General Secretary Recruitment

Background – GFTU General Secretary position.

The current General Secretary (GS) of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), Doug Nicholls retires in May 2023. Doug has been a member of the GFTU Executive since 1993 and is a past President of the Federation, he was GS of the Community and Youth Workers’ Union from 1987 until his election to this post in 2012. Currently the GS acts as Secretary and Treasurer of the Federation, Secretary of the Board of Hotel Directors, Secretary of the Pension Scheme and Secretary of the Educational Trust and represents the GFTU on a range of trade union and campaigning organisations. There is a strong tradition of democratic accountability and the GS reports regularly in writing to each of these bodies. The salary for the post is circa £70,000.00 per annum plus a circa 12% employer’s contribution into a DC pension scheme. There will be a period of induction upon employment and the full role will be assumed at the end of the Biennial General Council Meeting (BGCM) on May 16th 2023. The successful candidate will be expected to commence work as early in March as possible for induction and to attend the BGCM. The GFTU’s national office and classrooms are in the grounds of the Quorn Grange H otel, in Quorn, near Loughborough, Leicestershire. It is not essential to work from Quorn, but it is essential to work reasonably regularly with staff there in person. Facilities for homeworking will be arranged. Staff team meetings take place on line or in person every Monday morning at 10.30am currently. At the moment the GFTU GS directly manages the Head of Finance Preeti Doshi, the Operations Manager Ian Richards, the GS’s PA Claire Ryan, the Fundraiser and Development Officer for the Trust Suzanne MacA uley and the Hotel General Manager Andrea O’Dwyer,. There are six other team members at the GFTU and a core team at the hotel of around 30. Weekly Friday morning meetings with the President and Vice President have been customary and a small Finance and General Purposes Committee, with no executive powers, meets as needed to consider detailed financial or staffing matters and make recommendations. This post is therefore an Executive position with considerable property assets and budgets to manage and invaluable unions to support and significant administrative and compliance functions. The whole family of GFTU entities is dependent on sound financial management and ethical commercial services. There is room to increase income from the GFTU’s own set of servic es organised under the banner Win Win, and from the hotel and very centrally from the new fundraising posts recently created. The appointment of a development officer for the Trust will help generate very significant income. There is scope for some reductions in expenditure. Overall the post holder is responsible for the management of assets and turnover of around £18m in value. In 2021 when the Trade Union Certification Officer (CO) was assuming new powers and adopting a new charging regime the GFTU succ essfully argued that it should be de listed from the CO’s register. It is therefore technically at the time of writing an unincorporated association. The Educational Trust is a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission, it has a wholly owned trading company registered at Companies House and the Pension scheme is regulated by the Pensions Regulator. Ensuring good governance, compliance, democratic accountability and financial prudence and success with all of these interrelated legal entities is at the heart of the role. The GS also acts as the