Head of service jobs in London, greater london

About Play for Progress

This is an exciting moment for Play for Progress (PFP) as we celebrate our 10th anniversary and reflect on a decade of creative, therapeutic and community-building work with young people navigating the asylum system. Play for Progress is a Croydon-based charity dedicated to supporting unaccompanied young people seeking asylum, aged between 14 and 25. Through creative engagement, education, therapeutic & mental health support and community-building, we provide a space where young people can access opportunities, develop their skills, and find the support they need to navigate the challenges of displacement.

Our mission is simple but profound: to ensure that every young person who comes to us has the community to survive, the space to heal, and the stability to thrive. We are a small, close-knit team driven by a deep commitment to the young people we serve and we are looking for a Head of Therapeutic Services who shares that commitment.

The Role

This is a management  position with both strategic and clinical responsibility. As Head of Therapeutic Services, you will drive and develop our therapeutic offer, ensuring that our young people receive high-quality, evidence-based, and culturally responsive care. You will lead our team of multi disciplinary  therapists, providing clinical oversight and operational support, and  hold a small caseload of clients. You will also manage and oversee our weekly group therapy sessions on Tuesday afternoons in Croydon.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Head of Therapeutic Services will contribute to organisational strategy, safeguarding, service development and build strong working processes across the different strands of Play for Progress. You will work closely with the Executive Director and senior leadership team to shape the organisation’s Therapy Department.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Service Development 

• Provide strategic leadership for all therapeutic services, including individual therapy, group work, and psychosocial support programmes

• Develop and implement the clinical strategy aligned with the charity’s mission and the specific needs of traumatised young refugees

• Represent therapeutic services within the Senior Leadership Team.

• Contribute to organisational planning, annual reports and funding reports.

Clinical Practice

• Maintain overall responsibility for clinical quality and standards of practice (clinical and non-clinical) to multi-disciplinary colleagues. 

• Ensure all therapeutic work is grounded in trauma-informed and culturally sensitive, anti-racist practices.

• Provide clinical supervision to therapists and frontline staff.

• Maintain a small therapeutic caseload, modelling excellent trauma-informed practice.

• Support therapists with complex clinical work and risk management.

• Oversee clinical record keeping and documentation.

• Oversee clinical risk assessment and risk management across the team.

• Ensure appropriate use of our CRM software, In-Form, for accurate case management and attendance data.

• Keep up to date with developments in refugee mental health and trauma practice.

Safeguarding 

• Act as one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads.

• Provide safeguarding support and oversight to the therapy team.

• Respond to safeguarding concerns arising from therapeutic work.

• Ensure safeguarding records are accurate and appropriately shared across therapy and casework team.

• Work closely with other safeguarding leads and attend safeguarding meetings.

• Promote a strong safeguarding culture across therapeutic services.

Operational Management 

• Oversee referrals and allocation of one-to-one therapy.

• Monitor and manage therapy waiting lists and service capacity.

• Coordinate delivery of weekly Creative Arts Therapy programmes.

• Ensure effective programme logistics, room bookings and resources.

• Monitor attendance, outcomes and service data using In-form.

• Liaise with the Welcome Team to ensure young people are informed about Tuesday sessions. 

• Maintain communication with young people through weekly messages and group updates.

• Support visits from funders and external stakeholders if ever required.

Team Leadership 

• Line manage and support a small team of therapists and therapeutic support workers

• Leading on recruitment, induction and probation.

• Support professional development and CPD for the team.

• Foster a reflective, compassionate, trauma-informed and well-supervised working culture

• Lead therapy team meetings and planning days.

• Provide day-to-day support on clinical and operational matters.

Partnership Working & External Relationships

• Build strong relationships with CAMHS, social workers, legal representatives and community partners.

• Attend multi-agency meetings where appropriate.

• Advocate for the mental health needs of young refugees.

• Contribute to funding applications and impact reporting.

• Represent Play for Progress externally when required.

Who You Are

Essential

• Qualified therapist (e.g. BACP, UKCP, BPS, or equivalent accreditation) with substantial post-qualification experience

• Demonstrable experience working therapeutically with children and young people who have experienced trauma, ideally including refugee or forced migration contexts

• Strong understanding of complex trauma, PTSD, loss, grief, and the psychosocial impacts of displacement and persecution

• Good skill or ability to provide clinical supervision

• Knowledge of safeguarding legislation and practice in the UK

• Cultural humility and experience working across cultural and linguistic differences

• Experience managing or leading a small team

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Desirable

• Specialist training in trauma-focused modalities (e.g. EMDR, TF-CBT, somatic approaches, narrative therapy)

• Understanding of PfP’s approach to therapy 

• Experience working with interpreters

• Knowledge of the UK asylum system and its impact on mental health

• Experience contributing to fundraising or grant reporting

• Second language relevant to the communities served

What We Offer

• A flexible, supportive and genuinely values-driven working environment

• The chance to be part of an organisation doing vital and meaningful work with young people

• 20 days annual leave pro rata, plus bank holidays

• Pension - 5% contributory pension scheme with 3% employer contribution 

• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements

• Regular supervision and access to professional development opportunities

• A warm, diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Play for Progress is an equal opportunities employer. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, and particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities and from people with direct, generational and/or indirect lived experience of the refugee  or asylum journey. We believe that a team which reflects the diversity of the young people we support makes us stronger and more effective in our work.

If you require any adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please feel free to contact us.

Job Description: Head of Services

Reports to: Chief Executive

Location: Woking, Surrey

Hours of Work: Full time, 37.5hrs per week

Salary: £42,000 - £45,000 (DOE, pro rata)

About Us:

At York Road Project, we are dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals experiencing homelessness in Woking. We believe in harnessing the unique strengths and potential of each individual to create a pathway towards stability and independence.

The Role:

We are looking for a proactive and organised Head of Services,  providing full operational leadership across our Accommodation Services and Day Centre Services, ensuring safe, consistent and effective delivery across all frontline provision.

This includes:

• Direct Access Accommodation (10 beds)
• Move-on properties (14 beds)
• Day Centre Services
• Frontline staff across both services

The role holds full responsibility for day-to-day operational delivery and decision-making within services, ensuring they run safely and effectively, with only critical or strategic issues escalated to the Chief Executive.

The role also provides management oversight of property, compliance and health and safety functions delivered by the Facilities Manager and wider staff teams.

Key Responsibilities:

Service Oversight

• Provide operational leadership across both services, ensuring safe, consistent and effective delivery.
• Support and enable staff delivering day-to-day services, providing clear leadership, guidance and appropriate autonomy within agreed standards.
• Maintain service quality, structure and consistency, stepping in where required to resolve operational issues.
• Promote a collaborative, trauma-informed working culture where staff are empowered to deliver services effectively.
• Use service delivery data, client feedback and staff insight to support continuous improvement.
• Ensure accurate recording of service activity and outcomes is maintained.

Accommodation & Day Centre Services

• Provide management oversight of Direct Access Accommodation and move-on properties, ensuring safe and effective delivery.
• Ensure occupancy levels, allocations and housing processes are effectively managed by operational staff and administrative support functions.
• Maintain operational oversight of property standards, compliance systems, inspections, maintenance reporting and fire safety processes delivered by the Facilities Manager and wider staff teams.
• Ensure compliance with HMO requirements, supported housing standards and organisational procedures through monitoring and escalation where required.
• Provide leadership and support to staff responsible for housing management functions, ensuring systems are followed consistently.

Safeguarding & Risk Management

• Provide oversight of safeguarding across all services, ensuring procedures are followed consistently.
• Ensure safeguarding systems, risk assessments and incident management processes are implemented effectively.
• Monitor safeguarding activity and ensure appropriate action and escalation.
• Support staff in managing safeguarding concerns, complex needs and high-risk incidents.
• Ensure safeguarding concerns are escalated in line with organisational and statutory requirements.

Health & Safety

• Provide management oversight of health and safety across all services, ensuring safe and compliant working environments.
• Work alongside the Facilities Manager to ensure health and safety policies, risk assessments, inspections and safe systems of work are effectively implemented and maintained.
• Monitor operational health and safety activity within services, ensuring hazards, incidents and safety concerns are identified, recorded and escalated appropriately.
• Ensure safe systems of work are followed across services, including lone working procedures and site safety processes.
• Escalate serious health and safety concerns in line with organisational procedures.

Staff Leadership & Management

• Provide supportive leadership across both services, fostering a stable and positive working environment.
• Lead supervision, reflective practice and performance management conversations.
• Promote a trauma-informed approach across the team.
• Build a culture of accountability, openness and professionalism.
• Oversee recruitment, induction, training and development.
• Manage rotas and staffing levels to support service delivery and wellbeing.
• Ensure staff are supported in managing complex and challenging situations.

Reporting, Service Development & Operational Oversight

• Oversee referrals, allocations and engagement pathways across services.
• Maintain oversight of operational data, ensuring accuracy and reliability.
• Monitor service performance, demand, outcomes and operational pressures.
• Produce regular reports for the CEO covering activity, performance, risks and outcomes.
• Analyse data and feedback to identify trends and service improvement opportunities.
• Support development of effective client progression pathways.

On-Call & Operational Cover

• Participate in a Monday–Friday on-call rota.
• Respond to urgent operational incidents and staffing issues.

Professional Standards & Ways of Working

• Work in a trauma-informed, person-centred and non-judgemental way across all service delivery.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with GDPR and organisational policies.
• Work collaboratively with partner agencies to support positive outcomes for clients
• Maintain clear and appropriate professional boundaries with clients, staff and external partners.
• Manage workload independently, prioritising competing demands effectively.

Knowledge and Skills:

Essential

• Significant experience leading frontline or community-based services delivering high‑quality, trauma‑informed emotional and practical support.
• Strong track record of supervising, developing, and supporting staff and volunteers, including performance management and professional growth.
• Demonstrable experience of safeguarding adults and/or children at risk, with confident use of safeguarding processes.
• Proven ability to oversee operational service delivery in complex or high‑pressure environments and make sound, independent decisions.
• Experience setting service aims, outcome objectives, and KPIs, and reporting performance to senior leadership, commissioners, or governance boards.
• Ability to reach, engage, and develop services for vulnerable or underserved groups.
• Experience working collaboratively with partner agencies and external stakeholders to deliver integrated support.
• Skilled in managing competing priorities while maintaining service quality and compliance.

Desirable

• Working within homelessness, supported housing or related sectors.
• Delivery of trauma-informed services.
• Involvement in service development, redesign or improvement projects
• Setting and monitoring KPIs or outcome frameworks
• Managing budgets or operational resources.
• Working with volunteers in service delivery.

Personal Attributes

• Ability to manage competing priorities under pressure.
• Resilient and confident working in complex environments.
• Commitment to supporting people experiencing homelessness.
• Positive attitude, maintains a positive attitude even in challenging situations.
• Future-orientated, has a forward-thinking perspective, anticipates future needs or issues and plans accordingly.
• Team worker, demonstrates a commitment to strong collaborative work by actively engaging with colleagues, volunteers, external partners and to be accountable for the outcome.
• Ownership, a willingness to take ownership of tasks and projects and to be accountable for the outcomes.
• Aligned with the values and mission of York Road Project.

Benefits:

• Holiday entitlement of 25 days per annum, plus bank holidays (pro-rata) 
• Pension Scheme.
• Birthday day off.
• Medicash healthcare plan,
• Flexible working and hybrid working opportunities. 

Goodman Masson are working with a prestigious London based University as they a recruit for a new Head of Faculty Finance.

The finance function is currently undergoing an ambitious, institution-wide transformation. As part of a major strategic priority to strengthen financial control, compliance, and process efficiency, they have consolidated their distributed finance teams into a brand-new, centralised business-focused unit. They are now seeking a visionary, high-calibre financial leader to head this newly established division.

The Role

You will report directly to the Director of Finance Business Partnering. You will lead, shape, and embed a newly created team tasked with delivering high-quality, consistent front-line financial support across all internal departments and divisions.

This is a high-profile, transformative leadership role. You will be fully accountable for embedding new ways of working, driving data quality, streamlining processes, and ensuring robust financial management, planning, and forecasting. Furthermore, you will act as a critical advisory partner to senior stakeholders, translating complex financial performance into actionable strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Culture: Lead and inspire a large, newly consolidated team. Create an inclusive, high-performing environment focused on professional development, compliance, and excellent service delivery.
• Operational Excellence: Hold total accountability for the operational finance model. Ensure month-end, year-end, budgeting, and forecasting cycles are delivered with absolute integrity and timeliness.
• Service Transformation: Drive continuous improvement across finance systems, workflows, and processes. Work closely with change management colleagues to integrate streamlined practices and contribute to upcoming ERP system planning and implementation.
• Stakeholder Management: Build trusted, collaborative relationships with senior leadership across diverse organisational boundaries to support robust decision-making.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a resilient, collaborative leader who thrives in complex, large-scale environments. You should possess:

• Professional Qualification: You must be a fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or CIPFA) with significant post-qualification experience in a senior finance role.
• Proven Leadership: A strong track record of managing and developing large teams, with the ability to delegate effectively and foster a collaborative identity.
• Change Management: Clear experience driving continuous process, technology, or people improvements within a complex service delivery model.
• Exceptional Communication: The ability to handle difficult conversations, manage conflicting stakeholder priorities, and articulate expectations with absolute clarity.

Salary range is £85,000 - £98,000 (Depending on Experience) plus excellent benefits including:

• 33 days annual leave (including closure days)
• 14.5% Employer Pension Contributions

The deadline for applications is Friday 3rd of July. Please apply ASAP to ensure you are considered.