CEO Monthly Oct

6 CEO MONTHLY / OCTOBER 2017 Safer London is the leading London charity working to prevent and address gang violence, vulnerability and sexual exploitation. We invited Claire Hubberstey to talk us through how she came to win Community Safety CEO of the Year – England in our Female CEOAwards Excellence 2017 Awards. Exceptional Leadership Safer London is the leading charitable organisation working to prevent violence, sexual exploitation and vulnerability amongst young people in London. Claire tells us more about the charity’s role. “Here at Safer London, we work directly with over 9,800 young people every year. We work in close partnership with the statutory agencies and charity partners in the most deprived and crime-affected areas in London to make sure that young people can access crisis and intensive tailored support. Our aim is to ensure all young people can thrive, free from exposure to gangs, sexual exploitation and crime.” As CEO, Claire has a varied and challenging role, in which she draws on her past experience to ensure that she provides service users with the support they need, as she explains. “Personally, I originally trained as a teacher, seeing how challenging life was for some of the young people in my classroom, I decided to move into the voluntary sector so I could directly support young people facing multiple disadvantage. I spent seven great years at The Children’s Society in a range of roles including a stint on secondment into central government as a Policy Advisor. Following this, I joined Safer London initially as Director of Projects and Partnerships. My remit was to set up the direct work and service provision from scratch – we had a handful of people, a pot of seed funding and the opportunity be able to design truly needs led service provision co-designed with young people. That foundation has enabled the growth to an organisation with 80 staff and over 100 volunteers. I was appointed as CEO three years ago.” Looking ahead, there are many challenges faced Safer London, but Claire is determined that- through hard work and her own exceptional leadership- the organisation will prosper and continue to provide its vital services. “Considering the challenges facing the charity sector, including a tough financial climate, reduced public sector provision and therefore associated increased demand for services, greater regulatory demands and scrutiny and the continual need to evidence value and impact, collaboration is key. Ensuring that services can be delivered as efficiently as possible without duplication and working in collaboration will ensure we can continue to deliver the best outcomes for those most in need.” FCE17023 Contact Email: [email protected] Address: Skyline House, 200 Union Street, London, SE1 0LX, UK Phone: 0207 021 0301 Website: www.saferlondon.org.uk