Permanent | Full-time
Salary: £58,560 – £71,480 per annum
Hours: 35 per week
Location: Home-based with regular national travel
Job reference number: 1766
Help shape the future of Cranstoun’s services
Cranstoun is a social justice and harm reduction charity supporting and empowering people to live healthier and safer lives. Each year, we support more than 45,000 people through services including substance use, criminal justice, domestic abuse, housing and services for children and young people.
Following a successful five-year strategy and significant growth, we remain ambitious about the difference we can make. As we enter our next phase, we are investing in the leadership and operational capability needed to support our continued development. We are now recruiting an Assistant Directors of Service to join our senior management team.
This is a significant senior leadership role offering the opportunity to lead substantial service portfolios while helping shape how Cranstoun’s services are led and delivered across the organisation.
The role
Reporting to the Director of Operations, you will lead a substantial portfolio of complex commissioned services and senior operational managers.
You will lead eight services with nine direct reports, spanning substance use and services for children and young people. You will have clear accountability for ensuring services are safe, effective and well-led, with strong contractual performance, financial sustainability and positive outcomes for the people and communities we support.
You will provide operational grip and evidence-based assurance, strengthen safeguarding and management accountability, build effective relationships with commissioners and partners, and ensure risks and underperformance are identified, escalated and addressed early.
You will also work collectively with fellow senior operational leaders to embed a One Cranstoun approach, strengthening common standards, sharing learning, developing leadership capability and improving quality and resilience across our services.
What you will be accountable for
As an Assistant Director, you will take senior operational accountability for:
- Safe, effective and well-led services – ensuring strong safeguarding, quality, operational risk management and service user outcomes.
- Contractual performance – ensuring services deliver against contractual requirements and KPIs, with strong commissioner relationships and timely action to address underperformance.
- Financial sustainability – maintaining strong financial oversight, effective workforce management and oversight of the sustainability of individual contracts.
- Evidence-based assurance – using reliable performance, quality, workforce and financial information to identify risks and drive improvement.
- Collective organisational leadership – working beyond individual portfolio boundaries to build consistent standards, stronger leadership and shared ways of working across Cranstoun.
You will lead and develop senior operational managers, set clear expectations and create a culture in which support and accountability operate together.
You will also lead and contribute to service mobilisation, transformation, workforce planning and continuous improvement.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for established senior operational leaders with substantial experience leading complex commissioned services and geographically dispersed teams.
You will bring a strong track record of:
- leading safe, high-quality services for people with complex needs;
- safeguarding, quality and operational risk management;
- contract and performance management;
- managing significant service budgets and improving financial performance;
- building effective relationships with commissioners, regulators and strategic partners;
- leading service improvement, mobilisation and organisational change;
- developing senior operational managers and addressing underperformance; and
- using performance, quality, workforce and financial information to provide assurance and drive improvement.
You will need to combine strategic leadership with operational pragmatism, understanding the detail when necessary while maintaining oversight of performance, risk, quality and sustainability across a complex portfolio.
Above all, we are looking for collaborative, credible and values-led leaders who can support and challenge in equal measure, build leadership capability and bring people together around common standards and organisational priorities.
Specialist experience
For this role, significant senior leadership experience within substance use services is essential, including experience of leading CQC-regulated provision and maintaining high standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance.
You will also need a strong understanding of safeguarding and the governance required to deliver safe and effective services for children and young people. Direct operational experience of Children & Young People services would be valuable, but we are equally interested in candidates who can demonstrate strong safeguarding and CYP governance experience alongside substantial substance use leadership.
This permanent appointment offers the opportunity to provide long-term leadership to a significant portfolio and help shape the future development of Cranstoun’s services.
Be part of Cranstoun’s next chapter
Our successful five-year strategy has seen Cranstoun grow considerably, extending our reach and the range of services we provide. We remain ambitious and innovative, committed to developing services that respond to the changing needs of people and communities.
As we look to the future, we are investing in the leadership, operational capability and organisational infrastructure needed to support our continued development, strengthening operational governance, consistency and assurance across our services.
This role offers the opportunity to do more than manage established portfolios. You will help shape the future of our services and build an Operations Directorate characterised by high standards, clear accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Find out more
Please refer to the accompanying recruitment pack for the full Job Description, Person Specification and details of the application process.
Please note: All posts are subject to an Enhanced DBS check.
How to Apply:
For more details and to apply, please visit our website via the apply button. Please quote the appropriate Job Ref in all correspondence.
Applicants must be able to provide satisfactory evidence of their right to work in the UK at the application stage.
Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.
Closing date: Sunday 20 September 2026.
We are an inclusive employer, committed to promoting equality and diversity in all areas of our work.
Registered Charity No: 1061582
Thank you!
Farm Discovery Programme Manager
Salary: £40,170 | Home-based | 35 hours per week | Permanent
This is a varied senior role combining programme leadership, team and contract management, quality assurance, safeguarding, data and financial oversight, partnership development and programme improvement.
You’ll ensure our Farm Discovery team has the clarity, support and resources they need to deliver consistently high-quality educational experiences for children from disadvantaged communities. You’ll also use data, feedback and evaluation to improve the programme, develop partnerships and contribute to its future growth and development.
We’re looking for someone who:
- Has a strong track record in programme management and leading complex delivery
- Is outstanding at enabling and leading educators and dispersed teams
- Understands the primary education context in England
- Can build strong relationships with schools, farmers, funders and partners
- Has experience of quality, safeguarding, health and safety and risk management
- Is confident using data, managing budgets and improving systems and processes
- Can communicate effectively and work collaboratively across an organisation
- Shares our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for children experiencing disadvantage
The role is home-based, with regular travel across England and North Wales, including overnight stays, an essential part of the role. Reasonable travel and accommodation expenses are covered.
Hours: 35 hours per week, with flexible working arrangements considered, including slightly reduced or compressed hours for the right candidate.
Closing date: Thursday 8 October 2026, midday.
CVs not accepted for this role. Please see our website for more information.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We are a small, dynamic national education charity dedicated to bringing alive the working countryside for children least able to access it.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
About Us
Roots HR is a dynamic and growing HR consultancy specialising in providing tailored, pragmatic human resources solutions to social sector employers, including charities. We believe in the power of HR to transform the social sector, and we are looking for an experienced Senior HR Consultant to join our small but dedicated team.
We are founded on the belief that social sector organisations of all sizes should have access to high quality, practical and affordable human resources services. We recognise the challenges for such organisations and develop our services to meet the needs of the social sector, in terms of culture, risk and scale. We deliver those services on a more than profit basis to meet our social purpose.
Our market leading COMPLY service is in high demand, and we are now seeking to grow our team with the appointment of an HR Consultant who will provide comprehensive and pragmatic HR advice, documentation, and compliance support to clients by phone, Teams / Zoom and email.
Position Overview
Our market-leading COMPLY service is in high demand. We are now looking for a Senior HR Consultant to coordinate its day-to-day delivery, provide technical leadership to the HR Consultants delivering the service and maintain an active portfolio of consultancy work.
This is a hands-on senior role for an accomplished HR practitioner who combines strong employment law and employee relations expertise with sound judgement, excellent client care and the ability to coach and develop others. You will coordinate workloads, oversee case management, maintain service standards and act as the first point of escalation for complex HR and service-delivery matters.
What you will do
- Coordinate the day-to-day operation of the HR Advice Service, ensuring client enquiries are handled promptly, professionally and in line with agreed service standards
- Oversee ongoing casework, deadlines, service levels, capacity and risk, escalating major concerns to the Head of Service Delivery
- Provide technical oversight, quality assurance and practical support on complex employee relations casework and HR documentation
- Allocate and prioritise work fairly across consultants and associates, monitoring utilisation, billable time and project scheduling
- Lead monthly one-to-ones and support the wellbeing, performance, capability and development of team members
- Maintain your own client portfolio, providing pragmatic advice and producing high-quality contracts, policies, reports, letters and case-management documentation
- Support client relationships, identify recurring needs and use feedback to improve systems, processes and service delivery
- Contribute to proposals, scoping discussions, tenders, webinars, articles, newsletters and other business-development activity.
The successful candidate will, along with other essential criteria:
- Be qualified to Chartered MCIPD level or as a minimum hold a level 7 qualification in HR
- Have extensive experience of delivering robust generalist HR advice and guidance, including advising and coaching line managers and advising to a successful conclusion on a broad range of complex employee relations issues
- Social sector experience or exposure, gained through employment, volunteering or governance role(s) with extensive and broad operational delivery of robust generalist HR advice and guidance
- Bring strong quality-assurance and technical-review skills across HR casework and documentation
- Have experience of managing client relationships and resolving service-delivery issues
- Have excellent communication skills and be extremely skilled in influencing at all levels
- Have excellent written skills, able to produce high-quality reports and other documentation
- Be passionate about human resources and committed to updating their knowledge on a frequent basis
- Ideally, you will bring experience of leading or coordinating a team.
In return for your skills and commitment we can offer you:
- A wide range of interesting and demanding work in a sector where HR effectiveness impacts on the life of the community
- A friendly, team-oriented, supportive and trusting work environment
- Coaching and support in consultancy skills and practices
- Partnering internally with experienced and supportive colleagues.
To apply: Submit your CV and cover letter using our online system by no later than 11.59pm on Sunday 4 October 2026.
Roots HR CIC is an equal opportunities employer welcoming application from all sections of the community. Continued eligibility to work in the UK is required.
Strictly no contact from agencies please.
REF-230756
