Associate Director, Homestead

Associate Director, Homestead
c. £92k • based York

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is an independent social change organisation, working to support and speed up the transition to a more equitable and just future, free from poverty, where people and planet can flourish. Today, JRF supports and undertakes many different types of work in all four nations of the UK. This includes policy development and insight gathering, advocacy and campaigns, impact investment, funding pioneers and visionaries, field building, and supporting those building grassroots movements. Our work is supported by around 150 permanent staff across York, London, Glasgow and Belfast.

JRF’s head offices are based in York, in the former home of Joseph Rowntree’s son, Seebohm Rowntree. In 1904, Seebohm purchased land to build his home and gifted his gardens to JRF’s predecessor organisations with a requirement that they were open in perpetuity to the general public so that anyone, regardless of income, could access green space. He also commissioned a Pavilion, which provided space for community groups to meet together, free of charge. Over time, the size of this estate grew and today it covers 15+ acres of land, including Homestead Park and Pavilion, a number of buildings, which include gardener’s meeting rooms, vehicle garage, glasshouses and JRF’s head office. We refer to this collection of assets as ‘The Homestead’, and you can read more about our Homestead vision here.

We are looking for a visionary leader and collaborator to lead the transformation of the Homestead Estate and develop this as a living, breathing ecosystem where community, nature, and culture intersect and flourish together. You’ll develop and nurture the Homestead as an inclusive commons: a space for shared care, collective learning, and bold experimentation that supports changemakers, local groups, and JRF’s mission to imagine alternatives to broken systems and to prototype these, within Homestead which will be a site of transitions. You will steward the estate’s physical and social fabric — from managing the restoration of historic buildings through regenerative retrofit, to opening up the grounds and our buildings to community groups and local communities.

We’re looking for people who are natural connectors, enablers, and visionaries who are committed to stewarding place as an act of civic care. Direct experience of successfully managing and delivering a capital project is essential. Your role will be to unlock the estate’s potential as a hub for ecological sustainability, creative collaboration, shared wellbeing and prototyping. You will lead with care and humility, embracing emergent, adaptive practice that honours the site’s legacy and its place in our collective futures.

Please visit cadence-jrf.co.uk/ to find out more and to apply. If you need candidate materials in an alternative format or have questions not covered on the microsite, please contact Cadence Partners at jrf-ad-homestead@cadencepartners.co.uk.

Closing date: Monday, 25th May 2026.