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Learning Disability Community Leader, L'Arche London

ABOUT THE ROLE

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week (including some evening and weekend working, and regular on-call)

Salary: £55,000 (including London weighting)

Reports to: L’Arche UK Director of Care and Communities

Place of work: L’Arche London Community, West Norwood, SE27. Some travel and overnight stays will be required within the UK.

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: Thursday, 16th April, at midday

Notes: If you have already applied for this role and received an update on your application from us, please do not submit another application.

Main purpose of the role

The Community Leader is responsible for ensuring that the Community is living the mission of L’Arche, by providing excellent and sustainable care and support services, support for  spirituality, and engaging with our neighbours and the wider community around us.

The Community Leader will:

• Lead the Community by responding to the needs, choices and context of our members while being faithful to the L'Arche UK Vision and Values, the L'Arche International Identity and Mission Statement, and to a co-created Community Mandate and plan.
• Maintain and enhance high-quality, person-centred care, support, and housing for people with learning disabilities, both at home and in our day services in partnership with the Registered Manager, the Team in London, the National Leadership Team, individual circles of support, and external partners; 
• Ensure the Community's financial sustainability through robust financial planning and management, including setting budgets, controlling spending, maximising occupancy, negotiating care contracts, growing day services, and spotting fundraising opportunities;
• Foster a culture that maximises the voice and power for people with learning disabilities, building listening and collaboration between Community members with and without learning disabilities;
• Contribute to the national work programmes of L'Arche UK, as part of the National Council, collaborating with Community Leaders of other L'Arche Communities, to share skills, best practice, and resources

Key essential criteria

• Senior leadership experience in support to adults with learning disabilities (or transferable skills and experience in a closely related field);
• Experience in leading, managing, and developing an organisation or large teams to deliver results, maintain compliance and quality, and to respond to risks and opportunities;
• Good financial planning skills and experiences of successfully managing a substantial budget;
• Ability to think strategically and work collaboratively to develop and implement community plans;
• Experience of living or working alongside people with learning disabilities and/or autistic individuals;
• Passionate about person-centred support and the values and mission of L'Arche;

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS criminal record check. 

You may have held these job titles in the past: Registered Manager, Service Manager, Head of Care, Senior Operations Lead, Community Director, Head of Community Services, Country or Regional Lead, Learning Disability Services Manager, Head of Mission and Community Life, Health & Social Care Manager, Local Authority Commissioning Lead;

You can find more details about L'Arche London here.

Additional details about L'Arche can be found here.

Discover what makes L’Arche a rewarding place to work—explore our employee benefits here.

A full job description and person specification can be found in the Recruitment Pack.

To apply, please submit your CV and include a cover letter via our online application form. 

The closing date is: Thursday, 16th April at midday

First round interviews are expected to take place either on 22nd or 23rd April 2026 online via Microsoft Teams.

Second round interviews will take place on 30th April 2026 and will take place within the L'Arche London Community. 

We encourage you not to wait until the closing date to submit your application, as we may begin interviewing strong candidates before then.
We also reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive enough suitable applications.

Please also read our privacy notice for job applicants.

Assistant Diocesan Secretary
Based at the Diocesan Office, Rochester (with travel across the Diocese)
Full time (35hrs) | Salary from: £66,485

Are you an experienced senior leader who thrives in complex organisations and enjoys bringing clarity, coordination, and strategic oversight to challenging programmes of work?

The Diocese of Rochester is seeking an Assistant Diocesan Secretary to work closely with the Diocesan Secretary at a significant moment of transformation. Following successful investment through the Diocesan Investment Plan, the Diocese is delivering an ambitious programme of work to support the Called Together vision and strategy.

This is a key leadership role providing oversight of governance, risk, and organisational coordination, ensuring the effective delivery of strategic priorities across the Diocese.

About the Role

You will play a central role in supporting the Diocesan Secretary and senior colleagues in managing governance, risk, and organisational capacity. Your key responsibilities will include:

· Overseeing governance planning, ensuring effective scheduling and coordination of diocesan committees and boards

· Monitoring implementation of actions arising from governance bodies to support organisational delivery

· Leading on the maintenance and monitoring of the diocesan risk register

· Supporting the Diocesan Secretary in responding to national policy developments affecting diocesan functions

· Helping manage internal capacity and performance monitoring as programme activity expands

· Supporting preparation for General Synod and Bishops Council, including planning and correspondence

· Advising colleagues on responding to emerging national policy developments

· Representing the Diocesan Secretary in internal and external meetings when required

· Line managing the Head of Property and overseeing the work of the DAC, Surveyors, and Net Zero teams

About You

We’re looking for someone who:

· Has proven experience in a senior management role, ideally within a charity or values-led organisation

· Has strong governance, risk management, and organisational oversight skills

· Is highly organised and able to manage complex priorities and competing demands

· Has excellent interpersonal and communication skills and can work effectively across teams

· Is resilient, discreet, and able to approach challenges with a solution-focused mindset

· Understands and supports the aims and ethos of the Church of England

 It would also be helpful if you:

· Have experience working within the Church of England or a similarly complex organisation

· Are familiar with General Synod, Bishops Council, or equivalent governance structures

· Have experience supporting senior executives or board-level leadership

What we can offer:

• Flexible working and TOIL

• Generous holiday entitlement

• Contributory pension scheme

• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme and counselling service

The Diocese is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.

The wider a group’s diversity, the smarter, wiser, and more compassionate and creative its decision making becomes.
We are committed to achieving diversity throughout our Diocese by seeking UKME/GMH colleagues and those from a wide range of backgrounds, to help us create a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Closing date for applications: 26 April 2026

Interviews will be held on: TBC

We are looking for a thoughtful, resilient, and effective person to lead on both the delivery of SPRING that City of Sanctuary Sheffield is responsible for, and the advocacy associated with that work. 

You will ensure that the SPRING is accessible, trauma-informed, and impactful for the community of new refugees accessing the service. 

You will also make sure that systemic issues faced by the community accessing SPRING are chronicled and highlighted, and that we take collective steps to bring about positive change.

We particularly welcome applications from people who have personal experience of the asylum system and migration. To support all applicants, a preparation session will be offered by the New Beginnings team at Voluntary Action Sheffield.

To Apply 

To apply, please submit the following:

1. A covering letter (no more than 2 pages long).  In this letter:

• Say why you are applying for the job.

• Tell us how you meet the job requirements detailed in the person specification. Give practical examples of what you have done that meets the requirements.

2. A brief summary of the work and volunteering you have done or a short CV.

3. Name, phone number, and email addresses of two references, at least one of whom can comment on recent work or volunteer experience.

A free preparation session will be run by the New Beginnings team at Voluntary Action Sheffield.  This will be open to anyone applying for the role to learn a bit more about the job and get support with their application. This session will take place on Thursday 2nd April at 4pm at The Sanctuary.Please contact Blessan at City of Sanctuary Sheffield if you have any questions about attending this session.

Closing date for applications is 15th April at 11:30pm

Interviews will be held on the week commencing 11th May and/or the week commencing 18th May