Head of Operations | RABI – Farmers Charity

Head of Central Operations RABI – the Farmers Charity

Join RABI and help strengthen the systems, insight and leadership that underpin our support for farming people.

• Location: Oxford with flexible working (minimum two days per week in the office)

Farming people are skilled, tenacious and deeply committed to feeding the nation and caring for our countryside. Yet the demands of farming life cannot be ignored. Long hours, isolation, unpredictable weather, financial pressures and ongoing shifts across the sector can affect health and wellbeing, with too many farming people experiencing poorer mental and physical outcomes than the wider population.

Founded in 1860, RABI – the Farmers Charity has adapted alongside farming life for more than 160 years. What began as financial assistance for farming people has developed into a modern, evidence-led charity that continues to provide financial support while delivering professional wellbeing services, leading sector research and working with partners and government to strengthen support across the sector.

In 2021, RABI released the findings of the largest survey of its kind into the health and wellbeing of farming people. This research identified, for the first time, a measurable farming wellbeing gap – a disparity in mental and physical health outcomes between farming people and the wider UK population. The findings marked a significant moment in RABI’s evolution, highlighting the scale of mental health challenges across the sector and the barriers preventing people from accessing support.

That evidence continues to guide our services and long‑term strategy.

Today, we provide:

• Practical support: advice, guidance and help accessing entitlements
• Financial support: targeted grants and responsive assistance
• Emotional support: free, professional counselling and wellbeing services

Alongside this support, we are increasingly focused on prevention, early intervention and improving access to help. Through this work, RABI contributes to the long‑term ambition to close the farming wellbeing gap by 2050.

We are seeking an experienced and thoughtful leader to join RABI as our new Head of Central Operations. This is a senior role at the centre of the organisation, reporting to the Director of People & Resources and working as part of the senior leadership team.

You will provide strategic leadership across finance, HR, estates and operational systems, while shaping and embedding a developing data and insights function.

Strong governance and financial stewardship remain essential. Beyond oversight, this role is about strengthening how RABI uses insight to inform decisions. You will help connect systems, people and data so that strategic choices are confident, transparent and evidence‑led.

With a new CRM in place and investment committed to strengthening data capability, you will:

• Build and embed a high‑quality data and insights function
• Strengthen reporting, forecasting and performance monitoring
• Improve cross‑organisational systems and operational coherence
• Support Trustees and senior leaders with clear, meaningful insight

This role is central to ensuring RABI remains sustainable, accountable and strategically focused as we deliver our 2025–2030 strategy.

We welcome candidates from a range of backgrounds, including data and insight, organisational performance, strategic operations or complex service environments.

You will bring:

• Senior leadership experience within a values‑led organisation
• A strong understanding of governance, compliance and risk management
• Experience implementing data‑informed approaches aligned to strategy
• Confidence presenting at board level and working closely with Trustees
• A collaborative and systems‑minded approach

You may not come from a specialist career in finance or HR, but you will be confident overseeing financial performance with the support of qualified colleagues and comfortable leading people and culture‑related functions.

Above all, you will be measured, clear‑thinking and purposeful in your leadership. You will share RABI’s commitment to strengthening the wellbeing of farming people and reflect our values in how…