Senior programmes manager jobs

The Youth Endowment Fund  

Senior Change Manager, Youth Justice 

Reports to: Change Lead for Diversion

Salary:  £52,700 per annum  

Location:  Central London or Hybrid*(see below) 

Contract: (2-year fixed term – potential to extend)

Closing date for applications: 12pm Monday 12th January 2026 

Interview dates: Week commencing 26th January 2026 

About the Youth Endowment Fund 

We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

In recent years violent crime has risen significantly. Homicides, assaults, robberies and offences involving weapons have all seen sustained growth. We have also seen large increases in violent crime involving children and young people. This is a tragedy. Every child captured in these numbers is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children becoming involved in violence. Our mission is to find what works and build a movement to put it into practice. A big part of the movement that we need to build is in the world of youth justice. We need to inspire and connect with youth justice leaders across England and Wales to spread what works and make our country safer for some of our most vulnerable children. We are looking for someone to lead on making this happen.

Key Responsibilities  

We are making good progress building the evidence of what works within and around youth justice to reduce violence. This year, in conjunction with the Centre for Justice Innovation, we published Diversion Practice Guidance and have recently launched our new self-evaluation tool for diversion practice (ORPIC). But the big risk is that we publish these resources and nothing changes. That’s where you come in.

Your role is to work out the best way to make this change happen by getting youth justice services (YJSs) and police forces to adopt evidence-based practice through our new change programme: the Whole Area Model (WAM). WAM helps police forces and youth justice services strengthen diversion practices by aligning their work with the 7 C’s: 

1. Culture – A child-centred, pro-diversion ethos 

1. Contact – Interactions are trauma-informed and maximise prevention and safeguarding opportunities 

1. Custody – Considered use of police custody, prioritising alternatives and swift triage. 

1. Criteria – Clear, consistent eligibility for diversion. 

1. Collaboration – Multi-agency decision-making panels; shared protocols and referral pathways.

1. Care – Evidence-based support, monitoring engagement, closing cases responsibly.

1. Checks – Ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and scrutiny to ensure quality and equity. 

Your role will involve: 

• Supporting the delivery of the Whole Area Model through activities like: 

• Facilitating completions of diversion self-evaluations with youth justice services and police forces. 

• Delivering training to youth justice, police and other relevant agencies about the evidence-base or specific areas of diversionary practice and governance (e.g. scrutiny panels). 

• Supporting the ongoing development of a National Diversion Network, which will contribute to a wider repository of diversion resources and evidence

• Identifying and creating practical resources which help youth justice professionals and police officers to put evidence into practice. 

• Developing great relationships with senior leaders, youth justice workers and police officers, generating a strong understanding of key issues and needs in relation to youth justice matters, and building credibility and trust with the sector.

• Working out other effective ways to connect people with the evidence, then making those things happen, from virtual learning events to presentations. 

As a senior member of staff in the organisation you also: 

• Build a culture where it is natural to perform well and support colleagues brilliantly.

• Contribute to setting the strategy, delivering results and building and modelling the culture that we need to succeed.

About You 

You must have this sort of experience: 

• You’ve changed frontline practice and/or systems:You have significant experience in leading behaviour, practice or policy changes within a youth justice setting. You can show how these have been effective in delivering tangible change.

• You’re working in or around the youth justice service, preferably in a role/setting specifically working with children who are vulnerable to or involved in violence.  

• You work well in multi-agency environments: You have experience collaborating across police, youth justice, local authorities and other partners, and you can communicate confidently with a wide range of stakeholders to build alignment and drive change. 

You might have this sort of experience: 

• Supporting a youth justice team/service to reflect on and adopt evidence-based practice in relation to diversion or wider youth justice activities.

You are this sort of person: 

• You are fascinated about change and are experienced in making it happen. You have outstanding analytical judgment alongside the emotional intelligence and experience needed to identify the right opportunities for change, then make them happen. You understand why people find change difficult. You come alive talking about how people make decisions and why they do the things they do. 

• You understand the youth justice sector and diversion specifically. You really understand how the youth justice sector works, from leaders to frontline officers.

• You write in a way that people easily understand. You have that rare skill of writing in plain English. You have experience of translating complex information into plain writing that everyone can understand.

• You have excellent project and time management skills and the ability to design and deliver high quality outputs such as reports and digital resources to a high standard.

• You win people over. People tend to warm to you and respect you. You have built good relationships with very senior people and with very junior people. You are good at chairing meetings, connecting people and having good introductory meetings. You are comfortable talking to a government minister, a youth worker, a company CEO, a teacher and a 15-year-old student. Listening to people from all backgrounds matters to you.

• You learn fast but remain humble. You are very quick at getting your head around things. You like learning. You are very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know. You know that you can learn more. You know that it's easy to assume you know when you don't. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You are a great and supportive team player. 

• You don't want young your days to pass without making a difference. You want to play a significant part in reducing violence.

• You understand people. You understand what the lives of vulnerable young people can be like, and you understand some of the organisations that work with them, ideally through first-hand experience.

• You are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

While it’s not a criterion, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of violence affecting children and young people. 

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

Hybrid Working 

Our office is located in Central London. Team members who reside within the 32 London Boroughs or are within a 90-minute commute are expected to attend the office at least two days per week. 

For those living outside of London but within England, Scotland, or Wales, the expectation is to work from the London office two days per month. 

Travel  

Due to the nature of the programme there is some national travel required within England and Wales. This is likely to be up to five times per month; all travel costs can be reimbursed with flexibility for overnight stays if preferred.

To Apply 

Please click on the "Apply for this" button and submit your CV, your completed monitoring form and ensure your covering letter answers the following three questions below. Please submit your application by 12pm Monday 12th January 

When applying for this role, please ensure that you answer the application questions below:    

Personal and professional experiences in violence prevention
1. What personal and professional experiences shape your understanding of the youth justice sector and its role in preventing youth violence? (max 400 words) 

Developing strategy
2. Can you describe a time when you successfully supported youth justice partnership leaders to improve their practice or systems? Please be specific about the scale and context of your involvement. (max 400 words) 

Improving practice or systems 
3. Describe your experience improving diversion for children. What actions did you take, what impact did they have, and what did you learn? (max 400 words) 

Interview Process 

This will likely be a one stage interview process. Interviews will take place the week of 26th January 2026. 

Please Note: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. 

All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well. 

Benefits Include 

• £1,000 professional development budget annually 

• 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays 

• Four half days for volunteering activities 

• Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support 

• Volunteering days - 4 half days per year 

• Death in service - 4 times annual salary 

• Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm 

• Financial support including travel and hardship loans 

• Employer contributed pension of 5%. 

Your Data 

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful, and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.