Chief Operating Officer

Citizens Advice exists to shape a society where people face far fewer problems.

Every year, their service helps millions of people with free, independent and expert advice across some of the issues that matter most in people's lives, from money and debt to benefits, housing, energy, work and relationships. Last year alone, we helped more than 2.4 million people one-to-one, while our advice website received over 31 million-page views.

Their service is delivered by around 19,000 volunteers and 12,000 staff through a network of 228 independent local Citizens Advice charities across England, Wales and the Channel Islands, alongside the national charity.

They are now seeking a new Chief Operating Officer to help shape the organisation and network Citizens Advice needs to become.

Working closely with the CEO, Executive Team and Trustees, the COO will lead a broad portfolio bringing together Strategy and Impact, Finance and Corporate Services, People, Equity and Belonging, and Organisational Design and Development. The role sits at the heart of how Citizens Advice operates, bringing together the functions that enable them to work effectively today while strengthening the organisational foundations they will need for the future.

This is about more than overseeing a group of enabling functions. The COO will help strengthen the effectiveness of the whole Citizens Advice system, connecting strategy with delivery, ensuring resources and organisational priorities are aligned, and creating the conditions in which the national organisation and local Citizens Advice members can succeed.

The role will also play an important part in their continued organisational development. As a member of the Executive Committee, you will work with colleagues to consider what modern services should look like in a digital age, how we create a positive experience for clients across different channels, and what this means for the charity's capabilities, culture, organisational design and ways of working.

They are not looking for someone who is the deepest specialist in every part of this portfolio. There are experienced Directors leading each of these areas. Your role will be to lead through them: asking the right questions, seeing the connections between functions, working through competing priorities and knowing when to intervene and when to give good leaders the space and authority to do their jobs.

You will bring strong strategic judgement, operational discipline and practical systems thinking, alongside exceptional emotional intelligence. You will be someone who reads people and situations well, builds trust quickly and understands how to use influence in a complex, federated organisation. You will know when to challenge, when to listen, when to build consensus and when a decision simply needs to be made.

Social justice purpose is fundamental to Citizens Advice. They are therefore looking for someone who brings a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and who understands that these considerations should shape not only our culture and workforce, but the way an organisation makes decisions, allocates resources and delivers for the people and communities it serves.

To find out more, please visit our microsite:

For an informal conversation about the role or process please contact our Executive Search Partners, Green Park, on

Closing date: 11:59pm on Sunday 20th September 2026.