Weekend support worker jobs in Birmingham

Guide a skilled team providing one-to-one Navigator support to kinship carers. You will set the standard for high-quality practice and ensure kinship families feel supported, understood and connected.

Kinship is undertaking a major feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of Kinship Connected. This is aligned with recommendations set out in the Kinship Care Practice Guide published by Foundations (2024) and builds on evidence from the Kinship Navigator intervention of support for kinship carers in the USA. 

This feasibility RCT is a complex, multi-partner programme involving: 

• An active funding partner 
• An independent evaluation team 
• 5 participating local authorities (to be confirmed) 
• Internal delivery teams and cross organisational services 
• Kinship carers and lived experience subject experts

This role leads and supports the staff team delivering one-to-one navigator-style support to kinship carers as part of the Kinship Connected feasibility randomised controlled trial. You will ensure the team provides consistent, high quality, relational support that reflects Kinship’s values and trauma-informed practice. 

You will work closely with the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager and will share responsibility for ensuring high quality performance across the feasibility trial. You will both work closely with the core project team and partners. 

The Programmes Manager leads practice quality, staff development, safeguarding and relational delivery. The Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager leads operational quality, systems, processes, data and compliance. Together you make sure the trial is delivered ethically, consistently and to a very high standard.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the day-to-day practice and relational delivery of the Kinship Connected (Navigator) support model.

• Support Kinship Family Workers to deliver high quality, trauma-informed and strengths-based support to kinship carers.

• Ensure clear case management, boundaries, risk management and reflective practice.

• Embed the delivery approach set out in the Intervention Protocol and Kinship Navigator Service Manual.

• Ensure equity, accessibility and inclusion in all aspects of delivery, with particular focus on minoritised ethnic kinship families. 

• Maintain delivery tracking and operational dashboards.

• Provide high quality line management, reflective supervision and pastoral support to Kinship Family Workers

Essential knowledge and experience includes:

• Strong experience leading frontline delivery teams providing emotional, relational or social care support.

• Proven track record ensuring high quality casework, assessments, boundaries and risk management.

• Experience delivering strengths-based, trauma-informed and evidence-informed approaches.

• Substantial experience in line managing practitioners, delivering reflective supervision and supporting wellbeing.

• Experience leading high performing dispersed teams with confidence, consistency and compassion.

• Experience managing change and supporting staff through shifting delivery requirements.

• Strong background in safeguarding decision making, case discussions and organisational safeguarding culture. 

What we’ll offer you 

Kinship offers 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time). We have an excellent wellbeing offer including the Employee Assistance Programme and clinical supervision. We will invest in your professional development with training and career development opportunities.

Kinship is committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.  We believe our work is greatly enhanced by the varied backgrounds, experiences and views represented within our teams.  We aim to create inclusive teams, celebrate differences and encourage everyone to join us and be their true self at work. We therefore encourage applications from anyone who fits our values, whatever their religion or belief, sex, gender identity, race, age, sexuality or disability and are actively seeking candidates that can bring real innovation and commitment to us.

Key dates:

Application deadline:  11.59pm, Sunday 4 January 2026

First interview: Friday 9 January 2026 (online)

Second interview:Wednesday 14 January 2026 (in-person, London)

How to apply

Respond on CharityJobs to these 5 questions, along with your CV:

1. What is it about Kinship’s mission and values that motivates you to lead the delivery of relational support for kinship carers, and how would these values shape your approach as a Programmes Manager?

2. Describe a time you led or supported a team delivering emotional or relational support. How did you ensure consistent, high-quality practice?

3. Give an example of how you have developed or supported practitioners through reflective supervision, coaching or managing difficult practice situations. What approach did you take and why?

4. Describe a situation where you had to make or support a safeguarding decision. How did you balance risk, judgement and support for staff?

5. Tell us about a time you worked with a local authority, commissioner or another external partner to resolve a challenge or improve delivery. What did you do?

We are looking to fill this role quickly and reserve the right to close a recruitment campaign earlier than the advertised where we have received sufficient applications so please apply early! 

We are looking to recruit HOPELINE247 Advisers to provide individually tailored suicide prevention advice and guidance to young people and those who are concerned for them via our national multi-channel helpline HOPELINE247 and deliver suicide prevention training online and in community settings across the UK.

What you will do:

• Work as part of a team providing suicide prevention support to a range of clients via multichannel communication platforms. 
• Work on a 7-day shift system
• Use professional judgement to assess the needs of the service users who present with risk to life and manage and report any matters related to safeguarding.
• Maintain accurate records and input data monitoring into the data base system.
• Participate in clinical supervision and reflective practise. 
• Provide training, mentoring and coaching to new recruits.

To be successful in this role you will have:

• a degree or professional qualification in Health or Social Care, Community Work or a related discipline
• previous experience of working in an advisory capacity in suicide prevention or mental health
• a proven record of working directly with vulnerable young people 
• experience of providing advice and guidance via multiple communication channels
• the ability to empathise, support and build rapport with suicidal people and those who care about them, remaining non-judgemental and adhering to the remit of the service

Salary: £16,230.50 per annum progressing incrementally to £17,944.67 per annum. (Scale point 24-28). As a night shift worker, you will receive an additional allowance of £10 per night shift. This will be paid on a monthly basis along with the salary.

Hours:  16.5 hours per week – 2 nights per week.

Working arrangements:  This role will work shifts starting at 10:25pm and finishing at 7:40am. Shifts will be on a rota bases across a 7-day working week.   

Location: Edgbaston, Birmingham

Contract: Permanent 

Benefits: You will receive 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time workers), an attractive pension scheme, Simply Health membership and enhanced sick pay. Please visit our website for more details.

Closing date: Midnight 18th January 2026 

We reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier if we receive sufficient applications so, please submit your application as soon as possible.

PAPYRUS is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment, and its recruitment policies are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

PAPYRUS is committed to safeguarding all children, young people and adults at risk that interact with the organisation. The organisation recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of these vulnerable groups by a commitment to procedures to protect them. The charity expects all staff and volunteers to fully support and promote these commitments.

We are looking for a dynamic, values-led, strategic leader to drive our mission for migration justice and social work solidarity. The role entails oversight of the operations and strategy of the organisation, responsibility for financial management and fundraising, maintaining the health of the organisation and embedding anti-racist and anti-opressive values into every aspect of the organisation. 

Help launch and run a nationally significant trial that could shape the future of kinship support. This role turns complex plans into reality and makes high-quality delivery happen.

Kinship is undertaking a major feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of Kinship Connected. This is aligned with recommendations set out in the Kinship Care Practice Guide published by Foundations (2024) and builds on evidence from the Kinship Navigator intervention of support for kinship carers in the USA. 

This feasibility RCT is a complex, multi-partner programme involving: 

• An active funding partner 
• An independent evaluation team 
• 5 participating local authorities (to be confirmed) 
• Internal delivery teams and cross organisational services 
• Kinship carers and lived experience subject experts

The Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager is the operational engine of the programme, ensuring that every workstream is scoped, resourced, sequenced, delivered and evidenced, and that Kinship is trial-ready, compliant, and well-coordinated through set-up and delivery.

This role needs someone who is an excellent communicator, highly organised, unflappable, curious, and able to sit comfortably in the detail. The successful person will keep a firm grip on timelines, dependencies and risks.

You will manage a Programmes Officer as well as the set-up, processes, documentation, reporting, trial readiness, communications and cross-team coordination. You will work closely with the Programmes Manager who will share responsibility for ensuring high quality performance across the feasibility trial. You will both work closely with the core project team and partners.

You will lead operational quality, systems, processes, data, and compliance. The Programmes Manager will lead practice quality, staff development and supervision, safeguarding and relational delivery. Together you make sure the trial is delivered ethically, consistently and to a very high standard. 

Key responsibilities include:

• ​Lead the mobilisation plan across all workstreams and ensure trial readiness.
• Develop all processes, documentation and operational frameworks in line with the intervention protocol.
• Coordinate local authority onboarding, staff training and internal operational setup with the Programmes Manager.
• Work with internal Kinship teams to ensure everyone has clear expectations and is held to account for their performance during mobilisation and delivery – owning the workstreams.

• Ensure weekly pipeline monitoring for treatment and control recruitment.

• Work with the Programmes Manager and Kinship Family Workers to strengthen referral and screening processes where appropriate.

• Identify recruitment risks early and drive rapid problem-solving. 

• Maintain delivery tracking and operational dashboards.

• Identify throughput or workload risks and support adjustments. 

• Lead operational quality assurance (QA) including data quality checks, file audits and process compliance. 

• Coordinate data collection, monitoring and data quality for evaluator requirements (both treatment and control).

Essential knowledge and experience includes:

• Project Management Qualification or commensurate experience.

• Significant experience managing complex projects or programmes with multiple partners and tight delivery requirements.

• Proven experience designing and maintaining structured workflows, operational systems and project plans in fast-paced environments.

• Experience coordinating across multidisciplinary teams without direct line management responsibility.

• Strong background in quality assurance, process improvement and operational risk management.

• Experience translating evaluation, compliance or regulatory requirements into practical delivery processes.

• Experience developing and maintaining documentation, SOPs, manuals and operational toolkits.

• Experience working with data for monitoring, decision making and evaluation readiness.

• Proven ability to ensure data quality, consistency and audit readiness.

What we’ll offer you 

Kinship offers 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time). We have an excellent wellbeing offer including the Employee Assistance Programme and clinical supervision. We will invest in your professional development with training and career development opportunities.

Kinship is committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.  We believe our work is greatly enhanced by the varied backgrounds, experiences and views represented within our teams.  We aim to create inclusive teams, celebrate differences and encourage everyone to join us and be their true self at work. We therefore encourage applications from anyone who fits our values, whatever their religion or belief, sex, gender identity, race, age, sexuality or disability and are actively seeking candidates that can bring real innovation and commitment to us.

Key dates:

Application deadline: 11.59pm, Sunday 4 January 2026

First interview: Thursday 8 January 2026 (online)

Second interview:Wednesday 14 January 2026 (in-person, London)

How to apply

Respond on CharityJobs to these 5 questions, along with your CV:

1. Kinship’s mission and values emphasise putting kinship families first, being bold, stepping up and working stronger together. What motivates you to apply for this role, and how would these values shape how you lead mobilisation and delivery?

2. Describe a time you managed a complex programme or project with multiple partners or workstreams. What approach did you take to keep delivery coordinated and on track?

3. Give an example of how you improved data quality, compliance or process consistency. What actions did you take and what was the outcome?

4. Tell us about a situation where you worked closely with colleagues delivering frontline or relational support to solve a delivery or operational challenge. What did you do to ensure alignment and shared ownership?

5. Describe a time you worked in a fast-changing or uncertain environment. How did you stay grounded, support others and keep delivery moving forward? 

We are looking to fill this role quickly and reserve the right to close a recruitment campaign earlier than the advertised where we have received sufficient applications so please apply early! 

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to save lives.

We train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease, providing life-saving alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems across the UK and collaborating with NHS Trusts and other researchers and Universities both in the UK and internationally to advance the early diagnosis of disease.  

We have an exciting new opportunity to join this innovative charity that is a world-leader in its specialist field.

JOB TITLE:Regional Assistance Dog Instructor Scotland

LOCATION:Scotland (Central belt, between Glasgow and Edinburgh)

SALARY:£24K - £29K per annum, depending on experience

JOB TYPE:                         Part time and full time hours considered, with occasional evening and weekend work required

REPORTS TO:                   Instructor Manager

The Job

We are looking for a passionate and driven person who ideally has previous experience and skills working as an Instructor within an Assistance Dog organisation, who has worked with clients and partnerships. The role includes supporting both clients who have had a MDD dog placed with them and also our own dog applicants with their puppies and young dogs to ensure they receive the highest standard of socialisation and early training in terms of obedience, public access and developing an alert to the applicant’s condition, with the aim to reach an accreditable assistance dog partnership status. It is also will include carrying out client specific and odour training for MDD own dogs, placing these dogs with their new clients and looking after a number of established partnerships. This role would suit somebody residing in the central belt of Scotland, between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Duties that encompass the role of an Instructor include:

• Be the first point of contact for the allocated partnerships in your area, covering all areas of Scotland. To provide guidance and instruction to applicants who have applied to the charity to have their own dogs considered for the training programme guidance and instruction on handling, behaviour and obedience and odour training as well as newly placed partnerships.
• Alongside the Instructing team, to run puppy classes, public access training, recall sessions in small groups for applicant own dogs that are in line with the charity’s quality standards and in accordance with timescales and targets. 
• To also carry out support visits and home interviews for applicants and clients that have been allocated to you.  
• Regularly monitor progress of the puppies and partnerships in training in your area and provide detailed, evidenced feedback to Instructor Manager and Head of Assistance Dog Programme.
• To carry out client specific training with any MDD owned dogs that have been matched, including the required odour scent training.
• Instructing, guiding and supporting new assistance dog clients in managing and handling a Medical Alert Assistance Dog effectively, via pre training, placement training and aftercare visits.
• Supporting partnerships in training in successfully reaching an accreditation standard and in maintaining this
• standard throughout the life of the partnership.
• To support a number of established partnerships in the form of aftercare, refresher training and yearly re-accreditations, assisting further afield on occasions as required.

Responsibilities

• To escalate issues and problems to the Instructor Manager as appropriate.
• To assist the Dog Supply Team with carrying out scent assessments on any MDD dogs in socialising as and when required with the support of the Instructor Manager and rest of the Instructing Team.
• To plan, organise and deliver practical and theoretical training to clients, meeting their individual needs in line with agreed standards to include areas such as dog welfare, appropriate handling, commanding and overall management. This will involve working with the parents as Team Leader and child as Client and working with adult clients.
• Assess the team dynamics of the family & balancing the needs of all family members as well as those of the dog.
• Assess the individuals preferred learning style and amending as relevant to aid a client.
• To accompany the client into all regular environments that they will take the dog to, ensuring the dog behaves in an acceptable manner and that the client and others are aware and clear in terms of where they dog should reside and behave for eg public transport, place of work. To complete a check list of environments for any applicant own dogs in training who are on the programme to be assessed within.
• To support and advise clients in transferring the odour training from pot training and recognising alerting behaviours to establish real life alerting.
• To monitor the correct and false alerting percentages of allocated partnerships via data analysis, advising where necessary until the correct alerting levels are achieved.
• To complete comprehensive reports and paperwork for any time spent with applicants or partnerships in training or established. Maintain accurate records by providing verbal and written information with agreed timescales about clients, dogs, applicants and apprentices as appropriate.
• To work alongside allocated partnerships with the aim of the partnership reaching an accredited standard and feeding back to the Instructor Manager and Assistance Dog Programme Manager if there are any concerns that the accreditation cannot be achieved.
• To provide clients with appropriate aftercare services at regular intervals in their own homes in the form of annual visits, support visits or at refresher workshops run at the Centre to agreed standards.  This will include continual re-assessment of the dynamics of family and dog, formulating and training on appropriate solutions, as well as offering additional dog training advice.
• To deliver handling days as part of an applicant’s pre training to include ‘Introduction to Assistance Dog’ ‘Advanced Handling’ and Family Handling.
• To scent train and seizure proof advanced dogs in preparation to be partnered with an adult or child client and ensure that applicant own dogs have received this at the earliest opportunity.
• To maintain the ongoing public access training with any advanced dog in scent training that has been allocated to them.
• To provide local support to the growing puppy socialisation scheme, based in and around Perth.
• To provide support to the Charity’s public relations and fundraising functions as required, specifically in your area.
• To act as the ‘contact’ person for the assistance dog programme in relation to training policy procedures with clients and their families, other professional service providers and members of the public.  This will include on-going research and development of the project.
• To liaise with and provide support for Volunteers who may operate as part of the aftercare programme provided by the charity.
• To ensure all partnerships are in line with the ADUK regulations with regards to behaviour, obedience and welfare and branding.
• Due to the nature of the role, flexible working hours may be required in some instances to facilitate the effective delivery of the work e.g. working during the school holidays with school age clients.

Other

• Share best practice with colleagues across the charity.
• Any other duties or tasks that are required to ensure the successful running of the Medical Alert Assistance Dog Department and the Charity overall.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
• Experience of running puppy classes and carrying out public access training and recall sessions
• High level of self – motivation and planning
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
• Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required.
• Happy to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from your home to travel back.
• Happy and able to have Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home.
• Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
• Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
• Flexible

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Previous Assistance Dog Instructing or Dog Training with puppy socialisers experience
• Knowledge of AD(UK) and ADI regulations
• Law in relation to dogs. 
• Knowledge of medical conditions relevant to puppies between 8 weeks and 2 years of age. 
• Dog and human psychology. 
• Proven evidence and experience of dog handling and training skills
• Previous experience of teaching and instructing
• Sound dog training and dog behaviour knowledge
• IT literacy and report writing skills
• Experience of using Microsoft based programs such as Outlook, Word,
• Excel, Internet Explorer and Power Point, teams, zoom and Microsoft
• Share point for data etc
• Full UK driving licence
• Pass a DBS (CRB) check due to regular contact with children

Preferable

•  Knowledge of debilitating medical conditions and understanding of how they can impact people, both physically and psychologically, particularly when they are unstable and fluctuating.
•  Previous knowledge of odour/scent training.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
• High level of self – motivation and planning
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
• Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required – to include outside standard working hours.
• Able and willing to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from the Centre to travel back.
• If able, possibility of having Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home through the 6 – 8 week training phase.
• Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
• Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
• You should be supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team, as well as able to motivate yourself. 
• You should be adaptable and positively embrace change by not only being flexible towards the ideas of others but also putting forward ideas to colleagues. This will involve creativity in problem solving and making appropriate responses to new ideas and unexpected situations.
•  

DIVERITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION

We are a welcoming, diverse and inclusive charity. Medical Detection Dogs thrives when everyone feels comfortable bringing their best self to work. We celebrate difference, whilst striving to create an environment where colleagues feel respected and valued for their unique potential. We are committed to our values on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Values & Behaviours

Working at Medical Detection Dogs will be a richly rewarding experience.

Our Values & Behaviours encapsulate who we are, what we stand for and what it will feel like to be part of our team:

• We are respectful.
• We stay positive.
• We strive for excellence.
• We communicate and listen.
• We are ambassadors.
• We are one team.

And of course, we advocate for Medical Detection Dogs whenever we get the chance, and we pride ourselves on our role as ambassadors for the charity.

Finally, the successful candidate will also be expected to:

• Hold a full UK Driving Licence
• Provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK.
• Undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Work some evenings and weekends
• Be willing to travel to the Centre based near Milton Keynes