Deputy family support manager jobs in Liverpool

MediCinema is a unique national, UK registered charity that improves the wellbeing and enriches the quality of life of NHS patients, their families and carers through the power of the shared cinema experience and the magic of film. We achieve this by building and running cinemas in hospitals and places of care equipped with space for beds, wheelchairs and medical equipment, and providing free films and activities for patients of all ages. Our services help to improve emotional, mental and physical health, reducing isolation, anxiety and stress, and increasing patient resilience to help them cope with what they’re going through.

Our purpose-built in-hospital cinemas are designed to accommodate patients in hospital beds and wheelchairs, on drips or with monitors. Patients are looked after by trained volunteers who accompany them to and from the cinemas, and by two nurses who are present at each inpatient screening. In addition to our regular inpatient screenings, we run Tailored Screenings for specific patient communities, working closely with the patients and clinical teams to co-design experiences that meet the specific needs of each group. We also routinely hold personal screenings for patients who are unable to mix with other patients, are receiving palliative care or are in other sensitive situations. We also run our varied Beyond the Big Screen programme that extends the impact of our services to outside the film screenings, including specially-designed MediCinema activity books, arts & crafts and special character or talent visits. Finally, through our long-standing strategic partnership with Disney, we also design and provide activities on wards and in the MediCinemas as part of our expansive and impactful ‘Moments that Matter’ (MTM) programme.

The Role

We are looking for a Cinema Manager to build and run our service based in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. The post-holder will work closely with the part-time Deputy Cinema Manager, their team of nurses and volunteers, the hospital, and with central office operations team to prepare for and run successful film screenings each week.

We run a minimum of four regular inpatient screenings each week, including evenings and weekends. There is also a programme of additional Tailored and Personal screenings on top of these four regular inpatient screenings.

The role offers a unique, exciting and extremely rewarding opportunity for someone interested in a service delivery role at the heart of our charity, involving direct contact with the patients and families we support.

 Main Tasks and Responsibilities

The role of the Cinema Manager is essential to ensure the effective and safe delivery of our service. The Cinema Manager is responsible for all operational aspects of the service. This includes ensuring screenings happen on schedule and as planned, recruiting and managing volunteers and nurses, and developing relationships with a variety of hospital staff and departments to ensure the service is widely promoted and utilised, and to work together on developing Tailored Screening groups and identifying candidates for Personal Screenings.

The position would be part of the larger cinema managers team (all of whom operate remotely at various hospital sites) and report to the National Cinema Manager who is based in our central office in London. This position would suit someone who is self-motivated, wants a varied and interesting role and has an interest in film, healthcare and helping to improve people’s wellbeing.

Service Delivery

• Deliver a programme of screenings each week as agreed according to the operating procedures of a MediCinema, including running and managing screenings on your own. Most screenings are held in the evenings so the role requires regular evening working.
• Be responsible for:
  • Marketing the service throughout the hospital, organising collecting and returning patients, and for safety and care in the cinema itself.
  • Taking responsibility for health and safety of patients coming to the cinema, and the safety and appearance of the cinema space itself.
  • Preparing and operating the digital projection equipment for the screening, ensuring that films are screened to the highest technical standards at all times. Training and ongoing technical support will be provided for this.
  • Ensuring that all operational, welfare and safeguarding policies set out by MediCinema are followed accordingly, and that consent forms are obtained for photographic or filmed records.
  • Ensuring that all aspects of the operation comply with relevant health and safety legislation, and that areas where MediCinema might be in breach of such are dealt with immediately or brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities for rectification.
  • Keeping accurate monitoring and operational records, including contacts and database updating as required
• Collate, analyse and report back on agreed metrics and KPI’s
• Support with arranging and running any special events and special screenings
• When required, arrange and run additional personal screenings for patients unable to attend regular screenings, plus special tailored screenings with particular hospital departments and patient groups.
• Manage the local development and roll out of different Tailored Screening patient groups, plus any other potential new type of screenings we embark on.
• Support the delivery of our ‘Beyond the Big Screen’ bedside services, including our Disney ‘Moments that Matter’ work.
• Line management of the Deputy Cinema Manager.

Nurse & Volunteer Management

• Build, manage and support the team of nurses and volunteers to assist in the duties outlined above and to ensure that screenings run safely and smoothly – this will include managing recruitment and creating monthly rotas.
• Work closely with Voluntary Services Department of the hospital about all the checks and training required for volunteers.

Marketing and Relationship Management

• Be proactive in marketing the service within the hospital, and building key relationships with hospital staff and our partner Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
• Develop and manage effective partnerships throughout the hospital and community.
• Represent the organisation effectively and compellingly at all times.
• Support the programming and development of the MediCinema as a centre for entertainment, being pro-active in developing a creative programme of sustainable events at each site. This could include supporter events, live performance and other relevant activities.

Administration and other duties

• Provide holiday or emergency screening cover when required.
• Manage the collection, loading and returning of films.
• Champion the work of MediCinema within the hospital and cinema environment, as well as confidently and positively representing MediCinema in all interactions and at any meetings and events, including supporter visits.
• Contribute to the strategic development of the Alder Hey MediCinema, operations and MediCinema as a wider organisation
• Communicate effectively with all team members, ensuring an inclusive and whole organisation approach

• Undertake other tasks, projects and duties as reasonably required.

MediCinema is a small team and staff members are expected to support each other and share cross-organisational work in addition to fulfilling individual responsibilities.

The Person

We are looking for a high energy, enthusiastic, self-motivated individual who is passionate about helping people and delivering impactful and effective services. They should be a warm, welcoming and positive person who can demonstrate the following skills and qualities: 

• Strong organisational skills with  excellent attention to detail.
• A proactive, resourceful, problem-solving approach.
• An ability to work both on their own and as part of a team.
• Experience in using IT and an ability to quickly learn and understand new systems and technology. Please note full training on ingesting films and running the projection equipment will be provided so direct projection experience, while beneficial, is not required.
• Prior people management responsibility.
• Excellent communication skills and an ability to caringly and openly relate to and build relationships with a wide variety of people.
• Flexibility and adaptability, and enjoyment of a working environment where no two days are the same.
• Demonstrate tact and sensitivity when dealing with people with a variety of needs and be aware of issues relating to confidentiality and safeguarding.
• Interest and evidence of prior experience in healthcare, wellbeing and/or film & cinema.
• A sense of humour and congenial demeanour to help patients and families feel at ease and enjoy their MediCinema experience.

Please note the role will require an Enhanced DBS check, which we will arrange.

If you have a passion for health, wellbeing, film and the arts, and are a driven, highly-organised, compassionate and enthusiastic individual, we would love to hear from you.

Please send your CV and a covering letter telling us what appeals to you about this role and what makes you a strong candidate (no longer than one side of A4). Please note applications will be anonymised.

Role Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to shape Shine’s strategic direction while managing the operational delivery of our services for children, young people, and families aged 0–25. Building on the success of our Little Stars/Ser Bach programme for members aged 0–12 and the development and extension of the FIRE (Friendship, Independence, Resilience, Empowerment) programme for those aged 13–25, you will play a key role in shaping the future of our support for children, young people and their families.

Working across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, you will lead the delivery of an established, evidence-based programme that improves health, social, and emotional outcomes for those living with spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and associated conditions.

You’ll lead a passionate team and work closely with Shine’s Adult Services Team (25+), Health Team, Wales and Northern Ireland Managers and wider colleagues across the organisation to ensure work is coordinated, complementary, and beneficial to members. At the same time, you’ll forge strong partnerships with NHS professionals, statutory services, and voluntary organisations—driving collaboration that will support our vision of providing consistent, high-quality support for children, young people and families nationwide.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Team Management
• Programme Development & Delivery
• Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
• Member Support & Engagement

Please see the full Job Description & Person Specification below and on our website. 

Benefits to working at Shine:

• Competitive salary: Review due April 2027
• Regular working hours, and no shift work (some very occasional weekends or evenings)  
• 3% pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with additional discretionary leave between Christmas and New Year
• Additional annual leave awarded for ‘long service’
• Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave
• Broadband allowance for home-based roles
• Life insurance after 12 months’ employment  
• Access to our Employee Support Programme and Mental Health First Aiders 
• Support to learn and develop 

How to apply 

Shine is a Disability Confident employer and will offer guaranteed interviews if a disabled applicant meets the minimum criteria for the job. 

If you would like to discuss the role with our Deputy CEO, Gill Valentine, please contact Shine to arrange a convenient time for a call. 

To apply please submit your CV and supporting statement, which should outline your interest and explain how you meet the role criteria. 

We understand that you may wish to use AI tools to help you with some aspects of your application but we do expect tailored applications which are personalised to your experiences and not generic applications which are completely AI generated. We encourage candidates to be transparent about AI usage in their applications. 

*Please note applications without a supporting statement will not be accepted* 

Closing date: Thursday 16th April 2026 at 11pm 

Interviews:  Monday 27th April 2026  

Please note: we reserve the right to interview suitable candidates before the closing date, therefore we encourage applications as soon as possible. 

Zoe's Place Baby Hospice was founded in Liverpool in 1995 as the first hospice in the UK specifically providing for the needs of babies and younger children. Our team of specialist nurses and healthcare assistants are supported by a wide range of other healthcare professionals to provide respite care, therapies and bereavement care to babies and children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and their families.

In late 2024 the people of Liverpool, the North West, and even further afield helped us to raise more than £7,000,000 to secure the future of our hospice, and to build a state-of-the-art new facility in West Derby.

As work begins on our new hospice facility, our dedicated team continues to deliver specialised care from our existing site, and our team of fundraising, marketing, finance, compliance and administration professionals work hard to keep the charity operating smoothly.

This is a rare opportunity to join our dynamic and successful team as the head of our Income Generation and Marketing function. This role enhances the previous role of Head of Fundraising to be responsible for the overall income generation for the hospice, and the key role for the Head of Income Generation is to maintain a sustainable level of fundraising by increasing the income from paid placements through our relationships with Health Trusts and Councils in Merseyside and Cheshire in particular.

We are looking for someone with proven senior-level experience in income generation within the charity, health or care sector, and with a track record of growing income through commissioning or fundraising. You will need to be a strategic thinker with the confidence and compassion needed to build productive relationships and to manage our passionate and hard working team.

In exchange you will benefit from a competitive salary and benefits package, the opportunity to make a real difference to an incredible cause, and you will be joining the charity at a pivotal point in its development.