In the role of Partnership Lead, you will play a pivotal part in a fast-growing, pioneering charity supporting young men leaving prison to build stable, rewarding lives.
Switchback is a charity rooted in relationships and nowhere is this more critical than in our partnerships with organisations providing training, education, and employment opportunities for the young men (Trainees) we support following release from prison.
This role holds primary responsibility for developing, managing and continuously improving Switchback’s partnership ecosystem across all 10 pathways, ensuring that Trainees have access to high-quality and diverse range of opportunities that support sustained rehabilitation outcomes.
Success in this role is defined not only by the number of partnerships developed, but by their quality, consistency, distribution across pathways and measurable impact on Trainee progress.
Building on Switchback’s strong reputation for partnership working, this role is expected to strengthen and scale our network in a structured and disciplined way, ensuring that growth is intentional, well-managed and aligned to Trainee need.
The partnerships we develop must enable Trainees to step beyond their comfort zones, supporting meaningful personal development and delivering real, lasting change.
Working closely with the Head of Delivery, you will ensure all partnership activity is aligned with Switchback’s values, delivery model and strategic aims and that Mentors are effectively supported to connect Trainees to the right opportunities at the right time.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We support young men to find a way out of the justice system and build a stable, rewarding life they can be proud of.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
The Organisation
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the UK’s leading children’s charity, driven by a single, unwavering belief: every child deserves to be safe, loved, and free from abuse. Established in 1884 and operating under Royal Charter, the organisation has spent more than 140 years working to prevent cruelty to children and create lasting change in their lives.
Today, that mission has never been more urgent. As the challenges facing children continue to evolve, from the risks of online harm to complex family circumstances, the NSPCC provides vital frontline support while also working to influence the systems that protect children. Each year, it helps make over a million children safer from abuse, with thousands of adults turning to its Helpline and children and young people relying on Childline’s 24/7 counselling when they have nowhere else to turn.
Working across all four nations of the UK and the Channel Islands, the NSPCC combines direct services, education programmes, and national advocacy to drive impact far beyond its immediate reach. Central to its work is a commitment to evidence-led practice, ensuring every action is informed by what works, and that the voices and experiences of children and young people remain at the heart of a safer, more protective society.
The Role
At the heart of NSPCC is its Services Directorate, delivering practical, child-centred support that helps keep children and young people safe. These services translate the organisation’s mission into action through prevention, therapeutic support, and strengthening safeguarding practice.
The Services Director will play a critical role in shaping the NSPCC’s future as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, leading the development and delivery of a national services strategy and overseeing a complex portfolio of services.
Key aspects of the role include:
- Leading high-quality national and local services that improve outcomes for children and young people
- Shaping and delivering the services strategy to support the organisation’s wider ambitions
- Driving integration and impact across NSPCC and Childline services
- Building strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including the Chief Executive, Board, and external partners
The Person
This is an opportunity for a collaborative, values-driven leader to navigate complexity, drive meaningful change, and make a lasting difference to children’s lives at scale. The successful candidate will demonstrate the following:
- Extensive experience and proven track record at Director level of successfully developing and delivering services, including co-production and collaboration with partners, in a complex stakeholder environment that have a measurably positive impact for beneficiaries.
- Highly experienced in child protection with demonstrable knowledge and experience of child safeguarding. A social work qualification will be highly advantageous.
- Proven experience leading and managing teams of functional experts, overseeing significant income and expenditure budgets, and driving operational performance through the setting and monitoring of clear, aligned objectives.
- Experience of designing and delivering transformational change and driving performance management using appropriate quality and management methods and models, to deliver efficient and effective services.
- Demonstrable understanding of the operational context for services including the commissioning and market environment.
- Experience of managing senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, and confidence in dealing with, and influencing, senior employees and volunteer colleagues, and producing and imparting clear and non-technical advice and information.
- Values the different skills and attributes of others, utilising the insight, experience and expertise of colleagues.
- Experience of representing an organisation at the highest level. Clearly articulates a compelling vision, focussing on both what the future might hold and the more immediate stepping stones to realise those outcomes.
- Challenges constructively and evidences a willingness to receive constructive challenge in order to drive our individual and collective efforts forward.
Further Information
For further information about NSPCC, the role responsibilities, and the person we are looking for, please download the Candidate Briefing Pack.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this key role within the NSPCC and feel you have the skills and experience required, please include the following with your application:
- An up to date CV with the details of two referees (we will not contact them without your prior permission).
- A supporting statement which addresses how you meet the criteria for the role as detailed in the Person Specification. Please also discuss your motivations for applying.
Closing date for applications: Monday 1st June 2026
Preliminary interviews with Russam: 12th-16th June 2026
First stage interviews with NSPCC: Week commencing 29th June 2026
Second stage interviews with NSPCC: Week commencing 6th July 2026
