Head of programme jobs in norland, sowerby bridge

WHAG is a leading Northwest based charity with 40 years' experience of delivering quality support services to vulnerable, homeless women, young parents, men and their families affected by domestic abuse.
 
We support people to overcome their experiences and improve their safety and life opportunities. We give them the information they need to make positive choices about their futures and help develop the skills and resources to take control of their lives, secure their own tenancy and maintain a quality of life for the long term.
 
We are also skilled in delivering relationship training to employers, colleges and schools as part of our mission to end domestic abuse, homelessness, and the breakdown of relationships.
 
WHAG supports and houses people in Rochdale, Wigan, Cheshire West and Chester through some 100 properties across 6 locations. Our dedicated front line teams number 45 working with pride in our values-driven approach and commitment to providing person-led support.
 
About the Role
 
Reporting to the Head of Operations and supported by 6 team leaders and central reporting and administration support, success in this hands-on leadership role is about how you support, coach and develop our capabilities for the future across a diverse range of services and projects.
 
A hands-on and mobile role you provide leadership and support to the services team leaders in each of our service locations and play a key role in developing and enhancing relationships with commissioners.
 
You will guide and support the teams in managing and improving their services so they run to the best of their ability and meet funder requirements. You will coach and innovate our services delivery, identifying and shaping new opportunities to achieve our mission.
 
You will build strong relationships with commissioners and key stakeholders including contract managers, agencies and other bodies offering support to clients to identify new opportunities.
 
You will:
• Bring proven management experience in delivering impact in domestic abuse or similar person-centred services
• Be open and approachable, able to bring empathy, trust and diplomacy to dialogues with staff and the families that we support
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of safeguarding and how to assure its effectiveness
• Have experience of monitoring and reporting against business plans, budgets and KPIs and in developing or contributing successful funding bids
• Demonstrate creativity and imagination in developing and delivering person centred and innovative services
• Be resilient and able to balance competing priorities in a busy work environment
• Be a skilled communicator with a range of audiences and communities and in ensuring communication flows within the teams and across the wider organisation
• Exhibit a demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice
• Be passionate about WHAG's aims and ethos and have a high degree of integrity, tact, diplomacy and organisational spirit
• Be a car owner/have access to a car for work purposes and able to commit to the mobile nature of the role
 
We offer:
• A competitive salary with opportunity for further progression in role
• 36 hours per week
• 25 days leave rising to 30 after 5 years with additional holiday purchase options
• Nest pension
• Health Plan including free eye tests, access to counselling reduced gym membership
• Salary sacrifice scheme including cycle to work, tech purchase and charity worker discounts
 
Location: Rochdale (With flexible working)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time
Salary: £38,000
Closing Date: 20 August 2025

As provided by the Equality Act 2010 Schedule 9 (Part 1), WHAG are claiming the genuine occupational requirement that the Operations Manager must be female; the role will, from to time to time, be actively engaged with women who have experienced domestic abuse, and it is WHAG's responsibility to prevent any further distress to the women we support.
 
WHAG is fully committed to equality of opportunity and diversity to ensure that we reflect the full breadth of the people and communities we support. It is important that the WHAG team are representative of these communities, and we warmly welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.
 
We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help with making the application process work for you.
 
You may also have experience in the following roles: Service Manager, Team Manager, Service Development Manager, Operations Coordinator, Programme Manager, Project Manager, Community Services Manager, Support Services Manager, Client Services Manager, Regional Manager, etc.
 
REF-222 972

The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the continued growth of Sporting Assets, advancing our mission to help create healthy, resilient communities with sport and physical activity at their core.

Sporting Assets is the leading provider of advisory and investment management services to the sport and physical activity sector in the UK.  We manage impact investment funds that provide affordable patient loans to community-based organisations delivering impact through sport and physical activity. Investors and stakeholders in our funds include Sport England, National Governing Bodies, Trusts and Foundations such as the Bank Workers Charity, and Impact Investors including the Access Foundation and Better Society Capital.

Beyond our funds, we provide business advisory services to the sector, helping organisations such as clubs, infrastructure bodies and NGBs build capacity, develop investment cases and business plans to secure funding and finance plus other outcomes such as tenure to become more sustainable and impactful. 

We work across the public, private, and charitable sectors, delivering practical, specialist advice backed by deep expertise in community engagement, enterprise and facility development, finance, and impact investing. Our advisory work equips organisations with the tools and capacity to deliver effectively, while our investments build more sustainable and impactful community sport enterprises.

In addition to our London office, we have recently opened an office in Leeds.

Role

As a Senior Consultant, your primary responsibility will be to deliver a range of projects within the Advisory team. Reporting directly to the Head of Advisory, you will be responsible for:

• Project Leadership and Delivery. Leading and managing advisory projects from inception to delivery, ensuring high-quality outcomes for clients.
• Strategic and Operational Client Support. Providing client-facing support across business planning, financial sustainability, governance, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement.
• Enterprise Growth and Community Development. Working closely with clients, funders and partners to deliver support and guidance enabling enterprise growth and community development within the sport and physical activity sector.
• Investment Readiness Support. Contributing to the development of new services and business opportunities aligned with our mission, including supporting our investment team to deliver investment readiness support across our fund portfolios.

Internally you will be:

• Collaborative Team Leader. Contributing to a team environment that values knowledge sharing, continuous improvement, and inclusivity. Fostering a collaborative and positive team environment by contributing proactively, constructively, and setting a strong example for others.
• An active member of Sporting Assets. Actively contribute to our success by supporting stakeholder relationship building and assisting with securing commissions, marketing, and operational activities throughout the business.

The Individual

We are looking for someone who is:

• A self-motivated individual comfortable working independently and as part of a small, high performing team.
• Collaborative and adaptable, with a proactive approach to challenges.
• A solutions focused mindset with an ability to build trust and deliver meaningful value for clients and stakeholders.
• Motivated to catalyse lasting impact through sport by empowering communities to create impact.
• A team player willing to take initiative and support colleagues to ensure shared goals are met.
• Committed to equity, inclusion, and community empowerment.

Qualifications and Requirements

Essential

• Significant experience (typically 5+ years) in a consultancy, strategic, or senior programme role within the social and community enterprise sector, ideally in sport and physical activity.
• Strong track record of managing multiple projects and prioritising effectively under pressure.
• Deep understanding of how the community and social enterprise sector, ideally through sport, can contribute to wider social outcomes, including health, wellbeing, regeneration, inclusion, and community resilience.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, able to engage credibly with a diverse range of people and organisations including marginalised communities and senior leaders from public, commercial and community organisations.
• Strong analytical skills and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent empathy and active listening skills with the ability to connect with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Proven business coaching and mentoring skills supporting individuals and community organisations.

Desirable

• Experience in financial modelling, business planning and investment readiness support with a clear understanding of the key drivers of profitability and sustainable growth.
• Working knowledge of the legal and governance structures available to community based and socially driven organisations ideally including those operating in sport and physical activity.
• Working knowledge of community and social investment plus funding landscapes.
• Operational experience of community organisations and social enterprises, ideally in sport.
• Understanding of social impact measurement and reporting, including methods such as SROI, outcomes frameworks, theory of change and Power BI.

We do not expect candidates to possess all of these skills and competencies, importantly what we are looking for is someone who can show how their skills and experience could be adapted to fit this profile, if/where there are gaps.

If you're a passionate advocate for community enterprise, driven by the power of sport to create social impact and committed to working collaboratively, we invite you to join our team as a Senior Consultant.

Compensation and location details

• Base salary of £42,500 to £47,500 per annum.
• Discretionary bonus of up to 30% of base pay, plus statutory pension contribution.
• Full time (5 days per week) is preferred although part time will be considered for outstanding candidates.
• Location: Leeds.
• 25 days flexible holiday plus additional 2-3 days fixed at Christmas (plus English bank holidays).
• Hybrid working arrangements.

Application

Interested candidates should submit a CV and covering letter outlining your interest in Sporting Assets and how you meet the qualifications and requirements for the role.

Please include in your cover letter your salary expectations for this role.

The closing date for applications is 9am, Tuesday 19 August 2025, however we will assess applications on a rolling basis and so the role may close before this date if we appoint a suitable candidate. All candidates are required to have the right to work in the UK, please include the status of your visa (if relevant) in your cover letter.

Sporting Assets is an equal opportunity employer. We work to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals can maximise their full potential. Our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion is evident through our constant focus on recruiting, developing and advancing individuals based on their skills and talents.

At TLG, we’re passionate about building an exceptional staff team that’s committed to making a real difference in the lives of struggling children across the UK. We’re always on the lookout for great people to journey with us towards our vision, and we’re excited to offer a unique opportunity for a motivated and passionate individual to join us as Grants & Foundations Lead.

The Grants & Foundations Lead will pioneer a new approach to grant management at TLG through shaping the administration and systems used, and harnessing AI to create efficiencies. This approach will allow the core focus of the role to be on facilitating the wider team, implementing a new grants strategy and sourcing and liaising with funders. Based primarily within our Fundraising & Supporter Engagement team, this individual will grow and maximise voluntary income from trusts and foundations, working closely with Directors, colleagues across TLG and with external partners.

The successful candidate will focus on raising funds both for projects in the UK and helping to grow our work internationally. They will work alongside TLG’s Innovation Hub to source finances for new pilots and innovations – playing a vital role in pioneering new approaches for local churches to serve their communities. From pulling together compelling applications, leading new projects and contributing to strategic development, you’ll be at the heart of our mission to bring hope and a future to struggling children.

TLG is a Christian charity and, as a team, we want to bring our faith to the work we do; as such, we are recruiting an individual with a strong and vibrant Christian faith. We would welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds to enable us to better reflect the needs of the communities we serve.

Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)

Closing Date: Sunday 24th August

Initial Interviews: Friday 29th August

Final Interviews: Monday 8th September – at our National Support Office in West Yorkshire