Deputy head of service delivery jobs

We are a registered charity employing over 150 career staff and 300 student staff, delivering a wide range of services and representative functions for UCL students. We have the widest portfolio of services of any student organisation in the country, managing UCL’s extracurricular programmes for sport, music, drama, dance, media, volunteering, academic societies and intercultural engagement; providing a wide range of fantastic social spaces; leading on student democracy and representation across UCL; and offering excellent student support services.

It's an exciting time to join our growing organisation as we lead the delivery of UCL’s groundbreaking new Student Life Strategy. This is enabling us to build more programmes to improve students’ mental and physical wellbeing, promote genuine equity for all, build students’ skills and confidence, develop their international connections and intercultural skills, and make a real contribution to our local community.

We support hybrid working. Excellent benefits including defined benefit pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement. We are proud of high levels of staff engagement and pride ourselves on being a great place to work. We will consider applications to work on a flexible and job share basis wherever possible. The role is full-time and permanent. This role is based at our Bloomsbury campus with flexibility to work from home on a 40/60 basis (40% working from the office).

Are you a commercially driven leader who can grow income, lead high performing teams and turn ideas into successful services? We are looking for an ambitious and experienced Deputy Head of Commercial Services to play a key leadership role across one of the most dynamic Students' Union commercial portfolios in the UK.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and grow our retail, cafes, bars, catering and venue operations while developing new income streams that support the wider student experience. Reporting to the Head of Commercial Services, you will lead the day to day management of our commercial operations through a team of managers covering Retail, Catering, and Venues & Entertainment. You will also drive new business development, identifying and delivering commercial opportunity to make a visible impact across both existing services and future ventures.

This role is being advertised as a Receptionist however the successful applicant will be employed as a Client Care Coordinator.

⌚ Hours: 37.5 hours per week (with the occasional Saturday)

We are looking for a compassionate and professional Client Care Coordinator to join our supportive team. This is a rewarding customer-facing role where you will support clients both in person and over the phone, providing reassurance, clear information, and a calm, empathetic approach during what can often be sensitive or challenging situations. We are seeking someone who is confident working with the general public and passionate about delivering exceptional care and support.

What we’re looking for:

• Previous customer-facing experience, ideally working directly with the general public
• Strong communication skills with the ability to remain calm, empathetic, and professional in difficult or emotional situations
• A caring, approachable nature and a genuine desire to support others

Full training and ongoing support will be provided, along with great transport links, on-site parking, and only one Saturday shift every two months.

Interviews for successful candidates will take place on Friday, 29th May.

Why Join Us?

We offer a supportive, values-driven environment where your contribution is recognised and rewarded:

�� Financial & Rewards: Aviva pension (up to 5% employer contribution), Blue Light Card discounts (4,000+ perks), Cycle to Work scheme, season ticket loan, and long-service recognition rewards.

�� Wellbeing & Work–Life Balance: Opportunity to buy and sell annual leave, 24/7 GP access and EAP via Westfield Health, an extra day off for your birthday, accredited Mental Health First Aiders, family-friendly policies and a national employee recognition programme.

�� Learning & Career Development: Clear career pathways, paid training and development, accredited apprenticeships, and learning agreements to support your professional growth.

Head of Financial Operations
London | Hybrid Working
1 Year FTC

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced finance leader to join a highly respected higher education institution at a pivotal time in its development.

Reporting to the Deputy Director of Finance, this role will lead a large Financial Operations function, overseeing accounts payable, income and receivables, and finance systems teams. Managing a team of approximately 15 staff, you will play a key role in ensuring the delivery of efficient, customer-focused financial services, while driving continuous improvement across systems, processes and controls.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across the organisation, you will be responsible for the effective management of income collection, supplier payments, cashflow and working capital, alongside maintaining a robust internal control environment. You will also lead the ongoing development of financial systems and support the wider finance leadership team in delivering strategic change initiatives.

The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (CCAB) with significant experience leading financial operations within a complex organisation. You will have a strong background in transaction processing, financial controls, systems development and team leadership, alongside a proven track record of driving change and improving service delivery. Experience of ERP systems is essential, while exposure to the higher education sector would be advantageous.

This is an excellent opportunity for a collaborative and forward-thinking finance professional looking to make a significant impact within a values-led organisation known for innovation, creativity and academic excellence.

To find out more, please get in touch with Rosemary Pini from Allen Lane for a confidential discussion.

Chief Executive Officer

We are seeking an inspiring, values driven Chief Executive Officer to lead a trusted women’s charity into its next chapter, strengthening impact, income and community influence.

Salary: £55,000–£60,000 FTE (pro rata, DOE)
Location: Holloway, London (hybrid working)
Hours: 0.8 (some flexibility)
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: 26th June 2026
 

About the role

This is a unique opportunity to lead a well established, community rooted women’s organisation with over 40 years of history. As Chief Executive Officer, you will provide strategic leadership, operational oversight and external representation, working closely with a committed Board of Trustees.

You will balance long term strategic thinking with hands on delivery, ensuring the organisation remains financially sustainable, well governed and responsive to the women it supports.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and delivering a clear organisational strategy aligned to the charity’s mission and values
• Leading, motivating and supporting a small, dedicated team
• Ensuring strong governance, safeguarding, compliance and operational systems
• Support high quality, person centred service delivery and impact through strategic oversight and delegation. 

• Leading income generation across trusts, foundations, corporates, earned income and individual giving also including pitching to major donors and relationship building with communities

• Managing budgets, financial planning and organisational resources
• Acting as an ambassador and advocate, building partnerships across local VCS and local authorities
• Raising the organisation’s profile, influence and reach locally and beyond

About you

You will be a confident, emotionally intelligent leader with senior level experience in the charity, community or related sectors. You are values led, collaborative and motivated by social justice, with the ability to inspire others and lead effectively through complexity.

You will bring:

• Proven experience of strategic leadership, organisational development and growth
• A strong track record of fundraising and financial management
• Experience of working effectively with a Board of Trustees
• Excellent communication, influencing and partnership building skills
• A genuine commitment to equality, inclusion and supporting marginalised communities
• The ability to thrive in a small organisation, balancing strategy with delivery

Experience in community services, welfare advice or working with women facing multiple disadvantage is welcomed but not essential.

About the organisation

The charity is a women only organisation based in North London with more than 40 years of history. It was established by women supporting one another through hardship and isolation and has since evolved to serve a diverse range of communities across London.

Today, the organisation supports women facing poverty, insecure immigration status, domestic abuse, ill health and social exclusion. It provides a safe, welcoming space where women are listened to, supported and empowered to improve their wellbeing and independence.

Please note: This is a women only role under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
DBS and right to work checks will apply.

Other roles you may have experience of could include:
Director, Managing Director, Executive Director, Charity Director, Head of Operations, Head of Services, Director of Communities, Director of Programmes, Deputy CEO, Strategic Lead

We are seeking an Assistant Director – Digital and Innovation to play a central role in shaping how Villiers Park delivers and develops its programmes at a pivotal point in the implementation of our 2025-30 strategy. This role represents an exciting opportunity to lead on the development of our digital education offer and innovation work, ensuring it enhances both the reach and depth of our programmes for young people across the UK.

Villiers Park is a national social mobility charity with a strong track record of delivering impactful programmes that support young people from under-represented backgrounds to fulfil their potential. As we continue to grow, digital provision and innovation are increasingly important in enabling us to reach more students, and to do so in engaging and inclusive ways.

Digital learning and programme innovation will be critical to the next phase in our strategy, building on the foundations we have already established, including the development of our learning platform and programme model. Alongside this, Leadership Challenge continues to expand as a key national outreach and social action programme, and this role will be instrumental in ensuring its quality and impact.

Our work is possible because of a brilliant team of staff, trustees and volunteers and committed funders and partners who believe in what we do and want to make the greatest possible difference. The Assistant Director – Digital and Innovation will work closely with colleagues across programmes, partnerships, communications and fundraising, as well as external partners, to ensure our digital and programme offer is coherent, forward-thinking and aligned with our mission.

This is a unique opportunity to combine strategic leadership with practical delivery, helping to translate ambition into impact for the young people we serve.

Sarah Chick

Head of Programmes 

Job purpose

The Assistant Director - Digital and Innovation leads the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of Villiers Park’s digital education provision. This includes the design and delivery of online learning experiences, the development of digital and physical resources for use across programmes, and ensuring that digital delivery is accessible, safeguarded and aligned with the organisation’s mission.

The role also provides strategic and operational leadership for Leadership Challenge, Villiers Park’s national student outreach and social action programme. This includes programme design, partner engagement, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring the programme is effectively resourced and financially sustainable.

Working closely with the Head of Programmes, Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Communications and Fundraising teams, and external partners, the postholder supports the development of digital innovation, programme resourcing and Leadership Challenge activity to enhance reach, impact and quality. 

Key responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership for the development, implementation and continuous improvement of Villiers Park’s digital education provision, ensuring alignment with our Theory of Change, priorities and values
• Lead the design and evolution of high-quality digital learning experiences, content and pathways for students, schools, parents/carers and volunteers
• Oversee the adoption and integration of digital platforms and tools, ensuring accessibility, safeguarding, GDPR compliance and scalability
• Drive innovation in digital delivery by monitoring sector trends and embedding relevant approaches to enhance reach and impact
• Ensure digital provision complements and strengthens face-to-face delivery across programmes, working closely with the Head of Programmes and Assistant Directors
• Provide strategic oversight of the use of AI within programmes, ensuring its application enhances learning experiences while maintaining safeguarding and ethical standards
• Provide strategic oversight of the development and ongoing review of physical resources, ensuring consistency, quality and alignment across programmes
• Ensure all resources are inclusive, engaging, curriculum-aligned and reflect organisational standards and brand expectations
• Maintain a coherent approach to resource development, ensuring materials support programme delivery and learning outcomes effectively
• Lead the strategic and operational development of the Leadership Challenge programme, ensuring it is high-quality, sustainable and aligned with organisational priorities
• In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, develop and strengthen partnerships with charities, corporates and universities to support programme growth and delivery
• Oversee the development of an appropriate recognition or award framework for participants
• Establish and oversee robust quality assurance and evaluation processes for digital and physical content and delivery
• As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to strategic planning, budgeting and risk management, and provide quarterly updates to the Board of Trustees.
• Work collaboratively with Fundraising and Communications teams to support income generation, bid development and programme promotion

This list is not exhaustive, and the post-holder will be required to undertake other tasks relevant to the role and within their capability.

Skills and experience:

• Significant leadership experience in education, youth or social mobility sectors
• Knowledge of school and college curricula and the needs of learners aged 13–19
• Proven experience in designing and/or delivering digital learning
• Strong understanding of safeguarding, digital accessibility standards and inclusive design
• Experience developing high‑quality educational resources (digital and physical)
• Ability to lead programmes, manage projects and deliver to deadlines
• Ability to build relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders to further organisational aims and fundraising objectives

Personal attributes:

• A genuine commitment to and care for social mobility and young people’s futures
• Organised and proactive, effectively, prioritising workload and delivering outcomes independently
• Strategic and forward-thinking, with an ability to see the bigger picture
• Collaborative and able to work effectively with colleagues, partners and stakeholders across different functions
• Willingness to learn and develop your own practice and experience

Additional Information:

• The postholder will be required to travel regularly to schools, events and partner organisations
• An enhanced DBS check will be required
• The postholder will hold responsibility to be one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads
• The postholder will require a full UK driving licence
• Evening work and overnight stays may be required
• Hybrid – location local to our Cambridge office or near to one of our Regional Hubs

Employee Benefits

• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rated) and additional leave over Christmas.
• A dedicated wellbeing day for you to take at any time and three days (pro-rated) paid leave for volunteering or study each year.
• Training and professional development, including termly staff development days.
• Support from our wellbeing working group and access to an employee assistance programme.
• Opportunity to join working groups with other colleagues from across the organisation as well as wider networks such as the Fair Education Alliance.
• Flexibility in working hours.
• Additional sick pay and compassionate leave policies. 

Safeguarding

Villiers Park Educational Trust is committed to safeguarding and to providing a safe and supportive environment, which secures the well-being and best outcomes for the young people with whom we work.

Safeguarding is embedded in all aspects of Villiers Park's work and integral to the commitment we make to our schools, partners and the young people and communities we serve and work with. All employees and volunteers are expected to share this commitment by adhering to our organisational safeguarding procedures, attending regular in-house training and keeping up to date with developments in policies and legislation.

All employees and volunteers will also agree to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check and successfully complete our mandatory online training courses including NSPCC Safeguarding in Schools and PREVENT training.

Looking for a charity role where children and families are treated with warmth, curiosity, and compassion?

Ready for a role where operational leadership means noticing the details, solving problems early, building strong systems, and helping a busy service run smoothly and thoughtfully?

Looking for a thoughtful values-led organisation where kindness and accountability go hand in hand?

This is what our children and parents could soon be saying about the service you help lead …

‘I feel like some of the darkness has turned to light’.
‘It’s like an egg has been opened up and all the good is coming out…. Life feels like it is on the right track’.

We need you and more importantly, our children and young people need you!

Join our lovely children’s mental health charity team as Service Lead for our specialist part-time alternative provision, supporting children and young people with EHCPs whose needs sit in the intersection of SEND and mental health.

We are looking for someone who can quickly understand and work within the Love Squared ethos and approach, while bringing strong organisational leadership, warmth, and consistency to the service.

This role would suit someone who is perceptive, highly organised, and proactive, with the ability to quickly understand complex situations and keep a busy service running and developing smoothly and thoughtfully.

You will need strong organisational skills, fantastic attention to detail, and love problem solving, and proactively manage multiple moving parts with love and imagination. 

It will suit someone who wants to take real ownership of making things work well! 

A little bit about Love Squared …

Our vision is a society where imagination, love, and kindness are the everyday words that people associate with child and family services. It is a vision where young people can walk into their futures with joy. We want to bring love to children and families’ services. We don’t think it’s enough to care a bit, you have to care a lot if you want to transform outcomes.

We want to change the national landscape of how children experience the mental health system, putting kindness at the forefront of every interaction. Building awareness, starting a movement, hearing the children’s voices and those of their loved ones: we want to transform the experience of those impacted by mental health.

We are on a mission to ensure that no child has to lose out on a world of potential because of mental health. We don’t have magic wands, but we do believe that every child and family has the right to get services designed and delivered for their individual needs, and with love and imagination. Everyone has a right to have their story remembered and treated with curiosity and sensitivity.

We directly deliver imaginative, and carefully case managed services for children and young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs (working in the intersectional needs of mental health and SEND). We do this through our work as a specialist non-school part-time alternative provision for children with education, health and care plans (where this particular advertised role sits!) and through our Glow services where we provide a number of therapeutic projects such as our children’s listening helpline, Drop the Pressure, online mentoring projects such as Transitions, Game On and Remix, 1:1 counselling and mentoring in schools, and therapeutic mentoring workshops in schools as well as holiday groups in nature, and with cooking and a range of other activities. We believe that you can’t change outcomes without looking at issues holistically and thoughtfully. For us it’s about long-term change.

As our new services lead for (outreach ALP), you will help us continue seeking to make three key differences for our children and young people: Improved mental health, Reduced social isolation,  Increased ability to thrive in education

The Role

Our Outreach (part time ALP) service will deliver services to around 45 children and young people at any one time over the next academic year. Our young people are often neurodivergent, have SEND and/ or mental needs such as anxiety, OCD and other diagnosed or undiagnosed needs. Many have very supportive and involved families and parents/ carers who also deserve our empathy and support, and many have had difficult childhood experiences and might be really struggling with loneliness and social isolation. The funding for outreach comes primarily from individual children’s EHCP’s and we design careful and thoughtful packages of education and wellbeing provision with an emphasis on therapeutic and trauma informed work. This is usually commissioned through local authorities (we work with a number across the South West and in London) and can also be commissioned by social care and NHS. The work with the children is delivered by a team of around 25 education and wellbeing practitioners. We usually deliver services in the home and the community and for many of our young people, who are usually not in school - we are key professionals, mentors and cheerleaders in their lives, delivering usually around 12 hours a week of services for each child as a part time ALP. Partnership work and safeguarding are day to day features of the services as is building supportive mentoring relationships with practitioners ensuring they have the right support, training and supervision to fulfil their roles and feel happy and supported, and building warm, nurturing relationships with families and wider stakeholders. 

We have a clear idea of our objectives for this service for next academic year (we want to make it even more amazing for the children and young people) and we need someone who will be truly excited about running day to day and the year to year. This is a key operational leadership role within a busy and fast-paced service requiring someone who is highly organised, proactive and fast on their feet - its that ‘head, heart and hand’ approach driving positive action and strategically aligned change across the service whilst holding their own case load, and able to maintain oversight of multiple complex moving parts, while ensuring children, families, and practitioners feel nurtured, inspired, and well-held.

In this role, you will:

• Oversee the day-to-day running of the Outreach (ALP) service reporting and ensuring on monthly and year to year deliverables. 

• Manage relationships with children, professionals, families and practitioners dealing with cases from referral onwards, by phone, face to face and by email, and to be in proactive and sensitive communication including with professionals and vulnerable children and families. This will  often require imagination, quick wit, empathy, and diplomacy to resolve. 

• Take an active role in strategic problem solving; being able to think about what issues might come up, what lies behind the words or the data, and what needs to be done to reassure, and move things forward successfully. 

• Collate and analyse a range of systems and data (quantitative and qualitative) with a view to improvement in communications, systems and processes and will make these improvements happen in the service and ensure they are embedded and become consistent.

• Deliver services which have meaningful long term impact for the children, but always be proactively seeking to do more and to make them better.

• Have confidence in dealing with conflict and disagreements, ensuring that the children and families voices are heard and working positively with our partners.

• Lead on personalised and holistic case management including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/control and closure across children’s cases. 

• Proactive commitment to safeguarding best practise and information sharing including commitment to Love Squared safeguarding procedure including acting as Deputy Safeguarding Lead and attending relevant multi-agency meetings. 

• Effective risk-management for service and individual children/ young people in liaison with other stakeholders.

• Manage practitioner and other relevant recruitment so that capacity is carefully managed across the service.

• Support and improve service design, delivery and best practise for the children including running regular team meetings for each placement, individual and group supervision, and providing wellbeing support for practitioners. 

• Ensure that additional and joined up support is sought and achieved as needed to meet the children’s needs and that this is proactive as much as possible rather than reactive. 

• Ensure that reporting, planning, and other documentation both for individual children and at service level is compliant, to a high standard and well organised and managed. 

• Support the ongoing development and sustainable growth of the service in alignment with the Love Squared ethos and approach

• Line manage and supervise Case Manager(s) and supervise and mentor the practice of the practitioners. 

• Help ensure children and families experience services that feel thoughtful, imaginative, loving and genuinely supportive.

• Undertake other duties in the charity as required, being a willing and nurturing colleague and team member, supportive of senior leadership as well as practitioners and other team members. 

This role needs someone who:

• Enjoys managing/ leading services proactively, creatively improving service design - joining up the dots and seeing how things could run smoother and better for our beneficiaries and for the charity while understanding why strategic alignment and keeping ethos already in place and special. 

• Love to solve problems - the little ones, the bigger ones and enjoys a thoughtful challenge, often at pace! 

• Notices when things are starting to drift and acts early to solve,  - using learning from individual scenarios to create solutions at service level. 

• Can manage multiple moving parts calmly and thoughtfully. 

• Combines strong systems thinking with warmth and empathy, and loves working with people including team and parents/ carers - supporting and nurturing with love and kindness. 

We are looking for a wonderful person who has experience in:

• Significant experience working with children and young people with SEND and/or social, emotional and mental health needs

• Strong safeguarding knowledge and confidence managing complex safeguarding situations with best practice reflective practice

• Experience overseeing or coordinating front line educational/ health or other relevant case-managed services or provision

• Experience supervising, supporting, or line managing staff and frontline practitioners/ education or mental health teams

• Strong project management, operational, and administrative skills

• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple moving parts within a busy service

• Ability to organise, coordinate, and maintain oversight across multiple workstreams, timelines, and priorities

• Confidence developing and improving operational systems and processes

• Ability to quickly process information, prioritise effectively, and proactively problem solve

• Experience building strong, warm and compassionate relationships with parents and carers

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Confidence using systems, tracking information, and maintaining clear oversight of delivery, actions, and timelines

• Ability to identify opportunities for improvement and contribute to the ongoing development of services and systems

• Comfortable taking ownership of operational improvement and helping services grow sustainably over time

• Ability to work within an established relational and values-led approach while helping strengthen and refine service delivery

• A proactive, thoughtful, and emotionally intelligent approach to leadership and service management

• A belief in trauma informed,child-centred, and holistic approaches using a variety of tool kits to supporting children and families

Qualifications (Desirable, not Essential)

• Relevant qualification in education, SEND, mental health, youth work, social care, counselling, psychology, or a related field, or in project management/ operations or organisational development

Most importantly … 

You will align with our key values of:

• Love, imagination, Nurture, and Brave. 

Our team commits to these in all their interactions and through our code of conduct and behavioural framework as part of our wider safeguarding culture and best practice.

So why work for us?

Our work is sometimes challenging and tender, but it is also enriching, rewarding and we are always looking for your vision and input as we grow as a charity. 

Benefits

• 29 days annual leave plus public holidays

• Pension: 3% employer contribution, 5% employee contribution

• Flexible working as much as possible around service needs and opportunities for home working for at least some of the week (specifics to be agreed). 

• Free access to on-demand and structured counselling plus mental health resources via Spill.chat employee assistance scheme

• Collaborative working with a supportive, warm team and colleagues. 

We want everyone at Love Squared to love working for us and feel like they are an ambassador for the charity, spreading the word about what we do and the impact we have, for the sake of the children and families we serve, and we will celebrate each and every achievement with you from the tiny (they said ‘hello!’) to the big ones, as well as the tougher moments - we work as a team, supporting and nurturing each other. 

Most importantly, it’s this: 

‘Your work has been life changing, and in each conversation we feel so listened to’

Some important things! 

An application form is required as part of the recruitment process (we can’t accept just a CV!) and any appointment to joining our team will involve appropriate safeguarding checks for regulated activity with children and adults in line with our safer recruitment process such as appropriate DBS and other relevant safer recruitment checks, as well as being able to demonstrate right to work in the UK and you would be required to sign up to the DBS update service and have or obtain an appropriate DBS check for working with children and vulnerable adults. 

We may also carry out proportional online searches on candidates who are shortlisted for interviews. 

Please be aware that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.  It is an offence to apply for the role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relating to children. 

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a confidential self-declaration form of their criminal record and other relevant checks as part of our safer recruitment process.  Please note that we operate a positive disclosure policy for cautions and convictions and historic convictions that are not related to offences against children or vulnerable adults, Love Squared would normally be willing to undertake a careful risk assessment with the applicant’s permission before coming to a decision about whether the application can be taken further.  

The interview process will include more than one stage, and please be aware that there might be two stages to the interview process and a short written/ relevant task. 

Due to capacity (we are a busy charity with a small team!) we are so sorry (and we really mean this) but we unfortunately cannot offer feedback to candidates who have not been shortlisted (eg. where we don’t progress an application form to the next stage). 

We're committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applicants from under-represented groups, diverse backgrounds, and those who don't always get their voices heard. If you have any access requirements or need reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process, then please let us know, and we'll make every effort to ensure these are supported.