Operations and business development director social care jobs

As Service Manager, you will lead Visiting Housing Support services in South West Edinburgh. 

You’ll lead a team of eight staff and support people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or in unsuitable accommodation. The support will focus on empowering people to sustain their tenancies and live well in stable housing. 

You’ll be managed by the Head of Services and work within a peer group of 7 other managers across the organisation. This service is delivered in partnership with Right There and you’ll work with colleagues across the partnership, sharing a responsibility to develop and embed our partnership approach. 

Overview 

This service is commissioned by City of Edinburgh Council and is in year 2 of a 10 year contract. Your team will support 300-400 people each year through phone support, direct meetings in people’s homes, running drop in sessions and visiting shared houses and other temporary accommodation. Your team will help people understand how to bid for housing; help them access benefits; signpost services to help them with additional concerns including mental health support; and, when the time comes, your team will support them to set up their tenancy in a sustainable way. 

Responsibilities 

Your responsibilities are in four parts: 

• Leading a team 
• Delivering the service 
• Partnership working 
• Upholding the values and culture

Leading a team 

You will lead and line manage a team of eight practitioners and administrative support creating a high-performing, values-led culture where staff feel motivated, supported, and clear in their roles.

• You will take a lead role in the recruitment, onboarding and induction of new staff, ensuring they are equipped and confident from the outset.
• You will provide constructive feedback in real time as well as supporting staff through performance conversations, annual appraisals, and coaching. And, you’ll build a resilient team that can manage complexity, deliver high-quality support, and respond appropriately to safeguarding and risk. 
• You will recommend and organise training for your team and for individuals. 
• You will be a conduit for organisational wide information, ensuing staff feel supported and understand the bigger picture
• Hold registration / You will maintain required professional registration in line with SSSC requirements.
• You will participate in the on-call rota, responding to incidents and providing out-of-hours guidance and decision-making 

Delivering the service 

You are responsible for all aspects of service delivery, from referral to sign off and everything in between. 

• You will generate referrals and oversee the referrals we receive, ensuring they are appropriate for our service and allocated on the basis of need and capacity. Through regular case reviews and audits, you will ensure practice is trauma informed and focused on outcomes. 
• You will lead on compliance and reporting, using internal and external systems to track performance and report on contractual requirements. You will use our case management system In-Form to ensure accurate, up-to-date recording that clearly evidences support, progress, and outcomes.
• You will manage a budget for expenses, training and project costs.
• You will ensure compliance with Care Inspectorate and SSSC standards, maintaining strong casework quality, accurate recording, and effective reporting across the service. 
• You will be the lead on safeguarding and managing risk, supporting staff to manage complex situations safely, with appropriate escalation and shared responsibility. 
• You will use data and learning to strengthen performance, drive improvements, and embed a consistent, high-quality approach across the service. 
• You will identify funding opportunities and support the development of funding applications 

Partnership working 

Partnership working is key to the success of this role and this service. You’ll play a key role in developing partnerships and continuously improving the service—working closely service providers in the local area, the local authority and other stakeholder to strengthen collaboration, identify opportunities to provide support, and drive better outcomes for the people facing homelessness. 

The key partnership however, is the relationship with Right There.

Four Square work with Right There to deliver visiting housing support in the West of the city. Right There are the lead partner and provide the service in the North West, while Four Square operate in the South West. We share some resources and benefit from the support and guidance of a Locality manager based in Right There. This is year two of a ten-year partnership and you will work with colleagues in Four Square and Right There to enhance the partnership and reap the benefits of cross organisation working. 

Three of your team are employed by Right There and you’ll work to ensure seamless management of these staff. You’ll also lead and participate in joint training as well as reporting performance into the partnership. 
 

Upholding our values and culture 

Our values are the essence of what we do. As well as delivering a service, as a leader, you are expected to use our values to elevate the service you manage. This means that you demonstrate ambition, empowerment, integrity and respect in all that you do. And, that you use these values to ensure the service is innovating, responsive and truly has an impact on people experiencing homelessness.

Alongside our values, Four Square promotes a culture based on trust, leadership and curiosity. It’s important that, as a leader, you role model these behaviours, including: 

• Trust – starting from the belief that everyone has good intentions 
• Leadership – supporting everyone to lead by what they say and do 
• Curiosity – encouraging everyone to be interested in what we do and why 

Shared accountabilities 

Alongside other managers, you will: 

• Ensure compliance with legislation and standards
• Contribute to organisational performance and reporting
• Support organisational learning and improvement
• Be visible, accessible, and engaged across services 

Person Specification  

Skills, Values and Attributes 

• Ambitious for people experiencing homelessness; empowers better futures
• Values-led leader who motivates, challenges and supports staff
• Confident managing complexity, risk and safeguarding
• Committed to high standards, quality and continuous improvement
• Acts with integrity and respect
• Builds strong relationships with people, staff and partners
• Clear communicator who gives direction and holds accountability
• Organised and able to prioritise competing demands
• Confident decision-maker in complex, high-risk and multi-agency contexts
• Strong coordination skills across systems, deadlines and priorities
• Understanding of homelessness

Qualifications and Experience 

• SVQ Level 4 (or working towards), or SVQ Level 3 meeting SSSC requirements
• Membership of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.
• Relevant qualification in Housing, Social Care or related field (desirable)
• Experience managing or supervising staff, including performance conversations
• Experience supporting people with homelessness or complex needs
• Strong knowledge of risk, safeguarding and trauma-informed practice
• Confident using case management/reporting systems (e.g. In-Form, ECCO)
• Experience of multi-agency and partnership working
• Experience overseeing complex casework
• Experience in service development and inspection readiness

On-Call Requirements 

• Will participate in an on-call rota covering one week in four and annual leave cover when required, including evenings, weekends and occasional overnight cover
• Able to respond to incidents, provide guidance and make decisions in a timely manner while on-call
• Flexible and responsive to the needs of the service

The person will: 

• Attend and participate in Monthly reflective practice groups.
• Attend, prepare for Quality Assurance Meeting
• Attend Quarterly Care Inspectorate service self-Assessment Meetings 
• Facilitate Monthly meetings with staff teams, recording meeting minutes and uploading documentation. 

Download the job pack to find out more about the role.

Key Dates:

• Closing date: 15.05.2026 
• Shortlisting complete: 20.05.2026 
• Interview invites issued:21.05.2026 
• Interview dates: Tuesday 26.05.26 and Wednesday 27.05.26 

Citizens UK

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Peterborough Citizens is part of Citizens UK, a nationwide alliance that brings together local groups to campaign for social justice and community improvement. In Peterborough, it works with schools, faith groups, and community organisations to address issues like housing, safety, and opportunity. We’ve been active for five years, building local leadership and creating positive change through collective action.

This role will focus on delivering the Pride in Place: Listening to Leadership programme across Peterborough. The Community Organiser will support the delivery of a 12-month programme that moves from listening → action → leadership, building long-term community power and neighbourhood governance.  The role combines core community organising practice with structured delivery of engagement, analysis, and leadership development.

Community Organising

Through our theory of social change, called community organising, we train thousands of everyday people to lead change in their communities, equipping them with the skills to hold politicians and other powerholders to account. We are made up of 500+ member organisations in powerful alliances throughout the UK. Our members include schools, universities, faith groups, parents’ groups, health practices, charities, trade unions and other civil society organisations.

Purpose

At Citizens UK, our organisers and project staff work within communities to develop leaders, strengthen organisations, campaign for change and organise across difference. There are various project roles and operational, communication, finance and HR roles that support the organisation and project staff and organisers to deliver on this mission and work. This work is rewarding and can be challenging; it requires a personal commitment to inclusion, a willingness to listen and disagree respectfully, and an interest in working in an organisation where our staff, member institutions and leaders will come from a diversity of backgrounds and often hold views that may be very different from our own. More information about how we operate within this context and build trusted relationships across difference can be found on our website and is covered in induction. Onboarding and navigating this relational culture, and type of work, is supported by line managers and further training.

Main Responsibilities

As a Pride in Place Community Organiser with Peterborough Citizens, you will use the Citizens UK method to build relationships across civic institutions—such as schools, faith groups, and community organisations—to develop local leaders and strengthen their collective power. You will lead a broad listening campaign to surface shared concerns, support communities to identify priorities, and co-create strategies that turn those issues into winnable campaigns, including engaging decision-makers and organising public actions. Grounded in the belief that local people can shape their neighbourhoods, you will help deliver tangible “you said, we did” outcomes, build sustainable structures for resident voice and accountability, and contribute to the wider Pride in Place initiative by embedding long-term community leadership and change.

We are looking for a highly motivated and organised individual with the ability to manage teams, build strategic relationships with employers to grow the Living Wage network, and develop projects that will grow our accreditations schemes and proactively influence change across a broad range of stakeholders in public life.

• Develop and deliver strategies, working collaboratively across the organisation.

• Direct a team and line manage multiple staff and freelancers, supporting them to deliver projects and contribute to the LWF business plan.

• Monitor and evaluate the impact of our work to refine our strategy, deliver projects effectively and demonstrate the value of the real Living Wage.

• Clearly communicate the evidence for positive change to grow the Living Wage movement. Encourage employers and key stakeholders to become champions of the Living Wage movement.

• Oversee accreditation processes, identify and implement improvements to make our work more efficient.

• Build and manage relationships with key stakeholders, policy makers and employers to support them to pay the real Living Wage and seek accreditation.

• Create, develop and employ the tools and knowledge available to inform and advise employers on implementing the Living Wage throughout their organisation.

The Living Wage Foundation is seeking an experienced and driven Senior Media and Communications Manager to join our team for a 12-month contract. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly organised and proactive communications professional with a strong background in media relations, public messaging, and team leadership. The ideal candidate will be experienced and confident in working to tight deadlines, responding to last-minute changes, and prioritising competing demands in a high-profile environment. They will be motivated to amplify the Living Wage Foundation’s mission of tackling low pay and insecure work.

The postholder will lead all media, messaging, and external affairs work, developing and implementing a proactive media strategy that supports our mission and key campaigns, such as Living Wage Week and the annual Rates announcement. As a skilled media professional, you will oversee all communications outputs, ensuring consistency and strategic alignment, while delivering media training and refining key messaging to maximise reach and impact. 

In this role, you will be instrumental in advancing our political engagement efforts, building cross-party support and working with political leaders, mayoral teams, and other key stakeholders to promote our initiatives. You’ll manage two direct reports (Events Manager and Media Manager) who each hold line management responsibilities, and you will play a critical role within our Senior Management Team, collaborating closely with the Head of Communications to shape the overall direction of our communications work. This role will work closely with Citizens UK colleagues, including the Citizens UK communications team on cross-organisational priorities.  You will report to the Head of Communications.

As a senior leader, you will be responsible for managing and allocating part of the communications team budget, expanding team capacity, and driving the team’s effectiveness. In collaboration with other senior managers, you will help foster a culture that values creativity, innovation, and strategic impact.