Witton Lodge Community Association is looking for an experienced Employment & Skills Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership across our employment and skills portfolio. You will lead a team delivering externally funded programmes and ensure residents, particularly young people and people facing barriers to work, receive high-quality support that leads to positive and sustainable outcomes.

This is a key management role with responsibility for programme mobilisation, contract performance, budgets, quality, compliance, partnerships and continuous improvement. You will work closely with employers, commissioners, Job Centre Plus, education and training providers and community partners to strengthen local pathways into education, training and employment.

· Lead the design, mobilisation, delivery and improvement of employment and skills programmes.

· Manage contracts, budgets, delivery plans, outputs, outcomes, evidence and commissioner reporting.

· Lead and develop the Employment & Skills Team, setting clear objectives, caseload expectations and performance standards.

· Oversee participant journeys, referral pathways, employer engagement and progression into education, training and sustainable employment.

· Manage delivery partners and maintain strong quality, compliance and audit-readiness arrangements.

· Develop relationships with employers and training providers to create vacancies, work experience, apprenticeships and sector pathways.

· Use performance data, participant feedback and labour-market intelligence to improve services and respond to local need.

We are looking for someone who can combine strong leadership with practical delivery. You will have:

· Substantial experience of leading employment and skills programmes with demonstrable results.

· Experience of managing externally funded contracts, budgets, performance, risk and compliance.

· A strong understanding of employment and skills policy, labour-market need and the barriers affecting disadvantaged communities.

· Experience of leading staff and performance-managing partners or suppliers.

· Strong partnership, communication, influencing and programme-management skills.

· A commitment to equality, safeguarding, community-led working and high-quality services.

Please submit a CV and Supporting Statement by email to Gareth.Moore@wittonlodge.org.uk or apply through our website. For an informal discussion about the role, contact Waheed Saleem, Head of Programmes and Partnerships on 0121 382 1930.