We are looking for an inspiring Support Services Manager to lead our supported housing schemes, ensuring high‑quality, person‑centred support for women and children across our services.
If you are passionate about transforming lives, improving service quality and leading dedicated teams — we’d love to hear from you.
About the Role
As Support Services Manager, you will:
Lead and develop high‑quality support services
- Provide operational leadership across supported housing schemes
- Ensure trauma‑informed, person‑centred support plans and risk assessments
- Monitor KPIs, contractual compliance and service performance
- Drive service improvement and co‑production with clients
Manage, motivate and develop staff
- Line manage Support Workers and Volunteers
- Ensure supervision, training and performance management
- Support recruitment and staff development across the region
- Build a strong, motivated and skilled team
Champion safeguarding & risk management
- Act as a safeguarding champion across supported housing
- Ensure robust risk assessments, incident reporting and GDPR‑compliant records
- Support staff to maintain the highest safeguarding standards
Ensure housing & compliance excellence
- Work closely with Estates teams to maintain safe, compliant accommodation
- Support quality improvements across physical properties and service delivery
Build impactful partnerships
- Liaise with local authorities, commissioners, health partners and referral agencies
- Represent Life at case conferences, multi‑agency meetings and contract reviews
- Identify and respond to new referral opportunities
Drive quality, governance & reporting
- Produce performance reports and maintain audit readiness
- Support strategic growth and contribute to the department’s business plan
- Promote Life Charity within local communities and public forums
Manage budgets & resources
- Monitor expenditure and support resource planning
- Support with funding bids and service redesign
- Work with finance teams to ensure clients receive appropriate financial support
We’d love to hear from you if you have:
Essential experience & skills
- Experience managing or delivering support and/or care services
- Understanding of supported housing and estates management
- Strong knowledge of support planning, risk assessment and safeguarding
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels
- Strong organisational, leadership and problem‑solving abilities
- Ability to work independently, handle pressure and prioritise workloads
- Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- Full UK driving licence
Desirable
- Relevant housing qualification (e.g., CIH Level 4)
- Experience working in a charity environment
- Experience in troubleshooting or service improvement roles
- Good strategic awareness
About Life:
Life is a national pregnancy support charity that helps over 60,000 people a year. Through our services, we help people – whoever they are – to meet pregnancy or pregnancy loss with courage and dignity so they can flourish.
Our services include:
- Supported housing and community support
- Counselling and skilled listening
- Free pregnancy tests and baby supplies
Our values :
All our work is underpinned by the following universal human values:
- Humanity – All people are special and equal
- Solidarity – We’re with you and for you
- Community – We’re better together
- Charity – Doing good for one another
- Common good – Building a better world
Information about the role:
For further information, please see the attached job description.
Salary: £34,000 per annum
Hours: 35 hours per week over 5 days
Location: Home Based with Extensive Travel across the Midlands and South East England
Benefits:
At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:
- Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours)
- Birthday Leave (applicable after 1 years service)
- Additional annual leave for long term service
- Company Pension Scheme
- Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge
Safeguarding and Equality:
Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.
We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.
All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.
Registered Charity 
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The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Business Manager
Location: Kendal, Cumbria (with regular travel across Cumbria and to our site in Carlilse)
Salary: £42,830 per annum, plus 9% pension contribution.
Duration: Full-time (35 hrs per week) fixed term for 3 years (with possibility of extension).
The role offers a unique opportunity to lead the business development and management of the Trust’s consultancy (Cumbria Wildlife Consulting (CWC)) and commercial plant nursery, ensuring they together provide a high-quality integrated service, meet financial targets, and align with the Trust's mission to protect and restore Cumbria’s natural environment, and inspire action.
Since 2023, the Trust has run a semi-commercial nursery at its Gosling Sike site near Carlisle, providing local provenance, peat-free plug plants for use in our projects, but also selling to partner organisations. The Trust has recently secured funding to expand its operation, increasing capacity and enabling more efficient production.
In addition to the above, the role will also build new, high-value strategic partnerships and business relationships with a focus on identifying and developing new business opportunities within the nature economy.
What we are looking for:
An individual who is enthusiastic and passionate about delivering nature’s recovery in Cumbria, but who is also business-minded with a proven track record of working in a commercial environment. They should possess the relevant skills, experience and confidence to grow new business ventures, taking them to the next stage. Applicants should be self-motivated, organised and have experience of leading teams both remotely and in person. A full driving licence and access to a car with business use insurance are desirable.
CV’s will not be considered.
To apply, please click on the link below.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust is devoted to the conservation of the wildlife and wild places of Cumbria.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.