Support Services Manager

We are looking for an inspiring Support Services Manager to lead our supported housing schemes, ensuring high quality, person centred support for women and children across our services.

If you are passionate about transforming lives, improving service quality and leading dedicated teams we d love to hear from you.

About the Role

As Support Services Manager, you will:

Lead and develop high quality support services

• Provide operational leadership across supported housing schemes
• Ensure trauma informed, person centred support plans and risk assessments
• Monitor KPIs, contractual compliance and service performance
• Drive service improvement and co production with clients

Manage, motivate and develop staff

• Line manage Support Workers and Volunteers
• Ensure supervision, training and performance management
• Support recruitment and staff development across the region
• Build a strong, motivated and skilled team

Champion safeguarding & risk management

• Act as a safeguarding champion across supported housing
• Ensure robust risk assessments, incident reporting and GDPR compliant records
• Support staff to maintain the highest safeguarding standards

Ensure housing & compliance excellence

• Work closely with Estates teams to maintain safe, compliant accommodation
• Support quality improvements across physical properties and service delivery

Build impactful partnerships

• Liaise with local authorities, commissioners, health partners and referral agencies
• Represent Life at case conferences, multi agency meetings and contract reviews
• Identify and respond to new referral opportunities

Drive quality, governance & reporting

• Produce performance reports and maintain audit readiness
• Support strategic growth and contribute to the department s business plan
• Promote Life Charity within local communities and public forums

Manage budgets & resources

• Monitor expenditure and support resource planning
• Support with funding bids and service redesign
• Work with finance teams to ensure clients receive appropriate financial support

We d love to hear from you if you have:

Essential experience & skills

• Experience managing or delivering support and/or care services
• Understanding of supported housing and estates management
• Strong knowledge of support planning, risk assessment and safeguarding
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels
• Strong organisational, leadership and problem solving abilities
• Ability to work independently, handle pressure and prioritise workloads
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Full UK driving licence

Desirable

• Relevant housing qualification (e.g., CIH Level 4)
• Experience working in a charity environment
• Experience in troubleshooting or service improvement roles
• Good strategic awareness

About Life:

Life is a national pregnancy support charity that helps over 60,000 people a year. Through our services, we help people whoever they are to meet pregnancy or pregnancy loss with courage and dignity so they can flourish.

Our services include:

• Supported housing and community support
• Counselling and skilled listening
• Free pregnancy tests and baby supplies

Our values :

All our work is underpinned by the following universal human values:

• Humanity All people are special and equal
• Solidarity We re with you and for you
• Community We re better together
• Charity Doing good for one another
• Common good Building a better world

Information about the role:

For further information, please see the attached job description.

Salary: £34,000 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week over 5 days

Location: Home Based with Extensive Travel across the Midlands and South East England

Benefits:

At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:

• Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours)
• Birthday Leave (applicable after 1 years service)
• Additional annual leave for long term service
• Company Pension Scheme
• Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge

Safeguarding and Equality:

Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.