Staff team

Tesfu is responsible for providing the team with strategic direction and vision to achieve the organisation's mission. He collaborates with the Board of Directors to develop and implement strategic plans and ensures the organisation's effective functioning. As CEO, Tesfu is also responsible for the following five areas.

Leadership & Strategy: 

Provide strategic direction and collaborate with the Board to achieve the organisation's mission.

Organisational Management: 

Tesfu oversees operations and financial management and fosters a collaborative culture.

Organisational Sustainability & Development: 

Implement strategies to secure funding and build key stakeholder relationships.

Advocacy & External Relations: 

Represent the organisation externally and advocate for mission-aligned policies.

Communication & Branding:

 Manage communications and public relations and enhance organisational visibility.

The Training and Employability Lead, a vital role in The Welcoming Association, is dedicated to enhancing the training and employability prospects of our New Scots service users. In her role, Sandra directly impacts these service users' lives, ensuring the quality and effectiveness of our training and employability programs.

These initiatives are not just about skills development but about empowering service users to reach their full potential, helping them to develop English language skills and access relevant work, volunteering, and training opportunities that align with their qualifications and interests.

Sandra's key responsibilities as the Training and Employability Lead include working closely with the CEO to develop and implement a strategic vision for our programs, managing a team of project coordinators, and directly supporting service users through coaching and workshops. Sandra’s role also extends to building partnerships with local agencies while ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation of all activities. Notably, Sandra's contribution to securing funding and reporting to funders is crucial for the sustainability and growth of our services.

Managing our finances and bookkeeping. Preparing budgets and management accounts. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, external stakeholders and funders.

Sophie is responsible for managing day-to-day operations in the office and acting as the first point of contact for new service users, volunteers and visitors.

Her varied role involves managing the team of reception volunteers, responding to enquiries, providing support to service users, overseeing Health and Safety and supporting the CEO with HR matters.