - The improvement of internal quality assurance including training, peer-to-peer support and audit;- Appointment to several key roles in our support team, including Volunteer Support, Fund Raising Project Management and Business Management, creating capacity in and maximising the impact of our front line services. - Through strong local partnership working, we have been involved in the production of a whole-system Eye Health Needs Assessment and a set of NHS Clinical Standards for eye services;

FUTURE PLANS

We recognise that the number of people affected by sight loss and other disabilities continues to grow, as does the need for services to support them to make adjustments and to continue to live independent lives.

The Board of Trustees and Senior Management Team are committed to building and driving forward a strategy to strengthen and develop services that improve the offer to people affected by sight loss and other disabilities. This will include:

- Working with partner organisations to create and realise opportunities to improve services for people affected by sight loss; playing our part to deliver the England Vision Strategy in Birmingham and across the West Midlands;

- Improving the way in which we engage and consult with our service users and use this feedback to design services that meet their needs and expectations;

- Learning from our experiences in supported living support to identify other opportunities to enable more blind and partially sighted people to live independently.

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- Developing more accessible services for visually impaired people in communities of need.

- Exploring opportunities to develop new models of day care and personalised support.

- Using new user-led needs assessment processes to capture, analyse and report data on our service delivery and impact and to develop an evidence-base for the benefits of our service model to clients, carers and commissioners;

- Finalise a site development plan for our main location in Harborne and start work on the first phases of this development, including the improvement of facilities for services users and the way in which they, staff and visitors navigate around the site, improving its overall accessibility.

- Investing in the development of our board members and our workforce, including volunteers, to develop our skills and knowledge and nurture a culture of care, empowerment, inclusiveness and collaboration.

- Developing a range of business case proposals for service development and expansion, in response to the needs of disabled people in Birmingham.

CONTRIBUTION OF VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers are absolutely essential to the continued delivery of our services, and to the support we are able to offer to vulnerable people. We started the year with around 50 regular volunteers embedded in our services and a large pool of those who support activities and events. An active programme to recruit, train and support volunteers more effectively has seen this number almost double in year, with more recruitment planned. In addition to these volunteers, we provide support to student placement and work experience schemes through-out the year in all service areas. In 2018/19 we will be introducing Apprenticeship roles and creating opportunities for qualified professionals to work with us to further develop their skills supporting people with visual impairment and other disabilities.

GENDER PAY REPORTING

Focus Birmingham employs less than 250 individuals and consequently does not have to comply with the mandatory reporting of the Gender Pay gap. However as a Charity the Board consider it appropriate to review the pay of our employees, and note that the mean gender pay gap in favour of males at 31 March 2018 was 7% and the median 0.5%, which compares favourably with other organisations reporting such information as at March 2017.FUNDRAISING CODE

Focus Birmingham is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, and follows the recommendations of the Fundraising Code in all material respects. No fundraising activities are outsourced to 3rd parties, and no formal complaints regarding fundraising were received during the year.RISK MANAGEMENT

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The Trustees have considered risks and risk management throughout the year as part of the business of board and committee meetings. The principal area for attention remains the potential reduction of external funding from Local Authorities and the NHS. A formal strategic risk assessment was approved by the Board in July 2016 and subsequently updated. This review identified the following key areas of risk to the charity:

1. Risk: Vulnerability due to reliance on external funding associated with local authority and NHS contracts.

Mitigation: Focus day centre positioned as a specialist provider for people who are entitled to social care funding under the Care Act 2014. The service is increasingly providing placements funded by the NHS (under Continuing Healthcare Criteria) or through individual and personal budgets reducing the likelihood and impact of reductions in funding for individuals.

2. Risk: Focus holds inadequate reserves to support service delivery when contracts are reduced or withdrawn.

Mitigation: Reserves policy to be actively reviewed against the risk profile of the organisation’s business.

3. Risk: Changes to national or local procurement policies relating to health and social care services may cause either reduced income or mandatory increased costs of delivery.

Mitigation: The trustees and senior managers are well informed on existing and proposed arrangements for commissioning and funding health, care and support services. Focus continues to deliver an effective and valued service to local authority and NHS commissioners.

4. Risk: The charity fails to meet its regulatory or contractual obligations (as set out by the Care Quality Commission, the NHS, the General Optical Council and other regulatory bodies) resulting in loss of income and/or reputation damage.

Mitigation: The Senior Management Team are suitably qualified and experienced to ensure that services deliver effectively and fulfil all such obligations. Compliance and performance are monitored on a quarterly basis by Trustees through the Contracts and Performance Committee.

PRINCIPAL FUNDING SOURCESThe principal funding sources during the year have been as follows:

Specific funding contracts with Birmingham City Council Adults and Communities Department (including ‘spot purchases’ for placements in Day Services and grant aid for the Community Services);

Specific contracts with NHS bodies (e.g. Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England);

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Grants from Charitable Trusts; Donations, bequests and money raised through fundraising activities; Grants from the Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind (BRIB);

Income from Partnerships such as ‘TLC Lottery’ and ‘Midland Societies for the Blind’;

Income from service users with Individual Budgets for social care (awarded by their local authority).

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

Income for the year decreased by £53,203 to £3,347,270 while expenditure reduced by £177,430 to £3,190,190. As a result, a surplus on business activities of £157,080 has been made compared to a deficit last year of £46,045 after taking into account closure costs of £78,898 relating to the Beech House operation. More detail regarding these headline areas is noted below:

Income

Overall income levels reduced slightly due to the transfer of the Beech House residential home to New Outlook Housing Association. Accordingly income from charitable activities decreased from £2,932,100 to £2,751,842 despite a continued increase use of the Elizabeth Gunn day centre where income levels increased by over 8% to nearly £1.8m. Community service income improved as the grant from Birmingham City Council (BCC) continued being supplemented by income from a joint consortium with BID (Birmingham Institute of the Deaf) and DRC (Disability Resource Centre). Low Vision income slightly reduced as a grant received in 2016/17 did not continue.

Income from donations and legacies improved by £148,361, principally resulting from the receipt of three legacies. In addition our lottery joint venture with St Mary’s Hospice and Acorns Children’s Hospice, provided distributions to the Charity amounting to £131,891.

Expenditure

Overall expenditure reduced by £177,430 compared to last year, with the major contributor being multi disability costs falling by £219,019 due to the Beech House transfer. Other areas showed contained increases in expenditure.

Our staff remain the Charity’s major asset, and cost, and wherever possible such costs are contained; a general pay rise from 1 December 2017, amounting to 40p per hour was awarded to all staff in the year, and was necessary in order to comply with minimum wage legislation.

Premises costs remain a significant overhead for the charity and the Trustees once again acknowledge the continuing generous support from Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind in providing a grant of £164,690 to offset the rental of the Charity’s main premises.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees always give careful consideration to the charity’s reserves policy, and as a result the policy was amended in 2017 to take account of the risks the charity is facing within the provision of its core services. The trustees have considered the policy in 2018 and do not believe a further amendment to the overall policy is required.

The Trustees have considered the risks faced by each of the Charity’s core services that could potentially result in Focus not being able to continue to offer

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those services in the future. In particular, the Trustees have considered, for each of its core services, the likelihood of funding contracts, grants and funding from service users being withdrawn or reduced.

Based on this review, the Trustees are of the view that two of the Charity’s activities, namely Low Vision and Community Services, are both facing significant risks to their continued funding. Consequently, in order that the Charity can continue to provide these services to its users, whilst alternative funding is secured, the Trustees believe reserves equal to at least 6 months’ staff costs in these areas, together with an appropriate allocation of overheads need to be maintained. Such costs are currently in the region of £191,000, and as a result the Trustees believe a minimum reserve level of £200,000 is required, with a preference for a level of around £250,000 to cover any unexpected costs. It is the Trustees belief that free cash reserves equivalent to this level of reserves should be available at all times. At the current time General reserves at £548,013 and cash balances (including current asset investments) of £733,046 exceed these minimum requirements.

The Trustees will regularly review the risks faced by the Charity and, as such, the level of reserves held by the Charity will also be subject to regular review.

Investment Policy

The Trustees have again reviewed their investment policy, in light of the changes to the charity’s restricted and unrestricted funds. The Trustees continue to consider the return on all cash deposits, and led by the Treasurer, look to continue to effectively manage the charity’s investments during this period of low interest rates for deposits. Consequently, deposits are restricted to UK “high street” banks and during the final few months of the financial year short term time deposits of less than 1 year in duration have been utilised in order to improve the Charity’s return on its cash surplus to short term operational requirements.

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Job Description

Job Title: CEOStatus: PermanentSalary: £60k per annumDepartment: General Management

Hours: 37.5 hours per weekLocation: HarborneLeave: 26 days (rising to 31 days excluding bank holidays)

Responsible to: Chairman of the Board of TrusteesResponsible for: All staff and volunteers working for Focus Birmingham

Key Objectives:

To provide strategic vision and leadership to the operation and development of the organisation within the policy direction set by the Board of Trustees

To ensure the charitable objectives of the organisation are followed and that it delivers the appropriate public benefit

To take overall responsibility for Focus’s management within the governance and accountability frameworks established by the Board of Trustees

Working with the Chair, to enable Trustees to fulfill their legal duties and other responsibilities for the proper governance of the organisation

To ensure that the Board receives advice, recommendations and information both financial and non-financial in an effective, thorough and timely manner

To be the external representative of the organisation

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

Ensuring that a long-term strategy is in place to guide the organisation in achieving its charitable objectives and delivery of public benefit

Drawing up an annual business plan for Focus in advance of each financial year to integrate the Organisation’s programmes and activities and to ensure its on-going financial viability

Leading, directing and developing management, staff and volunteers, ensuring that those working for the organisation are focused on achieving the charity’s mission and strategic objectives

Ensuring leadership and good communication is effectively developed across the organisation

Ensuring the effectiveness of Focus’s services including developing an organisation that attracts, retains and motivates committed, effective and professional people

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Identification of and response to major strategic opportunities for the charity to grow and expand its activities if appropriate

Identification of specific threats that may undermine the ability of the charity to maintain or grow operations and the development of appropriate responses and Action Plans

The evaluation and development of strategic partnerships across the region in order to safeguard the interests of the charity

To lead the process of evaluation specific development opportunities

Financial and Legal

Being responsible to the Board of Trustees for the overall financial health of the organisation

Ensuring the production of a budget acceptable to the Board and ensuring that budget is met

Seeking out and developing new strategies for ensuring future income streams and resources, including exploring and developing new opportunities for funding social care activities

Working to ensure that the organisation has the human, material and financial resources it needs to operate effectively

To work with Trustees to formulate a reserves policy specific to circumstances of the charity and to develop a strategy to meet relevant targets.

To ensure that comprehensive risk management processes are in place, including the maintenance of an organisational risk register and mechanisms to regularly review risk areas with the Board

Ensuring that Focus fulfills its constitutional, regulatory and legal obligations, including those set by the Charity Commission, Companies House and Care Quality Commission.

Ensuring that the organisation has the right management systems and structures to carry out its work effectively, accountably and safely and that professional standards are met and maintained

Ensuring that all assets and resources of the organisation are properly managed and secured and overseeing that plans are in place for their maintenance, replacement or improvement, as appropriate

Ensuring the timely and effective delivery of an annual impact statement and the Annual Report

Governance

With the Chair, ensuring the Board of Trustees formulate and regularly review the organisations mission, values and strategic priorities and objectives

In partnership with the Board of Trustees, maintaining a longer-term strategy for Focus within the policy direction set by the Board

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Reporting to the Board and relevant Board sub-committees on organisational progress, providing information and answering for organisational progress and performance in delivering internal and external objectives and targets

Developing policy proposals for discussion and decision by the Board of Trustees Maintaining an effective working partnership and collaboration with the Chair, and

establishing and maintaining the annual programme for the meetings, including Away Days of the Board

Supporting the Chair and enabling the Board to broaden its capabilities and develop its leadership potential

To ensure Directors Fit and Proper Persons Policy is adhered to and with the chair regularly monitor and evaluate the performance and contribution of trustees

Making sure all the key policy, procedural and strategic documents are kept up to date

Representational

Acting as key spokesperson and advocate for Focus, and ensuring that the organisation is appropriately represented on all relevant partnerships and forums

Seeking opportunities to expand and promote awareness of Focus’s work Using the media appropriately to raise the Organisation’s profile Ensuring that the organisation forges strong and effective partnerships to deliver its

mission Actively supporting fundraising activity and the formulation/implementation of

fundraising and marketing strategies Developing relationships with statutory agencies, including local authorities and the

NHS, to contribute to service design/ ensure co-production with regard to social care and eye health provision.

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PERSON SPECIFICATION

CEO

Qualifications

Degree or equivalent through training/experience Ideally a Social Care Qualification or Appropriate Management Qualification

Knowledge & Experience

Proven track record of achieving sustained growth in a charitable or commercial context Experience of working at a senior management level Ideally a good understanding of the social care or eye health sector and the direct

management and provision of services to disadvantaged or disabled social groups either under contract to statutory agencies or as a third sector provider

Commination, Persuasion & Influencing

Outstanding communication skills, able to communicate regularly and openly at all levels within the organisation

Ability to present clear and concise written reports and provide detailed explanation of the relevant key recommendations

Ability to present effectively to external Audiences Good negotiation skills

Technical & Professional Skills

Proven Business, Project and Financial Planning Skills Experience of fundraising Experience of contracting in social care or eye health sectors

Financial Awareness

Able to understand and present complex financial information Experience of setting management budgets

Customer Service & Quality Focus

Able to deliver excellent Customer Service in all activities Ensures quality and productivity goals and standards are met Empathises with the needs of service users of Focus Birmingham

Thinking Skills

Highly numerate Effectively gathers, analyses and utilises information Uses problem solving and decision making skills Ability to think strategically Ability to develop creative and cost effective solutions

Leading & Team Working

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Ability to inspire and motivate the team Promote the organisation’s values Effectively manage and lead the team Empower and enable others Ability to set and monitor key performance targets for self and team

Personal Motivation & Commitment

Demonstrates drive, determination and passion Seeks ways to continuously improve and learn

Diversity

Clearly demonstrates an understanding of diversity in all aspects of the work Champions a strong culture of equality and diversity throughout the organisation

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Application ProcessInterested applicants should provide a CV, together with a covering letter addressed to Julie Roberton - Julie.roberton@focusbirmingham.org.uk

Closing date for applications is 11.00 a.m. on 11th February 2019.

Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to attend an initial interview by appointment.

If you require the candidate pack in larger font or if you require an audio version, then please do get in touch and we will be happy to arrange this for you.

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Care/Support StaffCEO

Admin/Board Support

Director of FinanceFundraising & Marketing Manager Business & Projects ManagerBusiness Development Manager

Assistant F/O

Finance Officer

Facilities Coordinator

Facilities ManagerHR Officer

HR Admin

MaintenanceIT Officer

IT SupportReception and Admin

Low Vision Admin

Low Vision Manager / DO

Independent Living Advisor

Transport Manager & Team Leader

Drivers and SU Escorts

Partnership & Referrals Officer

Physiotherapist

Communications Officer

Volunteer Coordinator

VI Support Workers

Clinical Lead (Low Vision Optometrist)

Assistant Managers

Senior Care Worker(s)

Registered Manager (Supported Living)

Care Workers

Care Workers

Senior Care Workers

Day Centre Manager Community Services Manager

Director of Services

Focus Birmingham Board of TrusteesSenior Management Team

CEO

Management

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