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Executive Director UK

About the role

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month.

“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.

The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

Today, her program spans four countries, gifts over 1 million free books each month to children around the world and in February 2018 the Imagination Library handed out its 100 millionth free book.

As part of an exciting ten-year development plan, the organisation is now looking to strengthen the leadership team and catalyse growth at scale with an Executive Director UK.

Under the direction of The Dollywood Foundation President, the Executive Director will lead and develop The Dollywood Foundation UK.  The Executive Director is responsible for the promotion and expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to communities in the UK, enabling free, age-appropriate books to be delivered to the homes of children aged 0-5.

The Executive Director UK will hold full P&L responsibilities and will be an experienced or rising executive responsible for the development and results of a team of Regional Directors with accountability for supporting existing affiliates and developing new branches of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library with individuals, partner organisations, and local authorities. They will be an excellent communicator, a competent decision maker, and is recognised as an effective leader, manager and strategist.

The successful candidate will have operated at Senior Management level and although work experience with a Charity or Not for Profit will be beneficial it is not a prerequisite. Candidates from a broad range of commercial / operations backgrounds will be considered (ie General Management, Operations, Relationship Management, Fundraising, Sales and Marketing) and a priority will be given to candidates with a proven track record of catalysing dynamic, sustained growth of a program or organisation.

For further information and confidential conversation please contact Scott Black or Michael Dickson via scott@fwbparkbrown.com / michael@fwbparkbrown.com or by phone 0131 539 7087.

To apply please send your CV to enquiries@fwbparkbrown.com