Social enterprise manager jobs in Birmingham

Job Title: Regional Operations Manager 
Location: North of England (flexible – with travel across delivery areas)
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer  
Contract Type: 2 years fixed term contract, Full-Time
Salary: £40,000 pa
Start Date:  March / April 2026 
 

Role Purpose 
The Regional Operations Manager will be responsible for the effective day-to-day delivery of The Skill Mill programmes, ensuring seamless coordination between The Skill Mill Supervisors, local Youth Justice Services, Pathways Advisors, and the Commercial Sales Manager. The role will focus on operational excellence, stakeholder engagement, and the smooth running of activities that contribute to The Skill Mill’s social impact. 
 

Key Responsibilities:

Operational Coordination 

- Oversee and support The Skill Mill Supervisors to ensure the delivery of high-quality, safe, and impactful work programmes. 
- Act as the central point of contact between Supervisors, Youth Justice Services, Pathways Advisors, and the Commercial Sales Manager. 
- Monitor daily operations and resolve any operational challenges quickly and effectively. 
- Ensure all work complies with organisational policies, procedures, and health & safety regulations. 

Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Management:

- Build strong, collaborative relationships with local Youth Justice Services and Pathways Advisors to support young people’s progression. 
- Work closely with the Commercial Sales Manager to align operational delivery with commercial project requirements and client expectations. 
- Represent The Skill Mill at operational and partnership meetings. 

Performance Monitoring & Reporting:

- Track and monitor project progress, ensuring that targets for social outcomes and commercial delivery are met. 
- Prepare and present operational performance reports to the Senior Management Team. 
- Implement systems to measure quality, efficiency, and impact. 
 

Team Support & Development 

- Support and mentor Supervisors to maintain high standards of practice and delivery. 
- Identify training needs and facilitate professional development opportunities. 
- Foster a positive, collaborative, and accountable team culture. 
 

Person Specification:

Essential 

- Experience in operational or project management, ideally in a social enterprise, youth justice, or community development setting. 
- Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills. 
- Proven ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders and workstreams. 
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and work under pressure. 
- Knowledge of safeguarding, youth justice, and/or working with vulnerable young people. 
- Competent IT skills, including Microsoft Office and project management tools. 
- Commitment to The Skill Mill’s mission and values. 

Desirable 

- Experience managing commercial contracts or community-based service delivery. 
- Understanding of outcomes-based commissioning. 
- Health & Safety qualification or equivalent experience. 
 

Key Relationships 

- The Skill Mill Supervisors 
- Youth Justice Services 
- Pathways Advisors 
- Commercial Sales Manager 
- Senior Management Team 
- External partners and clients 

Job Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Organisation: The Skill Mill
Location: Remote, with expectations to travel to Gateshead and occasional travel to other UK locations
Salary: £45,000 pa 
Contract Type: 2 years fixed term contract, Full-Time
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Job Purpose:

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will play a pivotal role in driving the operational success of The Skill Mill. Working closely with the CEO, the COO will oversee day-to-day operations through line-management of the 3 regional Operations Managers, will ensure the delivery of exceptional services, and will support the growth of our social enterprise model across the UK and beyond. This is a strategic leadership position, requiring a dynamic individual with a passion for social impact, operational excellence, and business development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operational Leadership: Oversee all operational functions, including service delivery, project management, and workforce coordination, ensuring high standards and client satisfaction.

• Strategic Growth: Collaborate with the CEO to develop and implement expansion plans, identifying new partnerships, contracts, and opportunities to scale The Skill Mill’s impact, ensuring operational readiness and quality as the organisation scales.

• Team Management: Lead, motivate, and develop The Skill Mill’s operational delivery teams (see attached structure chart), including the Operations Managers, the Pathway Advisors, and the Supervisors, fostering a culture of inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement. Lead workforce planning, staff development and wellbeing to ensure a sustainable, motivated and resilient workforce.

• Financial Oversight: Work with the finance team to manage budgets, monitor performance against targets, and ensure cost-effective operations while maintaining quality.

• Governance: Supporting organisation and partnership governance by contributing to papers, risk registers and performance reports, engaging in solution-focused discussion at relevant forums, and ensuring feedback loops with operational delivery teams.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including local authorities, commercial clients, criminal justice partners, and community organisations.

• Compliance and Risk Management: Ensure all activities comply with legal, regulatory, and health and safety standards, mitigating risks effectively and escalating through appropriate organisational and legal pathways where necessary.

• Safeguarding: Act as senior lead and an initial escalation point for safeguarding, ensuring robust policies, training, reporting and continuous improvement.

• Impact:

         - Measurement: Monitor and report on social and environmental outcomes, ensuring alignment with The Skill Mill’s mission and funding requirements.

         - Performance: Work alongside partners, including Social Outcomes, evaluation and funding partners to drive performance in line with key success milestones, and engage in collaborative problem-solving to improve the offer and overcome challenges.

         - Quality Assurance: Contribute to organisational quality assurance processes by providing operational insight to support effective monitoring and review. Facilitate and support quality assurance audits, reviews and continuous improvement practices across operational delivery, working closely with operational delivery teams and relevant partners to ensure learning is embedded and service standards are consistently met.

• Innovation: Drive operational efficiencies and explore innovative approaches to service delivery and trainee support.
   

Person Specification:
Experience:

• An understanding of, and sensitivity to, working with vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.

Skills and Abilities:

• A values-led approach to strategy, with the ability to balance social impact, quality, and financial sustainability in strategic and operational decision-making.

• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with a collaborative and empowering approach.

• Confident in using insights from performance data and information to drive continuous improvement

• A clear, confident and inclusive communication style, with the ability to engage, motivate and align within the organisation and externally

• A collaborative approach to partnership working, with the ability to navigate differing priorities and build trusted relationships across sectors/ stakeholders.

• Proficiency in working with digital tools that support operational efficiency (e.g., CRMs, project management software, Microsoft Office/Google Suite)

• Ability to translate organisational strategy into actionable operational plans
  ​

Personal Attributes:​

• Passionate about social justice, youth development, and environmental sustainability

• Resilient, adaptable, and solution-focused, with a hands-on approach to problem-solving.

• Commitment to The Skill Mill’s values of opportunity, integrity, and excellence.
  ​

What We Offer:​

• The chance to make a tangible difference in the lives of young people and the environment.

• A supportive and purpose-driven work environment.

• Opportunities for professional growth as part of a growing social enterprise.
   

Essential Requirements:

Experience:

• Proven senior leadership experience in managing operations, ideally within criminal justice or a social enterprise, charity, or environmental services sector.

• Demonstrable ability to lead and manage complex operational delivery in multiple geographical areas, ensuring quality and consistency across teams.

• Demonstrable success in growing an organisation or enhancing service delivery, including securing contracts and partnerships.

• Experience managing diverse teams in a hybrid work environment

• Experience of working effectively with external partners, including commissioners, criminal justice agencies and/or commercial organisations.
   

Skills and Abilities:

• Analytical mindset with experience in budgeting, performance monitoring, and process improvement.
   

Qualifications and Certifications:

• A relevant degree or equivalent professional qualification (e.g., business management, operations, or social enterprise leadership) is preferred but not essential.

• Enhanced DBS check is required.

About The Skill Mill:

The Skill Mill is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified individuals, regardless of background.

The Skill Mill is an innovative social enterprise dedicated to transforming lives and communities. We provide employment opportunities for young people with criminal convictions, equipping them with skills and experience through delivering high-quality environmental services, such as grounds maintenance, horticulture, and flood prevention. Our mission is to reduce reoffending, enhance employability, and create sustainable social and environmental impact.

About the role

UnLtd is a vibrant, ambitious organisation at the heart of the UK’s social enterprise sector. As a key stakeholder and leading funder and supporter of social entrepreneurs, we continuously learn and adapt to better meet their needs and maximise their impact.

We are seeking an Events Manager to lead UnLtd’s event portfolio while our current Events Manager is on maternity leave. This person will be responsible for leading, coordinating and delivering the event plan in line with the organisational strategy. We are looking for a confident event specialist who will be able to support our frontline team to deliver a schedule of events for social entrepreneurs and UnLtd’s wider network.

You will be flexible in your approach and confident managing the whole process from planning through to delivery and event evaluation. The role is primarily hands-on and often involves working as part of, and at times leading, a cross-functional team. This role will suit you if you are patient and keep calm when things don’t go to plan, or when you don’t have all the answers you need. You’ll fall back on your meticulous organisation skills to ensure that UnLtd events are produced efficiently, fulfil their purpose, and are executed to the highest level.

This role may include some travel within the UK and evening work; however, we operate a TOIL system.

Kairos Women Working Together (Kairos) was founded in 1999 by a group of women in Coventry who recognised that those facing multiple disadvantages, and therefore most at risk of sexual exploitation, were falling through the cracks of existing services. From grassroots beginnings, Kairos has grown into a respected, feminist led, specialist women’s organisation rooted in the community it serves.

Over the next 5 years, Kairos will strengthen our new Women’s Hub as a safe, accessible, trauma-informed women’s centre delivering best practice responses, expand our services to meet women’s needs, strengthen partnerships, and influence systems so that no woman is left behind.

To do this, Kairos now seeks a strategic and experienced Finance & Impact Lead to join our Senior Leadership Team and drive the financial health and demonstrable impact of our charity.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will be the custodian of our financial strategy, compliance, and data integrity. The role involves leading the annual budgeting and forecasting cycles, managing all financial operations—including statutory accounts and audit—and ensuring strong financial controls. A key component is translating complex financial and performance data into clear, compelling impact reports for funders, trustees, and senior leadership.

If you are driven by both financial excellence and purpose-led impact, we encourage you to apply.

*Due to the nature of our work, this post is restricted to female applicants only under Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010.  An enhanced DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) disclosure will be required for this role. 

To apply, please complete an application form or if you prefer send your CV with a cover letter setting out how you meet our role requirements.

We're keen to interview great candidates as soon as possible. Interviews may be held as applications come in, and we reserve the right to close the advert early, so please don't wait - apply now! 

We’re recruiting an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to work with Platform Places and Footwork over the next 10 months – to develop our bold narratives and inspiring content that help drive locally-led neighbourhood transformation.

• Target start date: 11th May 2026 
• Time input: 3 days per week (0.6 full-time equivalent), with flexibility for up to 4 days per week in certain busy periods, by mutual agreement
• Remuneration: £55,000-£61,500 per year (pro rata) depending on experience
• Flexible working: Work hours can be flexible as long as role objectives are met
• Location: Hybrid, remote or in-person (option to work from our London office). Monthly in-person team days in London, plus occasional trips to partners in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and London and learning gatherings (expenses covered). 
• Contract type: PAYE employment contract. 10 months fixed term.
• Eligibility: Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

About us

In 2025, Platform Places integrated with Footwork Trust, becoming what we call ‘civic partners’. Together we facilitate locally-led neighbourhood transformation – so people have the power to live affordably, sustainably and together. 

About Platform Places

Platform Places is a national cross-sector collaboration and not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock town centre buildings for amazing ideas that help us live affordably, sustainably and together. We convene councils, community leaders and asset owners around the country to build powerful partnerships, to unlock buildings for local benefit. We support these Partnerships with access to funding, technical expertise and networks.

Our deeper intention is to localise and democratise who owns, controls and transforms town centre and neighbourhood buildings, so that communities can:

• design spaces to meet local needs – whether affordable space for arts, music, healthcare, local food, housing, nature connection, reuse & repair, childcare etc
• retain and reinvest the wealth generated by these buildings.

We’re inspired by pioneers like Hastings Commons, Stour Trust, SAFE Regen, Civic Square, Nudge Community Builders, Makespace Oxford and other members of the Mycelial Network.

About Footwork Trust 

Footwork (UK charity Footwork Trust) supports local people to transform their neighbourhoods for the better and builds alliances to make this possible.

Since 2022, Footwork’s ‘People and Place’ programme has supported over 50 community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change, in response to a local social or environmental challenge. Often reviving land and buildings for community use, they are part of a growing force for fairer, locally-led regeneration, making the places they call home more resilient and equitable. 

Through national and local events, Footwork creates spaces for peer support and shared learning, showcases inspiring examples, and convenes built environment practitioners to enable true collaboration with community partners. 

Together, Footwork and Platform Places co-facilitate the Mycelial Network for Community Asset Developers.

About the Local Property Partnerships pilot, 2024-2027

Thanks to National Lottery players, Platform Places and partners have received almost £2.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding is being used to enable communities to come together and secure long-term spaces for the activities and services that they need the most.

This fund and programme resources local leaders in neighbourhoods in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool City Region, Bristol and London – working towards shifting multiple buildings into long-term local ownership. We’re also supported by our national partner organisations Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and Social Investment Business. Our intention is that this work will lay the groundwork for a larger follow-on funding programme, which catalyses England-wide adoption of this approach.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to join our small team and network of local and national partners.

The Communications Lead will focus on our key programmes, with the below time distribution. The challenge and opportunity is to hit the ground running and drive communications across our key channels – to help attract allies, funding and support, and inspire replication of these approaches in neighbourhoods around England.

2 days per week, ‘Local Property Partnerships’: 

• You’ll lead on promoting, and sharing learnings from, Platform Places’ exciting pilot programme (funded by National Lottery Community Fund) – which is localising and democratising who owns, controls and transforms town centre buildings in five neighbourhoods across England. 

0.75 days per week, ‘People and Place’: 

• You’ll promote, and share learnings from, Footwork Trust’s ‘People and Place’ programme – which supports community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change for their place. 

0.25 days per week, Wider movement building: 

• You’ll work on ad hoc broader communications opportunities that support our mission and the programmes – for example, creating a content piece with local or national partners from our wider network, or pitching a media story that cuts across all our programmes.

This involves the following areas of responsibility: 

1. Build on our working communications strategy
2. Work with co-directors to develop our bold, inspiring core messaging, and update our boilerplate narratives
3. Manage digital channels for Platform Places and Footwork: a) plan and create regular social media content; b) write newsletters (approx. quarterly); c) upload and edit website content, on Squarespace (drag-and-drop editor) and occasionally Wix (guidance available).
4. Strategic media relations: build journalist relationships and pitch stories (local or national), op-eds and comments
5. Work with local and national partners to share inspiring and compelling stories
6. Develop practical how-tos and templates, together with partners (you'll have support initiating partner relationships)
7. Provide comms guidance to local programme partners
8. Support co-directors and partners with speaking engagements and event opportunities

You’ll start from a strong foundation of communications activities, along with our established tone, visual identity and branded templates – with lots of freedom for new ideas. 

About you

• You’re as comfortable with creative storytelling as you are with practical resources
• You’re a campaigner for systems change – experienced in attracting allies and creating communications for diverse audiences
• You make it sing – you turn dense or complicated materials into clear and effective narratives to shift opinion and action
• You’re a collaborator – you can effectively hold relationships with local and national partners to plan and deliver coordinated communications 
• You can ‘wear all the hats’: you get stuck in on strategy and roll up your sleeves on delivery; you know when to pitch to media and when the tactic is digital; you can knock up great copy or quick Canva graphics without aiming for perfection
• You’re efficient and resourceful, comfortable leading on comms in a small (and collaborative) team, and know how to make things happen on a small budget (and when to seek external specialists)
• You’re passionate about community-led places and social and environmental justice – and you’re knowledgeable about at least one of: high streets, property, retrofit, community business, heritage buildings, cultural venues, town planning, neighbourhood governance

We know you likely have a particular comms specialism, with more strengths and experience in some areas than others. We’d love to hear about this, and about your approach to getting stuck into the rest. 

Our team & culture 

You’ll be joining our small, agile team of six people across Platform Places and Footwork. We meet in-person on a monthly basis to have lunch together and plan ahead, and have weekly online huddles to check-in and discuss priorities.

We work flexibly around our needs, whether a caring responsibility or otherwise.

Our culture is driven by our values: generous sharing, diverse perspectives, active listening and curiosity, staying networked and joy.