Learning Disability Community Leader, L'Arche Manchester
ABOUT THE ROLE
Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week (including some evening and weekend working, and regular on-call)
Salary: £47,946 per annum
Reports to: L’Arche UK Regional Leader
Place of work: L’Arche Manchester Community, Manchester M20 4AW. Some travel and overnight stays will be required within the UK
Contract type: Temporary 12-month appointment to cover maternity leave
Closing date: Monday, 2nd March at 12 pm.
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 local and national teams, individual circles of support, and external partners.
- Ensure the Community’s financial sustainability through robust financial planning and management. This includes setting budgets and controlling spending, maximising housing occupancy, supporting the negotiation of care contracts, growing our day services and spotting fundraising opportunities.
- Foster a culture that maximises the voice and power for people with learning disabilities, and builds listening and collaboration between Community members. This will include working with an active Community Support Group, Community Gatherings, listening groups, and other forums.
- Lead and manage a committed and engaged leadership team to achieve objectives, set a positive culture, and support the personal and professional growth of our teams.
- Cultivate an open, creative, and inclusive spiritual life, inviting everyone in the Community to deepen their connections.
- Model, advocate for, and embrace the L’Arche ethos of deep, long-term, and mutually transforming relationships between people with and without learning disabilities. Plan and lead a regular calendar of events that build community belonging and help keep people connected.
- 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.
- Be a visible representative of L’Arche locally in the wider community, with stakeholders like local authorities, professional organisations, schools, faith communities, and L’Arche world wide.
Key essential criteria
- Senior leadership experience in support to adults with learning disabilities (or transferable skills and experience in a closely-related field).
- Experience leading and managing an organisation or large teams to deliver results, maintain compliance and quality, and to respond to risks and opportunities.
- Experience leading and developing diverse teams to flourish, individually and together.
- Good financial planning skills and experience successfully managing a substantial budget.
- Evidence of the 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
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 and the Manchester community on our website.
Why join L'Arche?
As well as joining a friendly Community, where you will be well supervised and supported, and benefit from L’Arche’s mentorship programme, these are some other benefits you get by working for us:
- Joining shared meals since cooking and having a meal together is what we are all about
- Enhanced Maternity, Adoption/Surrogacy, Paternity Pay (depending on length of service, details available on request)
- Enhanced sick pay
- Interest free loans and salary advances available
- Free DBS / PVG checks
- Free Employee Assistance Programme available to everyone
- Up to 5 days paid compassionate leave
- Up to 6 days paid (pro rata) for time off for emergency dependents leave
- Specialist bereavement counselling for employees and their family members
- Life Assurance
- Access to the Bike to Work scheme
Discover what makes L’Arche a rewarding place to work—explore more of our employee benefits on our website.
A full job description and person specification can be found in the Recruitment Pack.
To apply, please submit your CV and answer the questions from our online application form.
The closing date is: Monday, 2nd of March at 12 pm.
First interviews (online via Microsoft Teams) are expected to take place during the week beginning the 9th March 2026.
Second round interviews will take on the place week beginning 16th March 2026 and will take place within the 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.
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Our inclusive communities challenge people to think differently about disability
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Role Overview
The Dementia Service Co-ordinator is a newly created role responsible for coordinating and developing Age UK Croydon’s Dementia Service. A varied role with development, supervisory, and facilitation responsibilities, it offers an exciting opportunity to join the team and help shape the service to support people living with dementia, their carers, and the wider community. The Dementia Service sits within the Healthier Lifestyles Team and currently offers six monthly Memory Tree Cafés for people living with mild to moderate dementia and their carers, alongside co-located support groups for carers. Cafes are delivered at our Brigstock Road Community Hall and across the borough in local community venues.
The role has two main areas of responsibility: coordinating, facilitating and expanding the existing café and carers’ group; developing a new preventative strand of the service focused on providing information and advice to residents aged 50+ on raising awareness of dementia, promoting brain health and reducing the risk of developing dementia.
The post holder will ensure the effective delivery, monitoring and evaluation of our dementia-related services across the borough. You will supervise and work with the staff and volunteer team to provide a welcoming, inclusive environment within our Memory Tree Cafes and carers’ support groups which promotes interaction, stimulation and wellbeing. You will build and maintain positive working relationships across Age UK Croydon and with external partners, referrers and stakeholders, including health professionals and voluntary organisations, to develop and promote the service.
Age UK Croydon is currently reviewing its Dementia Service, and in this role the post holder will work closely with the Healthier Lifestyles Service Manager to put the review’s recommendations into practice, ensuring improvements and new monitoring systems are embedded across the service.
Closing date for applications: 9am, 4th March 2026 (Extended until 11th March 2026)
Interview Dates: 17th March 2026
Please note this role is subject to an enhanced DBS check
Registered Charity
51 - 100
Our mission is to reach, involve, support and connect people so they can age well in Croydon.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
About Young Roots
At Young Roots, we want to see a compassionate and welcoming society for young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. We work alongside young people seeking safety in the UK, building trusted relationships, providing practical and emotional support and promoting young people’s rights and power.
Our youth clubs and casework are transformative for young refugees, allowing young people who have fled danger, had traumatic journeys and who are often here alone, to find community and connection, have a space to be a young person and access support in addressing a whole range of practical challenges they face. We also draw on our evidence from working every day with young refugees and asylum seekers to call for change to the laws and policies which are harming young people.
About the role
This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of an influential charity at a pivotal point in its development.
Young Roots has a strong track record of impact, trusted relationships with funders, and is a respected voice in work with young refugees. We are now ready to significantly increase our visibility and influence — and this role is central to making that happen.
As Head of Fundraising and Communications, you will bring together fundraising, communications and impact to tell a powerful, credible story about Young Roots’ work and to unlock new, high-value funding. You will work closely with the CEO and trustees to position the organisation strategically, grow our profile, and build relationships with major donors and other senior partners.
This is a role for someone who enjoys both setting direction and making things happen. You will personally lead high-value fundraising and strategic communications, while enabling and supporting a skilled team to deliver across trusts, individual giving, engagement and impact reporting. As a member of the Leadership Group, you will help shape organisational strategy, culture and long-term sustainability.
If you’re excited by building influence, diversifying income, and using communications and evidence to drive change for young refugees, this role offers scope, autonomy and purpose in equal measure.
About you
You will bring senior experience in fundraising and/or communications within a charity or mission-driven organisation, with a strong track record of raising profile, engagement or income. You’ll be a strategic thinker who is comfortable being hands-on, credible with senior stakeholders, and motivated by working for social justice.
We’re particularly interested in people who bring:
- Experience leading fundraising and/or communications teams
- A strong understanding of high-value fundraising (e.g. major donors)
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to tailor messages for different audiences
- Experience managing people, budgets and complex priorities
- A commitment to equity, empowering young people and safeguarding
Why join Young Roots
- A senior role with real influence in a respected, impactful organisation
- The opportunity to shape income, profile and strategy at a key stage of growth
- A collaborative leadership team and values-led culture
- Flexible, hybrid working
To Apply:
To apply, please submit your CV alongside a personal statement by the closing date outlining how you would be a great fit for the role.
Your personal statement should be no more than 800 words, answering the following questions:
- What is your motivation for working with Young Roots? (100 words)
- What is your motivation for applying for this role specifically? (200 words)
- What skills and experience would you bring that will enable you to be successful in this role? Please ensure you refer to the essential criteria on the person specification and provide examples to demonstrate how and where you meet the criteria. (500 words)
Please submit your application via Charity Jobs.
No agencies, please.
Closing date: 10th March
Interview date: 17th March
Young Roots recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equity and challenges discrimination. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those who can face disadvantage in employment, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities. As an organisation that supports refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, we particularly welcome applications from people within these communities. We offer a guaranteed interview for those with lived experience of the asylum system and those with disabilities, where they meet the essential elements of the person specification. If aspects of the application process create barriers to you applying and you’d like any adjustment to the process or you’d like an informal discussion or advice on your application, please get in touch. We would also like to alert you to the existence of organisations which support people from under-represented groups to access employment, who can advise you on applying for this role. For example, Scope, Young Women’s Trust and Experts by Experience.
Young Roots is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. We take this duty very seriously.
Our work is underpinned by policies and procedures which promote safe working practices. We have a framework of training and supervision which everyone is expected to comply with and systems for monitoring, quality assurance and gaining service user feedback. On joining you will be expected to be part of this approach to safeguard our service users.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
Working alongside young people seeking safety - building trust, providing practical and emotional support, and promoting their rights and power.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.