Role of the chief executive

The chief executive is responsible for the day to day management of a charity. They are usually a paid employee with specific responsibilities determined by the trustee board. The trustee board agree the level of authority delegated to the chief executive.

Not all charities use the term ‘chief executive’. Other terms include co-ordinator, manager or director. The chief executive and senior management team are sometimes referred to as the ‘executive’ to distinguish them from the non-executive trustee board.

When a charitable company uses the term director to refer to the chief executive, it is important to distinguish between the paid director as chief executive and the trustees as company directors of the charity.

The role and remit of a chief executive can vary from charity to charity. For example, the trustee board of a large charity might delegate day to day management and implementation of strategy, including many day to day decision making powers, to a chief executive and senior management team. 

The trustees of a small community centre, on the other hand, might delegate day to day operations in the centre to the paid manager but retain many decision making powers and areas of strategic work.

The role, title and level of authority of the chief executive should be set out in a job description. The job description of the chief executive is one of the key documents the trustee board should agree to define how the board delegates its work.