Media Release: The Loop recruits its first Chief Executive Officer
With 2022 heralding the introduction of the first regular drug checking services across the UK, delivered by multiple providers, The Loop is looking for a talented CEO to lead our award-winning organisation as we deliver drug checking and associated harm reduction services to more people than ever before.
The unique role, as the first drug checking CEO in the UK, will be an opportunity for the right candidate to be at the forefront of rolling out drug checking. The coming year will be a period of unprecedented development for The Loop which, alongside significantly expanding our drug checking services, will see us convert into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
The position, funded by the Tudor Trust for three years, sees The Loop looking to recruit someone with a passion for cutting edge health service delivery. The successful candidate will manage a growing team of paid and unpaid staff and help the organisation to grow effectively at this pivotal moment in its expansion across the UK.
Professor Fiona Measham, co-founder of The Loop, said:
“In the 10 years since The Loop was founded, drug checking in the UK has moved from an impossible dream to an everyday reality. The hard work, shining professionalism and dogged determination of The Loop team has created the evidence base and overcome the obstacles.
“Regular drug checking is being introduced across the UK this year so, supported by a generous grant from The Tudor Trust, The Loop is looking for its first CEO to join at this exciting time and lead the next stage of development.”
Catriona Slorach, grants manager at the Tudor Trust, said:
“The trustees were impressed with the Loop’s provision of non-judgemental drug checking, free to the user, at music events and in city centres. They liked the commitment both to users' anonymity and to collecting data on outcomes, and welcomed the positive relationship with police forces.
“They felt that this was a pragmatic and professional response to the risks of illicit drug use, with potential to influence national drug policy - a game changer, in one trustee’s words.”
The Loop offers event-based and community-based drug checking and associated harm reduction services. Additionally the team provides in-house research, evaluation and training courses such as drugs awareness, spiking, harm reduction and managing problems in nightlife for staff across the public health, higher education, events and security sectors.
Working in partnership with stakeholders, the Loop introduced the UK’s first onsite harm reduction drug testing service in nightclubs in 2013 and in festivals in 2014. Since then, The Loop has provided harm reduction services at some of the UK’s best-loved nightclubs and festivals. In 2016 The Loop introduced the UK’s first event-based drug checking services (hosted by Secret Garden Party and Kendal Calling), followed by the UK’s first community-based drug checking services (in Bristol and Durham city centres) in 2018.
The full Loop CEO Job Pack and more information on how to apply can be found on Charity Job. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 13 April.
Notes to editors:
The Tudor Trust is an independent grant-making trust which supports voluntary and community groups working in any part of the UK. They help smaller, community-led groups which are supporting people at the margins of society by making grants.
The Loop is a non profit non governmental organisation founded in 2012. Guided by international expertise and experience, The Loop is the first and only dedicated drug checking service in the UK and is committed to expanding evidence-based drug checking and harm reduction services across the UK.
The Loop’s dedicated team is made up of over 500 chemists, health professionals, academic researchers and more who volunteer their time to create a safer society where everyone can access accurate, timely, and relevant information to make more informed decisions about drugs.
The Loop’s drug checking is an innovative public health service which combines rapid laboratory analyses of substances of concern with healthcare consultations direct to the public, all delivered by qualified and experienced professionals.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Interviews
For more information or interview requests, please contact Professor Fiona Measham at [email protected]
Useful web links
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