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Director of Families and Young People
Chief Executive
3 Project Managers as direct reports and overseeing
a total team of around 10 staff members
Marylebone, Central London
12 months fixed-term contract in first instance
Full-time, 37.5 hours per week (5 days)
Up to £50,000 dependant on experience
This post will be subject to an Enhanced CRB Disclosure Check.
Background
Vital Regeneration is an award-winning charity based in Westminster
with a mission to bring about positive change for people living in
London’s most deprived neighbourhoods.
We seek to address poverty and deprivation through developing and delivering
effective, long-lasting solutions to social, environmental and economic
disadvantage, in partnership with local communities.
Through our work, we aim to:
-
Ensure those who are most disadvantaged have access to learning and
employment opportunities to develop their full potential
-
Be the ‘community anchor’ that supports people in local communities to work
together to be their own ‘agents for change’
-
Engage disadvantaged communities to participate in decisions that affect
them
-
Be an authoritative voice on social and economic regeneration
Founded as a charity in 2005, Vital Regeneration has grown rapidly from turnover
of £450,000 to £1.7m, with the staff team increasing from 8 to 30. Today we
reach more than 3,000 people each year who access our learning, employment
and community enterprise programmes. We are a dynamic, innovative
organisation, committed to working collaboratively. The charity has a reputation
for quality and responsiveness.
The organisation’s key sources of revenue are statutory contracts, commissions
and grants (both local and central), grants from Trusts and Foundations and
corporate sponsorship. In the past 12 months we have successfully secured new
contracts with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the Work
Programme and the Families Programme, totalling c.£3.5m. We want to build on
this success and are looking to grow our impact and, in turn, income from across
key commissioning agencies.
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Our recent successful bid to the DWP to deliver the Families Programme in the
City of Westminster was made with Reed in Partnership. The Families Programme
is a national programme funded by the European Social Fund and co-financed by
the DWP. It aims to reduce the cycle of poverty and inter-generational
worklessness and support clients to move closer to, and remain in, sustained
employment, as well as reducing the number of families with multiple problems.
Through this programme we will be supporting 900 individuals and their families
in Westminster over the next 4 years. Leadership of this programme will be a
key priority for the Director of Families and Young People.
Purpose of role and what we are looking for
The Director of Families and Young People is a senior role at Vital Regeneration,
reporting directly to the Chief Executive. The post holder will be a member of the
Senior Management Team and, as such, will be expected to play a full part in the
wider corporate life of the charity. Business acumen is key to success in this role,
in both leading the charity’s Families and Young People division, and contributing,
as a member of the Executive, to the charity’s overarching strategy and forward
plans.
The purpose of the role is to provide visible, empowering and effective leadership
in the delivery of programmes in the Families and Young People Division. The
high-profile portfolio of programmes includes well-established Youth Learning
programmes (Create+ and FreqOUT!) and the new DWP ESF Families Programme
which is currently in a mobilisation phase. Experience of designing and
developing ambitious services and of rapidly setting up projects in partnership
with other stakeholders is critical to success in this role. Excellent communication
skills are essential; you will be a credible motivator of delivery excellence. Also
essential is the ability to build strong relationships and to establish credibility
quickly, both internally and externally.
This is a challenging, hands-on role in an ambitious organisation aiming to
increase its scale and impact and capitalise on its already strong reputation for
delivering high quality services that make a difference in some of London’s most
challenging and disadvantaged communities. The successful candidate will be an
energetic and enthusiastic individual who strives for consistently high
performance and is always looking for ways to further improve the delivery and
performance of the programmes in his/her portfolio. He/she will not feel
constrained by divisional boundaries and will always be alert to the potential for
synergies with programmes elsewhere in the organisation (and the wider
community) and how those synergies can best be harnessed for maximum
impact.
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Duties and Responsibilities
Contributing to the Senior Management Team
 As part of the Senior Management Team, contribute to the forward strategy
and planning of Vital Regeneration.

Keep abreast of developments, trends, legislation and best practices which are
likely to impact upon the workings of the charity, particularly in relation to
services for vulnerable families and young people. Translate these into
recommendations for changes to policy and practices within the charity.

Ensure that the Board of Trustees, Chief Executive, Senior Management Team
and others as necessary receive relevant performance and other reports on
Families and Young People’s programmes and appropriate advice as required.

Lead the production of the charity’s annual Self Assessment Report and
Quality Improvement Plan.

Ensure that programmes are actively developed in response to needs
evidenced within the communities where we work; and with an informed
awareness of the external funding landscape.

As part of the Senior Management Team, contribute to the implementation,
supervision, review and development of management policies and practices.

Ensure effective two-way flow of internal communications, enabling the
charity’s strategies and plans to be well understood and supported throughout
the charity.
Operations Management
 Drive forward Vital Regeneration’s ambition to increase its reach and impact in
the delivery of Families and Young People’s Services across Westminster and
neighbouring London Boroughs.

Oversee all operations and contract management relating to Families and
Young People’s contracts (currently the Families Programme, Create+ and
FreqOUT!); these are funded through a diverse mix of statutory contracts,
grants from trusts and foundations, philanthropic investment and corporate
support.

Ensure that fit for purpose operational models are in place for all programmes
within the Families and Young People’s division and that they are regularly
reviewed and refined as necessary in order to deliver at defined quality levels.

Support Programme and Project Managers to devise effective beneficiary
recruitment and engagement strategies.
Contract and Performance Management
 Ensure that all contractual and other performance targets are met,
implementing remedial action where necessary, and that all performance
reports are completed in a timely manner. Devise appropriate contract and
delivery KPIs for reporting purposes. Take corrective action where needed
and actively identify ways in which performance can be further optimised.
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
Monitor the quality of the charity’s organisation-wide performance dashboard.
Support staff to maximise the quality of information monitored via the
dashboard.
Team Leadership
 Provide clear and effective leadership to the Families and Young People
division of around 10 members of staff (presently). Lead by example and
ensure all staff are supported, motivated and achieving high performance on
current contracts and into the future.

Enable staff to deliver the highest possible standard of service through the
recruitment, induction, management and ongoing development of all staff,
including through regular review meetings, appraisals, and by providing
appropriate training and development opportunities.

Enable and inspire the effective involvement of volunteers in the work of the
Families and Young People division; ensure the charity’s good practices for
volunteer recruitment and management are implemented effectively.

Ensure all HR policies and procedures are implemented consistently and to
effect within the division. Manage employee relations matters, ensuring that
the charity’s policies are adhered to, and all issues are dealt with in a timely
and consistent manner, including managing sickness absence, change
management, recruitment and retention.
Relationship Management
 Build strong relationships with key stakeholders and partner agencies.
Develop and nurture partnerships to enable the effective delivery of our
strategy.

Act as an Ambassador for Vital Regeneration, both in respect of the Families
and Young People’s programmes and the organisation as a whole; represent
the charity externally including external events, conferences as appropriate.

Join relevant external bodies, working groups and forums to understand the
Families and Young People landscape more fully and to be a conduit of
information and learning between Vital Regeneration and these external
bodies.

Develop strong, positive links with the Department for Work and Pensions,
Department for Education, Westminster City Council, local colleges, voluntary
and community providers and other key stakeholders.
Organisation Development

Ensure that the synergies between programmes within the Families and Young
People division and programmes in other divisions are fully identified and
leveraged to maximise the impact Vital Regeneration can deliver.

Be a champion for Child Protection and Safeguarding issues within Vital
Regeneration, including being a Designated Safeguarding Officer and an initial
point of contact for staff, volunteers and others, should a safeguarding
incident or disclosure arise in the organisation.

Lead on the implementation and development of Vital Regeneration’s policy
and procedures on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
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Financial Management


Be the accountable senior manager for the Families and Young People’s
budget; agree, manage and monitor the division’s annual budget of c £500k
per annum.
Ensure all Families and Young People’s activities are delivered on time and
within budget, devising relevant KPIs and taking appropriate corrective action
where necessary.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities. From
time to time you will be requested to carry out other tasks in addition to the
above that are commensurate with the role.
Skills/Competencies/Experience
The person appointed needs to have an in-depth knowledge of the environment in
which Vital Regeneration operates and the external factors that influence our
work and strategy. He/she should have broad and deep experience of the skills
sector and previous experience of working with families with complex needs,
unemployed and vulnerable people
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following to a high
standard:
Decision-making and strategy
Experience in developing and implementing business strategies and plans and in
translating requirements into managerial action.
Ability to think strategically as well as tactically.
Ability to understand and interpret the Government’s overall policy agenda as it
relates to Vital Regeneration’s mission and its impact on the employability and
skills sectors.
Creative: able to think laterally about issues/challenges.
The confidence to take critical decisions even when faced with difficult situations
or challenges.
An ability to systematically design, improve and manage key processes to
enhance performance and achieve organisational objectives
Strong financial skills: comfortable producing and managing budgets and handling
financial data.
Delivery
Excellent planning and time and project management skills: able to produce and
deliver against SMART business and project plans.
Previous successful experience in focusing on results.
Previous successful experience of contract negotiation and management.
An ability to get up to speed quickly on new issues and to make sound
judgements on them.
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Competent in using MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), Internet and databases.
Change, communication and influence
Exceptional communication skills; both written and spoken.
Comfortable with change: able to make a compelling case when change is
required and to lead and support others through a period of change.
An ability to break down silos and boundaries that constrain effective working.
Presentation skills: enthusiastic and confident presenting to and persuading
significant stakeholders and diverse audiences and the ability to mobilise support
internally and externally.
An ability to identify and anticipate situations where others need to be influenced.
People Management, Teamwork and Partnering
Experience of managing effectively at a senior level in a multi-disciplinary
environment.
Strong people skills: leading by example and able to manage, motivate, develop
and support a small team to achieve high performance.
An ability to inspire confidence and create trust. Quickly establishes credibility.
Experience of agreeing clear targets and expectations with others, effectively
communicating these and creating opportunities for people to realise their
potential.
Team working: committed to working collaboratively with colleagues across the
organisation and respecting their views/input. An ability to encourage high levels
of co-operation within a team and across teams.
Partnership working: an ability to work effectively and credibly with a range of
external stakeholders and to actively encourage partnership working with external
organisations to mutual benefit.
Experience of being an effective member of an organisation’s senior team and of
contributing to, and implementing, management policies and procedures and
operational infrastructure.
Self-management
A self-starter, motivated and confident, always acting with integrity and in the
best interests of the organisation.
An ability to plan own workload effectively and to delegate appropriately.
A flexible approach to the role. Resilient in the face of changing demands and
able to cope under pressure.
Ability to demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities in practice.
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Terms and Conditions and Staff Benefits

12 month fixed-term contract in first instance

Full time, 37.5 hours per week (5 days)

Office hours are as standard 9.00 am – 5.30pm Monday - Friday, although
flexibility will be required to attend out of hours events and meetings.

Annual leave allowance is 25 days per year plus statutory public holidays.

Season ticket loan scheme

Stakeholder pension scheme

Life assurance scheme

Employee Assistance Programme (BUPA)

Childcare voucher scheme
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