Community project manager jobs in Runcorn, halton

Senior Service Designer  

 
Location: remote. This role can be based at any of Barnardo's national offices. Regular local and national travel will be required. 
 

Help us design services that transform childhoods  

At Barnardo's, we believe every child deserves a safe, happy and hopeful future. For over 150 years, we've been innovating to improve the lives of children, young people and families across the UK. Today, we run more than 800 services and are committed to making them excellent, inclusive and designed with the children, young people and families who use them. 

As a senior member of the Service Design team, you will play a vital role in applying service design methods to deliver measurable improvements in service quality, efficiency, value and outcomes for children, young people and families. 

We are continuing to strengthen how we design and improve services across Barnardo's, working across a complex and evolving portfolio that spans children's services, digital delivery and business development. 

This role offers the opportunity to shape not only individual services, but how service design is used to support decision-making, prioritisation and innovation across the organisation. 

This is a hands-on role as well as a strategic one – you'll be actively designing, prototyping and iterating services as well as shaping direction and decision-making. 

As a Senior Service Designer, you will: 

• Work across a portfolio of projects, balancing priorities and adapting to changing organisational needs 

• Contribute to service development and proposals, working with business development colleagues to shape service models 

• Influence decision-making and prioritisation, using evidence and insight to guide direction 

• Identify opportunities to improve services in ways that deliver better outcomes, greater efficiency and value for money 

• Lead the end-to-end design of services in complex environments, shaping user-centred, evidence-based solutions that respond to organisational priorities, and creating service maps, blueprints, prototypes and other design artefacts to bring ideas to life 

• Test and iterate service concepts in response to feedback and learning, refining solutions to improve outcomes 

• Ensure services are coherent and integrated across online and offline channels 

• Work across functions including business development, digital, finance, operations, research and policy to engage stakeholders and support organisational change 

• Mentor and support colleagues – developing confidence and skills, with the potential to provide line management support to junior designers where appropriate 

• Develop practice and contribute to standards, frameworks and reusable design patterns 

• Share learning internally and externally, contributing to professional communities of practice and helping raise the profile of service design at Barnardo's 

This is a varied, hands-on and project-focused role that allows for autonomy, creativity and real impact. You'll be part of a warm, committed team that shares learning, supports wellbeing, and is united in a clear mission: designing for better outcomes for children and families. 

You'll work with a high degree of autonomy, navigating complexity and ambiguity, delivering tangible improvements to services and contributing to a growing and evolving design practice. 

What We're Looking For 

We're looking for a Senior Service Designer who can: 

• Work autonomously to lead the design of complex services 

• Manage competing priorities effectively across projects, balancing time, focus and trade-offs 

• Influence stakeholders and support organisational change beyond immediate project teams, communicating design decisions and complex ideas clearly to a range of audiences 

• Understand how services operate within wider organisational systems, and use this to inform decision-making and support effective change 

• Confidently use a range of evidence, including user research, service data and performance insights, to inform decisions and guide direction 

• Conduct in-depth user research to generate actionable insights and guide decision-making 

• Create and iterate prototypes and other design artefacts 

• Integrate offline and online service delivery into coherent end-to-end services 

• Design and facilitate collaborative workshops with a range of stakeholders and partners 

• Evaluate and evidence the impact of service design work

Previous experience in children's services, health, education or related public/third sector contexts is desirable – but if you bring transferable skills, we want to hear from you. 

What You'll Get in Return 

• 26 days annual leave (rising with service) plus bank holidays 

• Access to the Barnardo's pension scheme 

• Flexible working and hybrid/remote options 

• Wellbeing initiatives and Employee Assistance Programme 

• Regular supervision and career development opportunities 

• The opportunity to shape how service design is used across a national organisation 

• The chance to work on services that support children, young people and families across the UK.

Inclusion and Belonging 

We are committed to building a diverse workforce. We particularly welcome applications from disabled candidates, LGBTQ+ people, people from racially minoritised communities, and those with care experience. If there's anything we can do to support you through the application process, please let us know. 

 Ready to Apply?

Together, we can change childhoods and change lives.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date.  We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Supported Lodgings Coordinator (7 Months FTC)

Apply to shape a brand‑new Supported Lodgings service where your skills directly create safe homes, stronger futures and lasting independence for young people at risk of homelessness.

Location: Wigan

Salary: £28,836 per annum

Closing date: 27 May, 2026

Employment Type: Fixed Term Contract

Hours per week: 37.5

About the Role

Supported Lodgings Coordinator (Wigan) - 7 Months FTC

Help shape a new Supported Lodgings service and make a real difference to young people aged 16–21. In this fast‑paced role, you’ll assess need and risk, coordinate placements with trained community hosts, and provide practical, strengths‑based support that helps young people build stability, skills and confidence on their journey to independent living.

You’ll also recruit, train and support hosts, work closely with partners across housing, care and safeguarding, and actively promote the service in the local community. If you have experience supporting young people at risk of homelessness, strong safeguarding skills and the energy to build trusted relationships, this is a chance to turn commitment into action and deliver lasting change.

Please note that this job opportunity is offered as a full-time (37.5 hours a week), fixed term contract role (7-Months FTC).

Key Deliverables

Young People

• To be the first point of contact for young people and referral partners wanting to access the Supported Lodgings service.
• You will lead on the assessment of needs and risk, predominantly focused on suitable risk management plans for the safeguarding, matching and placement of young people in the homes of hosts
• Arrange all aspects of a young person’s stay with a host, ensuring they feel welcomed and supported, taking into account the support needs of individuals.
• You will have responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of the environment for young people and hosts through regular checks and reporting.
• You will provide regular support and planning sessions for young people
• To work with young people, hosts and other agencies, to prepare them for independent living and access longer term, appropriate accommodation using support plans.
• You will be part of a team responsible for a 24 hour on call service

Host Recruitment and Support

• You will recruit, vet and train hosts both formally and informally ensuring that host recruitment policies and procedures are implemented.
• You will support and provide regular supervision to hosts.
• You will be proactive in maintaining host’ skills and motivation, including training and celebration events, and provide opportunities for them to shape service delivery.
• You will be responsible for carrying out regular checks on host accommodation and assisting them to make necessary changes.
• You will ensure that all hosts are made to feel safe, secure and valued.

External Relationships

• You will proactively work in partnership with multiple agencies including statutory teams, to support the well being and ongoing housing needs of young people, working in accordance with safeguarding, data protection and information sharing protocols.
• You will lead on the active promotion and selling of the Supported Lodgings service to all potential hosts and referral partners, across the voluntary/statutory sectors and within the wider local community.

Others

• You will be an active member of the Prevention Team, working collaboratively and effectively with your line manager.
• You will be responsible for maintaining up to date records on all young people and hosts, supporting service management with all aspects of report requirements.
• The post will require some flexible working including evenings and weekends.
• You will ensure the safety and wellbeing of young people and hosts in the service at all times, including using safeguarding and emergency alert procedures as applicable
• Ensure financial and payment systems are completed in line with Depaul’s financial policy and procedures
• Work in line with Depaul’s policies and procedures, including EDI, Safeguarding, Health and Safety and Lone Working, adopting our Endeavour approach to working with young people.
• You will undertake further duties as commensurate to the role and identified by your line manager.

What we are looking for from you – Person Specification

When completing your application form please address all the points set out below.

• Experience and an understanding of working with people experiencing homelessness, or people in crisis
• Experience of supporting young people with their support needs, working closely with other key professionals.
• Experience of writing, implementing and evaluating risk assessments
• Experience of supervising or supporting hosts or staff
• Experience of working under pressure with the ability to respond to conflicting demands and challenging situations.
• Ability to find creative and positive solutions to problems, using own initiative
• An understanding and commitment to working in an assets based way
• Good literacy, numeracy and IT skills and the ability to maintain concise and accurate records
• Able to demonstrate clear understanding of safeguarding requirements and procedures and follow them through to conclusion
• Commitment to working in a manner, which promotes diversity, equality and inclusion.
• Personal and professional integrity
• High level understanding of professional boundaries and ability to maintain them

What You’ll Receive

• Tailored training and development
• Flexible working options where suitable
• 26 days annual leave, rising with service
• Family friendly leave policies
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 7%
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access
• Discounts across retail, travel, food, fitness and more
• Cash health plan for you and your family
• Death in service benefit
• Access to legal and practical support

Safer Recruitment

Depaul UK is committed to fair and inclusive recruitment, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If a role requires it under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, we will carry out the appropriate Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. We only look at information that is relevant to the role, and a criminal record will never be treated as an automatic barrier to employment. All DBS information is handled sensitively, confidentially and in line with the DBS Code of Practice, and we encourage applicants to discuss any concerns with us openly.

About Depaul UK

In the 1980s, high unemployment and steep inflation was contributing to a shocking rise in youth homelessness across London. Thousands of young people were sleeping rough every night, with many areas notoriously dubbed “cardboard cities” due to the visible rise in street homelessness. Appalled by the scenes playing out across the capital, a group of people came together to tackle the challenge head on. Led by Cardinal Basil Hume and Mark McGreevy OBE, in 1989 Depaul UK was born.

What began as a single housing project in North London soon expanded across London, Greater Manchester and the North East of England. Today, Depaul UK provides accommodation, prevention and support services to thousands of marginalised young people across the UK each year.

As our name suggests, the work of Depaul UK has been inspired by St. Vincent de Paul – a man who devoted his life to helping vast numbers of people throughout the 17th century. St. Vincent de Paul’s belief in the intrinsic worth of all people and his commitment to taking bold action remain central to our values today. Depaul UK now forms part of a family of Depaul charities around the world. We each focus on the specific challenges in our own countries, but we’re united by our shared values and mission to end homelessness.

About the role

At SEA, all our work is grounded in evidence and shaped by the lived experiences of victim-survivors. As Research Officer, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality, survivor-centred research on economic abuse as part of a major new three-year project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Working closely with the Senior Research Officer, colleagues across SEA, academic partners and external stakeholders, you will support research exploring coerced debt as a form of economic abuse and the responses to it across systems and services. The role will involve qualitative and quantitative research activities, including data collection, analysis, stakeholder engagement, and producing accessible and impactful research outputs.

Your work will help strengthen understanding of economic abuse and inform policy, practice and systems change on coerced debt that improves responses for victim-survivors.

About you

You are a skilled researcher who is passionate about conducting high-quality research which can create real-world impact for victim-survivors of economic abuse.

You will have the ability to sensitively work with victim-survivors to learn about their lived experiences of economic abuse , including coerced debt, as well as the ability to conduct research with professional stakeholders.

Using your research skills, you will be able to analyse data, and will be able to demonstrate a good understanding of economic abuse in the context of intimate partner abuse, including of how perpetrators can misuse systems to enact abuse. You will be able to demonstrate an ability to deliver research projects in a timely manner and to communicate findings clearly to a range of stakeholders.

About SEA

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is the only charity in the UK dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it. All our work is informed by Experts by Experience – a group of women who speak about what they have gone through so that they can be a force for change. Economic abuse occurs when someone’s partner controls (through restriction, exploitation and/or sabotage) how they acquire, use and maintain economic resources such as accommodation, food, clothing and transportation.

What we offer

• 25 days annual leave, plus 5 Wellbeing Days and Statutory Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Home working (UK based)
• Flexible working
• 5% Employer Pension Contribution
• Reflective practice
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced sick pay, family leave and carer’s leave
• The chance to be part of our highly professional, supportive team

To apply

Please apply via our website.

Applications open from 21 May 2026 and close at 11.59pm on 17th June 2026. Interviews will take place week commencing 6th July 2026

Direct applications only – no agencies please.

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is committed to developing an inclusive team which reflects the diversity of the communities we support. Our culture celebrates diverse voices, and we particularly encourage applications from Black and minoritised applicants and disabled applicants who are under-represented at SEA.

SEA is a Disability Confident Committed, and Kinship Friendly Employer.

Job Title: Equipment Advice and Outreach Officer

Reports to: Chief Executive / Practice Lead

Contract: Fixed term, 18 months

Hours: Part-time, approximately 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE)

Location: Home-based in England, with regular travel across a large region and occasional overnight stays

Salary: £20,556 (Full-time equivalent salary (FTE): £34,259)

About Pathfinders Neuromuscular Alliance

Pathfinders Neuromuscular Alliance is a user-led charity run by and for people with muscle-weakening conditions. We provide advocacy, peer support, information, training and campaigning to help disabled people live with greater confidence, connection and control.

We are developing a new service model to help adults with neuromuscular conditions identify practical needs relating to equipment, adaptations and wider day-to-day transitions, and to connect them to people with relevant lived-experience expertise.

Purpose of the Role

The Outreach and Practitioner–Evaluator will help Pathfinders identify adults with neuromuscular conditions who may benefit from practical support around equipment, adaptations and wider day-to-day challenges.

The role is not primarily to provide complex specialist advice directly. Instead, the postholder will:

• build relationships with services and organisations to identify potential clients
• hold structured conversations to understand people’s needs
• offer initial information, practical resources and signposting
• connect people to Pathfinders’ lived-experience specialists where more specific insight is needed
• support the development of reusable lived-experience resources, including short videos, blogs and written guidance
• collect routine feedback and help document and evaluate the service

Pathfinders’ lived-experience specialists are people with direct personal experience of neuromuscular conditions and of specific issues, transitions or practical solutions. A key part of this role is helping people access that expertise.

The role is to help people make sense of what might help, what routes may be available, and who they may need to speak to next. It is not to guarantee that equipment will be obtained, but to improve people’s understanding, preparedness and access to relevant expertise and pathways.

Main Responsibilities

1. Outreach and relationship-building

• Build and maintain relationships with clinics, hospices, charities, networks and other relevant services.
• Travel regularly to external settings to identify potential clients and raise awareness of the service.
• Confidently approach professionals, families and individuals to explain the offer and encourage engagement.
• Help create practical referral and engagement routes into the service.
• Prioritise outreach activity in line with project aims and agreed target regions.

2. Needs identification and support coordination

• Hold 1-to-1 conversations with adults with neuromuscular conditions and, where appropriate, family members or supporters, to identify practical needs relating to equipment, adaptations and wider day-to-day challenges.
• Provide initial information, signposting and relevant resources within agreed boundaries.
• Recognise when an issue would benefit from connection to a Pathfinders lived-experience specialist and facilitate that connection.
• Recognise when an issue requires statutory or clinical input and support onward referral or escalation where appropriate.
• Work with Pathfinders staff to help ensure people are connected to the most appropriate source of practical or professional support.

3. Working with lived-experience specialists and resource development

• Work with freelance lived-experience specialists to identify practical solutions, insights and examples relevant to the issues raised by service users.
• Support and encourage lived-experience specialists to share their expertise in accessible ways.
• Help coordinate and develop practical resources based on lived-experience knowledge, including short videos, blogs and written guidance.
• Contribute to ensuring these resources are accessible, organised and responsive to recurring needs identified through the service.

4. Documentation and evaluation support

• Maintain accurate records of outreach activity, contacts, needs identified, resources shared, onward connections and follow-up.
• Support the collection of routine feedback, including post-support forms and short follow-up conversations.
• Use agreed templates and systems to document contacts clearly and consistently.
• Share reflections and emerging themes with the team to support ongoing learning, evaluation and service development.

5. Teamworking and service development

• Participate in regular supervision, planning and reflective review meetings.
• Work collaboratively with the Chief Executive, Advocacy Officer, freelance lived-experience specialists and external partners.
• Contribute to the refinement of service processes, boundaries and referral pathways.
• Support dissemination of learning through briefings, webinars or other outputs as required.

Additional Requirements

• Regular travel across England is required, typically around once per week, with priority given to areas closest to the postholder’s base in the first instance. 
• Some travel may involve overnight stays.
• The postholder must have access to and use of a car for work purposes, although train travel may be used for some visits.
• Travel expenses and mileage will be reimbursed in line with organisational policy.

Person Specification

Essential

• Confident, outgoing and comfortable starting conversations with new people in professional and community settings.
• Experience of outreach, community engagement, advice, advocacy, support work or case coordination.
• Strong organisational skills and confidence managing follow-up, coordination and documentation.
• Comfortable using forms, spreadsheets, databases or case-recording systems and completing paperwork accurately.
• Familiarity with equipment, adaptations or practical support issues affecting disabled people.
• Ability to identify needs and know when to seek support, connect someone to lived-experience expertise, or refer on.
• Strong communication skills and a sensitive, respectful approach with service users, families and professionals.
• Ability to work independently while remaining well connected to a small team.
• Able and willing to travel regularly across England, including occasional overnight stays.
• Access to and use of a car for work purposes.
• Commitment to inclusion, dignity and user-led practice.

Desirable

• Experience of working alongside people with lived experience to co-produce support or resources.
• Experience of gathering feedback or supporting service evaluation.
• Knowledge of health or social care systems.
• Personal or close lived experience of disability or long-term conditions.

We are aiming to recruit immediately for this role with the first round of interviews on 1st June, but will conduct further interviews if necessary until we identify a suitable candidate.