The Archbishop of York Youth Trust today announced two new appointments made for the positions of Chief Operations Officer and Conference Administrator for the Young Leaders Award (YLA).

These appointments are a strategic part of the national expansion of the Trust, following a grant from Allchurches Trust, to further develop the work of the charity beyond the north of England. Further appointments will be made in the near future, as the Trust seeks to reach out to children and young people across the country.

The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said:

“I’m delighted with the progress that my Youth Trust is making in reaching more young people and communities across our nation. When I visit Secondary and Primary schools involved in the YLA programme, I’m always encouraged and inspired to see how the young people are growing in confidence, leadership and positive character attributes. They are leaders, not of tomorrow, but today! The Trust’s two newest appointments are essential to ensuring the growth and sustainability of this vision”.

Dr Nick Watson has joined the team as Chief Operating Officer. This role involves overseeing the day-to-day operations of the charity, managing the staff team and working alongside the Chief Executive Officer, Dan Finn, and the Board of Trustees, to strategically develop the core business of the Trust. Nick has experience of working as a Trustee for a child mentoring charity, The Island York, and most recently, he held the post of Associate Professor of Sport and Social Justice/theology, at York St John University.

Nick said,

“Given my background in higher education, charity governance and pastoral care, I am delighted to be joining the Youth Trust. It is a role that allows me to combine my previous experience with children and young people and my passion to facilitate character education programmes, and in particular, meet the needs of vulnerable children in our nation. I am really looking forward to working with the staff team, the Archbishop, partners, stakeholders, and most importantly, children and young people.”

Zoe Clark has joined the team as Conference Administrator. This part time role involves coordinating all the conferences and events hosted by the trust and inviting schools to attend.  Zoe has a lot of experience arranging events, most recently with the charity English Heritage where she planned and delivered events at historic sites. She has always enjoyed working with young people and has worked with them in various settings, including seven years running a local youth club for teenagers.

Zoe said,

“I am delighted to be joining the Youth Trust in a role that combines my events background with my love of working with young people.  I’m really looking forward to meeting teachers and young people at our events and hearing first-hand about the positive impact of the Young Leaders Award”.

To date the Youth Trust has enrolled over 600 Primary and Secondary schools to the YLA, empowering over 71,000 young people to learn and practise leadership skills and in turn, make a difference in other people’s lives, through acts of service and community volunteering.