Can you lead an organisation where care, culture and community come together?
Who we are
Leeds Irish Health and Homes are a much-loved and highly respected Community Benefit Society supporting Irish people and the wider community across Leeds. Through housing, welfare rights, mental health, health and well-being services, social prescribing, cultural activities and long-term one-to-one support, we meet people where they are and stay alongside them for as long as they need us.
Our approach is personal, holistic and rooted in relationships. We help people build independence while remaining connected to community and culture. With an annual income of around £1 million, a committed team and strong partnerships locally, nationally and internationally, we consistently achieve an impact beyond our size.
About the role
Following the planned departure of our long-serving Chief Executive, we are seeking a thoughtful, ambitious and emotionally intelligent leader to guide LIHH into our next chapter.
This is an exciting moment to join us. We have recently secured ownership of our community building, creating the opportunity to develop a welcoming, accessible and vibrant hub that brings our services, activities and community together under one roof.
The development of this property will be one of the defining priorities for our new Chief Executive. You will work with our community, Board and partners to shape the vision, build a compelling case for investment and secure the funding needed to deliver it. You will lead the project through its next stages, ensuring the building becomes a sustainable long-term asset that enables LIHH to support more people and create new opportunities for connection, partnership and income generation.
Alongside leading our people and services, you will work closely with the Board to develop our strategy, maintain strong governance and strengthen our long-term financial resilience.
You will build relationships with commissioners, funders, donors, housing providers, public bodies and the Irish Government, while representing LIHH with credibility across local, national and international networks. You will also become a director of Fréa, our partnership with Irish community organisations in Manchester and Merseyside.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for someone with substantial senior leadership experience gained within, or alongside, the voluntary sector. You may come from a charity, health, housing, community services or local government background. More important than a particular career path will be your ability to lead multiple services, understand complex finances, secure and manage funding, support a high-performing and caring culture, and bring people with you through change.
You will be equally comfortable speaking with community members over a cup of tea and representing LIHH with senior decision-makers locally and internationally. You will bring sound judgement, diplomacy, warmth and resilience, alongside the confidence to make difficult decisions when needed.
You do not need to be Irish or from an Irish background. You will, however, need to understand, or quickly develop a deep understanding of, the experiences of Irish people in Britain and the role that culture, identity and community play in our work. Experience of working with diaspora or minoritised communities may be particularly relevant.
This is a rare opportunity to build on a remarkable legacy while bringing your own leadership, ideas and energy to an organisation with deep roots, strong goodwill and significant potential.
To view the role description and person specification, please go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab above, fill in your details and download the candidate pack.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:
Bill Yuksel | bill@peridotpartners.co.uk | Book an appointment | 07801 897063
Welcome from the Chair
Dear Candidate,
Céad Míle Fáilte and thank you for your interest in becoming the next Chief Executive of Leeds Irish Health and Homes.
2026 marks our 30th anniversary of providing “care, culture and culture” to the Irish community and wider Leeds community. In these three decades, we have earned a reputation for compassion, advocacy, inclusion and trusted support. We are proud of our heritage, our values and, most importantly, the positive difference we make in people’s lives every day.
As our name suggests, we are an organisation rooted in supporting people to lead healthy lives in good quality, safe homes, but we are so much more. From luncheon clubs and tea dances to digital inclusion projects, intergenerational activities, and dementia support groups, we know that a good life is one built on connection and community. We are committed to creating opportunities for people to feel safe, supported, empowered and happy, enabling people to thrive, whatever their age, whatever their starting point.
LIHH has strong foundations and a well-deserved reputation both in Leeds and with Irish diaspora organisations internationally. As we look towards our next chapter, we remain committed to meeting the changing and evolving needs of the Leeds Irish community, so we are looking for a leader who can respect our roots and build on the strengths we have.
We are seeking a successor who can lead the organisation with vision, integrity and ambition. We want to continue strengthening our culturally sensitive offer, deepening collaboration across our services and we want to appoint someone who can help build a clear and sustainable future for the people and communities we serve. We also need someone who can capitalise on the many opportunities there are for our organisation to continue to evolve yet further.
We are looking for a CEO who will bring thoughtful, inclusive and visible leadership. We need someone who can build strong relationships with our community and our partners. We are proud of our staff and volunteers and want someone who can continue to support and develop our people, and provide the clarity and direction they need to help our organisation continue to thrive in a changing environment.
This is a role with real breadth and purpose. You will lead dedicated teams delivering housing, wellbeing, mental and physical health services to individuals, as well as outreach, events and activities for groups. You will represent Leeds Irish Health and Homes externally, in our community, with the Irish Consulate and Embassy, with partners, funders, and stakeholders across Leeds and the Irish diaspora internationally.
Our services will need to adapt to the significant national changes in the housing and health sectors and we know that the contracting and funding landscape is becoming ever more competitive.
We know this is a big ask. But we also know we have so much to offer the right person.
The successful applicant will inherit a passionate and dedicated team, a strong and committed Board and a thriving and well-run organisation. We have great relationships across the voluntary, health and public sectors, an excellent reputation with our funders and donors and increasingly strong links with the business community.
As a Board, we are looking for a leader who is both strategic and approachable; someone who can inspire confidence, champion our values and work collaboratively with staff, volunteers, partners and service users alike. We need someone who can make a cup of tea and have the chat, and someone who can speak persuasively to funders about why cups of tea can make all the difference.
We are particularly keen to appoint someone who understands the importance of culturally sensitive services and the vital role a community organisation plays in tackling health inequalities, loneliness and exclusion.
I hope that, as you learn more about Leeds Irish Health and Homes, you will feel inspired by our mission and excited by the opportunity to contribute to our future. We are looking for someone who will not only lead the organisation effectively, but who will also care deeply about the people and communities we serve.
Thank you again for your interest. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I wish you every success with your application, and I look forward to learning more about you.
Yours sincerely,
Rachael Loftus
Chair, Leeds Irish Health and Homes
About us
Care, Culture and Community | Cúram, Cultúr agus Pobal.
Leeds Irish Health and Homes have been at the heart of the Irish community in Leeds since 1996. For 30 years, we have provided culturally sensitive services that help people remain healthy, safe and independent, overcome isolation and navigate some of life’s most difficult challenges.
Our work is rooted in three enduring values: care, culture and community. These values shape not only the services we provide, but how we welcome and support people. Everyone who comes through our door is treated with warmth, dignity and respect, and given the time and space to be heard.
Our services include supported housing, welfare advice, befriending and one-to-one support, social prescribing, physical and mental well-being activities, digital inclusion, volunteering opportunities, and a wide range of social and cultural programmes. We currently manage 53 tenancies across Leeds, helping people to live safely and independently.
In an average year, we support more than 800 people, make around 4,000 home visits, provide over 3,800 hot meals and help community members secure more than £230,000 in previously unclaimed benefits. Behind these figures are individual stories of people finding security, connection and a renewed sense of belonging.
While our history and identity are proudly rooted in the Leeds Irish community, our work continues to evolve in response to changing needs.
In 2025, we purchased our first permanent premises in Harehills, bringing many of our services together under one roof and creating the foundations for a new community hub.
We are also a proud member of the Fréa partnership, alongside Irish Community Care and Irish Community Care Manchester.
Together, we are strengthening services, developing sustainable income and raising the profile of Irish community organisations across the North of England.
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we are proud of everything Leeds Irish Health and Homes have achieved, while remaining ambitious about the difference we can make in the years ahead.
A chance to celebrate
Leeds Irish Health and Homes celebrates the many aspects of Irish culture with Irish people in Leeds.
In 2019, we published The Trojan Donkey, a poetry anthology featuring group and individual poems written by members of the community, capturing their migration stories, labour and lived experiences. Our anthology was co-edited by Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Ian Duhig.
Here are three poems from Trojan Donkey:
The White Rose from Mooncoin
I come from near Mooncoin and sometimes
I’d listen to the song ‘The Rose of Mooncoin’
about a man lamenting his love sent away
to England because her parents disapproved of their match. And now I’m in England too,
folded in Yorkshire’s rose as in my love’s arms.Group poem from the Montague Burton Centre sessions.
Magic
When I told someone in Leeds at a bus stop where I came from, and they said this rhyme I’ve never heard anywhere else:
If ever you go to Kilkenny,
look out for the hole in the wall;
it’s there you’ll get eggs for a penny
and butter for nothing at all.I never expected to hear a bit of magical poetry
about my home on the streets of Leeds.
Maybe if we’d found the hole in the wall,
we wouldn’t have needed to leave Kilkenny.Group poem from the Montague Burton Centre sessions.
I am the wind on the sea
and in a horse’s mane;
I am the sound of the ocean
and the engine of a plane;I am the tear of the sun
and its loveliest flower;
I am the hungry family
in its emigrant hour.I know your streets
aren’t paved with gold
because I laid them,
come rain or cold;your MIS
and your M62s,
reading your B&B cards:
No Blacks, Irish or Jews.I am the slighted Irish
minding your sick,
teaching your children.
You called me thick.I worked like a donkey,
a Trojan, a slave.
I paid my way here;
I’ve earned my grave.
Group poem from the Montague Burton Centre sessions.
Thank you for your interest in this role. Please download the Role Description and Person Specification.
To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.
Please include your home address, contact email and mobile.
Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk, inserting “Application: Leeds Irish Health and Homes — Chief Executive” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:
Bill Yuksel | bill@peridotpartners.co.uk | Book an appointment | 07801 897063
As a sector-leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.
If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact the lead consultant. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.
Applicants with disabilities are welcome to contact us in confidence at any stage of the recruitment process to discuss any reasonable adjustments or support that may be required to ensure fair and equal participation.
Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.
Timetable
Closing date: 9 a.m. Friday 4th September 2026
Candidates informed of outcome: Thursday 10th September 2026
First stage interviews: Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th September 2026
Second stage interviews: Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Equal Opportunities Monitoring
Peridot and Leeds Irish Health and Homes are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.
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