Family support worker jobs in alderley edge, cheshire east

Redthread is a hospital based youth work service, working alongside NHS staff and other professionals in emergency departments.

Our experienced, specialist youth workers engage with and support young people, aiming to reduce serious youth violence. We often meet young people at a moment of change and work with them to find a positive way forward.

We provide long-term, holistic support. We consider every aspect of a young person’s life and build support around them.

Job Description

The Senior Service Manager (SSM) provides strategic oversight of Redthread Services (currently working with 9 hospitals in London and Birmingham) providing line management to ensure high quality delivery that improves outcomes for children and young people and be successful in seeking opportunities for further growth. The SSM will work with the YPF SMT and will take a lead role in implementing our YPF strategy in this area, including taking and making opportunities to grow our services, and supporting new service implementation as need requires.

The role can be home based, but time spent in each of the services alongside travel across the UK will be required in order to support delivery and growth of  services across the Hub.  The ideal candidate will have experience of delivering and managing similar services and the right mix of leadership, passion and energy, and an innovative nature. A proven track record in engaging with positive relationships with commissioners and securing new business is essential. The role will involve promoting, connecting and building services in order to impact the lives of vulnerable young people with complex needs.

Duties and accountabilities are split into two core areas, management and development of Redthread service delivery,  including direct management and coordination ensuring high performance that improves outcomes for children and young peopleand supporting implementation of the YPF growth strategy

• Line management of service managers and operational oversight of service contracts.
• Supporting the implementation of the YPF strategy, including making opportunities for organic and new growth. Work with Business Development and other business partners and engage Commissioners and other funders to develop our delivery models and to bid for services (organic growth and nationally).
• Supporting the implementation of the Clinical Governance policy and responsible for ensuring relevant services adhere to this guidance.
• Contribute to national stakeholder engagement plans and local, geographical influencer plans to promote our hospital based youth work offer and support growth.
• Ensure that staff and volunteers within services are engaged with Redthread’s vision and strategic plan, are motivated and understand their role and contribution to the wider organisation.
• Provide robust management and accountability for service budgets and in building budgets for new services working closely with Redthread’s finance business partner.
• Monitor and ensure that contractual commitments are met and that service performance is maximised; acting promptly to respond to and resolve performance and compliance issues. A core component of the role will be to ensure the confidence of our Commissioners including by assuring the quality of delivery, through Brilliant Basics audit, review, observation and ongoing service development.
• Ensure the provision of high quality reports for Redthread, commissioners and other strategic groups on the work of the services with clear evidence of quantitative and qualitative outputs – particularly signing off service commissioner reports / performance prior to external distribution.
• Ensure that services operate effective multi-agency working processes, such as referral, assessment and review and to ensure a high quality standard of lead professional, meeting chairpersonship and co-ordination from workers.
• Promote and support the participation of service users so that they are appropriately informed, consulted and involved in their own plans and the design and delivery of services.
• Be responsible for ensuring that all service activity is safe for all involved, to include adherence to Redthread’s health and safety policies including safeguarding, accidents, incident and injury reporting, fire safety and risk assessment. Review audit activity within services and work to ensure a consistent approach across services.
• Undertake other duties as required to ensure the effective delivery of the services.

Qualifications

Professional qualification in a relevant discipline such as youth, community or management or demonstrable equivalent experience.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge and understanding of relevant current issues and research (including emerging trends youth violence work and associated areas of risk)

EXPERIENCE

• A proven track record of developing and managing projects in the public, private or voluntary sectors.
• Extensive experience of working with young people (11 – 18 years) and their families, identified as vulnerable or as having complex needs preferably within a community setting.
• Demonstrable experience of staff management including recruitment, induction, supervision and support.
• Proven track record in scoping and developing new business activity, including engaging and developing positive relationships with commissioners.
• Experience of preparing bids e.g service model development, articulating delivery within tenders - for significant projects/services and participation in the business development process e.g. responding to tender questions etc
• Experience of working using own initiative to an agreed action plan and effectively monitoring service quality standards and performance.
• Commitment to young people’s participation
• Substantial experience of working in a multi-agency environment and the proven ability to develop effective working relationships with other professionals/organisations.
• Experience of managing services for young people and their families, and empowering them to make positive and informed choices in their lives.
• Experience of developing new contracts and development opportunities with commissioners and partners.
• Experience of project development
• Experience of training / public speaking to a wide range of audiences

SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Proven ability to lead and coach others in their professional development
• Demonstrated ability to manage and monitor budgets (up to the value of £1m p/a), working within organisational financial procedures.
• Ability to lead, motivate and oversee administrative processes.
• Excellent negotiation skills, and an ability to handle sensitive matters with tact and diplomacy.
• Demonstrated ability to incorporate and demonstrate an equal opportunities perspective in all areas of work
• Ability to achieve results and meet deadlines and to motivate and manage staff to do the same.
• Computer literacy including the use of Email, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Ability to build and establish effective working relationships at a range of levels, including with commissioners, funders and external influencers.
• Creative, flexible and able to work well with others in a team.
• Honest and reliable.
• Commitment to the organisation and also to their own personal and professional development.
• Commitment to enabling children/young people and their families to participate and achieve their full potential.

Additional information

Hours of work: Full time, 37 hours per week 

Place of Work: Home based with expectation of national travel*

Contract Type: Permanent 

Level of screening: Enhanced DBS

*You will be required to work on a on-call basis (days, evenings, weekends, bank holidays) supporting on-call staff with risk assessments ad decision making.

Catch22 is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other third parties to share this commitment. Safer recruitment practice will be followed and pre-employment background checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

About the role

As one of two Regional Programmes Manager, you’ll inspire and lead a team of Senior Programmes Officers and Kinship Family Workers to effectively deliver high quality support services for kinship families across Greater London, the South of England and the Midlands.

You’ll do this by working in close collaboration with local authority teams who have commissioned our services and other funders where appropriate.

You’ll have accountability and ownership for ensuring we deliver impactful services for kinship carers and that we meet targets for our commissioned services. Working collaboratively with our other managers in other services, you’ll ensure we’re delivering high impact programmes.

You’ll ensure your team have real clarity and direction on their role and responsibilities - encouraging curiosity, learning and solutions-focused thinking. As a leader in the organisation, you are a key model for the team.

Your team will deliver the following programmes:

• Kinship Connected – in-person one-to-one support and support groups in the community
• Kinship Reach – remote one-to-one support and virtual support groups
• Kinship Ready – online workshops to prepare new and prospective special guardians for their role, as well as wraparound one-to-one support (in one local authority)

You will also manage a new role of Grants Officer - London, funded by the Aviva Foundation.

As one of our deputy safeguarding leads, you’ll be part of our key safeguarding structure.  This means you’ll take ownership to make sure our people feel confident and well supported to demonstrate best practice and making sure safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Key responsibilities include:

• Oversee the day-to-day running of programmes, supporting mostly home-based Senior Programmes Workers and Kinship Family Workers to ensure high quality, consistent and impactful programme delivery.

• Meet performance targets as directed.

• Create and keep developing processes and systems which support consistency across all programmes, ensuring good quality documentation and manualisation on Notion.so

• Develop quality assurance frameworks with other service managers and directors.

• Support your team to establish and deliver in-person and virtual peer support groups regionally and generate engagement with kinship carers.

• Line management and supervision of Senior Programmes Workers and Kinship Family Workers as required.

• Actively encourage personal development and support staff to deliver key targets and outcomes and ensure high levels of wellbeing.

• Work with the Director of Services and Digital, Head of Programmes and the Business Development team to develop proposals and present to local authorities to secure commissions.

• Manage the delivery of commissioned contracts through collaborative relationships with local authorities, ensuring targets are met.

• Manage the programmes and services within budget, in accordance with Kinship’s financial procedures and ensure the reporting of progress in line with funder requirements.

• Work actively and positively with other managers within Kinship to ensure sharing of best practice, problem solving, relevant connections and consistency of delivery across England and Wales.

• Act as a deputy safeguarding lead at Kinship

Essential requirements include:

• Substantial experience in managing a regional service or programme with high quality outputs (national experience desirable but not essential).
• Substantial experience of managing, developing and evaluating effective and innovative services for families experiencing crisis and experience in reaching ‘hidden communities’ and a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Experience of leading and managing continuous improvement in changing contexts.
• Experience of governance and managing risk on high profile service delivery.
• Experience of ensuring that services are designed and led with user needs at the heart, ensuring that the voices of our kinship carers inform ongoing design and development of our programmes.
• High quality digital and data literacy and using technology to help us to be better in our processes. You’ll have to own Salesforce and be a massive champion for the team. You will be accountable for ensuring they use it well.
• Substantial experience of leading high-performing service teams including managing wellbeing, development and performance.

How to apply

In place of a cover letter, you will be asked to answer the following five questions, alongside providing your CV. Please keep your answers to a maximum of 250 words.

1. Tell us why you’re interested in working for Kinship in this role and what experience you bring that would make you successful? This is an opportunity to tell us about you, your experience and your values.
2. Please give an example where you have managed a successful regional programme or service (this could also be national). Please include scale, key performance indicators and outcome. What made it a success?
3. What makes you a great team manager? Give one example of how you have supported teams and individuals to flourish and one example when you have had to step in to address behaviour or performance issues. (This is an opportunity to share your enthusiasm for supporting others to develop and deliver to a high standard. You can share evidence of how your approach has worked and how you’ve tackled challenges and difficult conversations along the way).
4. Quality assurance and consistency is key to making sure our programmes deliver impact for our kinship carers. This includes ensuring your team are following processes, using our case management system effectively and have the tolls to do their role. Please describe how you would approach this at Kinship using a previous example.
5. In this role you will be a deputy safeguarding lead at Kinship. This is a key role, the lives of kinship carers are incredibly complex.  Give one example of a safeguarding situation that required your response in a previous role. Explain what your rationale and thought process was. How did you hold appropriate boundaries and progress actions to effectively safeguard vulnerable children and adults?

Key Dates

• Application deadline:      Friday 9th May, 10pm
• First interview: Online – Tuesday 6 May
• Second interview: In person (Vauxhall, London) – Tuesday 13 May (travel expenses covered if required)

About Kinship

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to.

We are made by and for our community of kinship carers. Like family, relationships run deep. And we hear their experiences; for too long they have been isolated without the help they need.

We support, advise and inform kinship carers. Connecting them so they feel empowered. Because a child needs the love and warmth of a thriving family.

We develop research, campaigns and policy solutions. Creating positive change across society. Because for kinship families, love alone is not enough.

Through our work we harness frustrations to fuel passion for change. And tough experiences to inspire ideas that transform lives.

And as we see momentum building, we keep using evidence to demonstrate the value of kinship care. Helping kinship carers navigate challenging circumstances. Believing in a child’s potential.

Join us. Together, let’s commit to change for kinship families.

Research Associate - National Youth Agency

Contract: 12-month Fixed Term Contract (with potential to extend)
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week 
Salary: £30,000 – £35,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Remote: This role is 100% homebased with occasional travel for staff residentials and other events.

What we do

As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.

We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Knowledge Team, working alongside two existing Research Associates and a Data Analyst. 

You will be integral in delivering research, data, and insights that support organisational development and programme delivery across NYA.

We are looking for an experienced mixed-methods researcher with a strong understanding of social research and evaluation approaches. Ideally, you will have experience working in or alongside the youth sector and be confident using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

You’ll need to be flexible, proactive, and a strong communicator, able to explain complex ideas to varied audiences. 

This role is ideal for someone looking to make a tangible difference through evidence-led approaches that shape policy, practice, and impact in youth work.

Key responsibilities for this role will include:

• Designing and delivering research projects using a range of methods including surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
• Supporting the development of the NYA research and data hub, including external research collation and data visualisation.
• Leading on evaluations to meet funder requirements and contribute to NYA’s growing evidence base.
• Analysing data from NYA programmes to support impact measurement.
• Promoting evidence-based practice across NYA and the wider youth sector.
• Communicating findings clearly through reports, briefings, and presentations.
• Managing research projects and collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver on time and to quality.
• Responding to internal and external research enquiries.

The ideal candidate will have experience in social research, familiarity with various research methodologies, and the ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences. 

Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.

Why Work for NYA?

NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.

NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.

A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.

NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.

We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.

How to Apply:

Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements

To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 12th May 2025:

A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section. 

A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the

About You section. 

We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.

Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.

The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer. 

At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission. 

We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.

Youth Work changes lives

Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it. As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power.  We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.

We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.

REF-221126

• Location: Remote

Salary: £38,000-£42,000
Contract Type: Permanent
 
About Police Care UK
 
Police Care UK traces its roots back to 1926 following the merger of the charities Police Dependants’ Trust and the National Police Fund. Our mission is to reduce the impact of harm on police and their families across the UK.
 
The Charity is currently undergoing a period of growth and development and has transformed from a traditional benevolent organisation to a leader in the blue light sector. This exciting phase is allowing us to expand both our services and our reach. With our office based in Woking, Surrey, we operate throughout the UK to deliver groundbreaking research, innovation, and evidence-based action that supports the police community in coping with the impact of policing. Our work has included targeted projects within police forces aimed at improving wellbeing as well as providing emotional and financial support to serving and veteran officers, staff, and their families.
 
Who We’re Looking For:
 
We are seeking a proactive and highly self-motivated Fundraising Manager to join our team at Police Care UK and make a critical contribution towards our combined annual fundraising target of approximately £1 million.
 
With knowledge of the funding landscape for first responders, police, mental health, or wellbeing causes, you will take direct responsibility for income from Trusts & Foundations, Major Donors, and legacy fundraising, alongside oversight of our challenge and community events.
 
With strong research and writing skills, you’ll identify new funding opportunities and produce compelling, high-quality applications. You’ll also bring excellent relationship-building abilities, managing key donor relationships with care and ensuring grant compliance to maximise impact and income.
 
If you have a strong track record in securing significant income from trusts, foundations, grant-making bodies and major donors, and a commitment to improving mental health outcomes for those who serve, we’d love to hear from you.
 
Main Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver a trusts and foundations fundraising strategy to meet agreed income targets.
• Research and identify new funding opportunities from trusts, foundations, and statutory sources.
• Write compelling, tailored funding proposals, applications, and reports.
• Work closely with finance and clinical teams to monitor and report on grant expenditure.
• Organise meetings, presentations, and site visits to engage and inspire funders.
• Provide timely updates, reports, and impact statements to funders.
• Build and maintain strong, personalised relationships with major donors through regular communication and engagement.
• Plan and deliver an effective legacy marketing strategy.
• Champion Police Care UK and the support it provides to our police, their families and the wider police service.

 
Experience:
 

• Proven experience in securing significant income from trusts, foundations, or grant-making bodies.
• Experience of raising substantial fundraising income and achieving performance targets.
• Building and nurturing relationships with grant-making bodies.
• Setting and achieving ambitious income targets from major donors.
• Experience or understanding of effective legacy marketing and administration processes.
• Working with the marketing team to showcase donor impact through storytelling and recognition opportunities.
• Working effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrable experience of setting, managing and delivering against budgets, reporting on KPIs, variances and re-forecasting.
• Managing multiple deadlines and working under pressure.

 
Knowledge:

• Knowledge of the funding landscape for first responders, police, wellbeing and mental health causes.
• Understanding of financial budgeting and grant compliance.
• The regulatory environment for charities, Gift Aid, Fundraising Code of Conduct.
• Proficiency in fundraising databases and Microsoft Office.

Skills:

• Exceptional communication skills.
• Strong research skills to identify new funding opportunities.
• Preparing compelling, tailored proposals to inspire significant philanthropic gifts.
• Analyse donor trends and provide insights to enhance major donor fundraising strategies.
• Maintain a pipeline of prospects and manage a calendar of funding applications and deadlines.
• Strong relationship-building skills with funders and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to craft persuasive funding applications.

 
Additional:

• Pro-active and highly self-motivated.
• The ability to change and adapt to changing needs and circumstances.
• Ability to work collaboratively and to support a skill sharing agenda.
• An empathy with the police service and the welfare needs of police officers and their families.

Hours of work: The basic hours of work are 35 hours, Monday – Friday
Location: Remote
 
How to Apply: If you’re ready to join a forward-thinking charity that values innovation, empathy, and collaboration, we’d love to hear from you. You will need to submit your CV and a detailed cover letter explaining why you’re the right fit for this role. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis, so please apply as soon as you are able.
 
Limitations
 
This job description is neither exclusive nor exhaustive. The duties and responsibilities may vary from time to time in the light of changing circumstances in consultation with the jobholder.
The jobholder will be required to work within the rules and regulations of the Charity and accept the authority of the Chief Executive, who has the discretion to delegate authority to the jobholder and to withdraw it.
 
Equal Opportunities Policy
 
The Charity is committed to eliminating any discrimination and promoting diversity and equality of opportunity in all it does. The Charity is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, and we will not unlawfully discriminate against job applicants, employees of the Charity, volunteers, workers, or contract workers on the grounds of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins) religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
 
REF-221397

Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week​

Location:​Home-based with frequent travel to projects across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool​

Contract:Permanent​

Do you want to work with multiple award-winning charity, FoodCycle? As Regional Manager you will represent, manage and co-ordinate FoodCycle for your allocated regional Projects. Our Projects are spaces where volunteers are empowered to run their own community meals using surplus food.​

You will manage local relationships with supermarkets, volunteer recruitment channels and venues to enable this to happen. As an excellent communicator, you will manage the volunteers at each Project ensuring they are trained, supported and on-message with FoodCycle strategy, ensuring that volunteers are confident enough to self-organise and make a success of their Projects.​

You will have experience of programme planning and delivery, and working with volunteers. You will be experienced in building relationships with a range of stakeholders, and be passionate about food and cooking.​

There will be frequent travel to our projects in the North East, with some evening and weekend work needed to cover our projects. A full driving license and access to a vehicle for work purposes is essential for this rewarding role.​

Benefits: We offer 26.5 days holiday plus bank holidays, and additional holiday for length of service (pro-rata for part-time). Our healthcare package allows staff to claim money back on healthcare bills and includes access to telephone counselling and online GP appointments.​

How to apply:Please upload a CV of no more than two sides, and a covering note/letter of no more than two sides explaining why you are suitable for the role, via our vacancy website.

Deadline for your application:We will be shortlisting and interviewing for this post on an ongoing basis and the vacancy will close once we have found the successful candidate.  Please apply as soon as possible if interested, and no later than 11.59pm on Thursday 8th May.

Interview process: Shortlisted candidates will need to complete a 30 minute task prior to being invited to interview.

Inclusivity: FoodCycle is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We are a Disability Confident Scheme member. 

Safeguarding: Safeguarding is Everyone’s business – FoodCycle is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare / wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk. This role will therefore require a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check.

Please note that you will need to have existing Right to Work in the UK to apply for this role. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship.​

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