Vacancy

Employability Services Manager (REF 130)

Help more young people find work and shape successful futures.

Sport 4 Life UK is looking for an experienced and motivated Employability Services Manager to lead the delivery of our contracted employability services.

You’ll play a central role in ensuring young people receive high-quality mentoring, employment support and access to opportunities that help them progress into sustainable employment.

Working closely with our Operations Manager, you’ll oversee contract delivery and performance, support and develop colleagues, manage service resources and build effective relationships with employers, commissioners and delivery partners.

We’re looking for someone who combines strong operational management skills with a genuine commitment to changing young people’s lives. You’ll be confident managing targets, using performance data to drive improvements and creating a positive, accountable team culture.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience of managing employability, employment support or other relevant services.
• Strong people management and contract delivery skills.
• The ability to manage performance, budgets and competing priorities.
• A collaborative, solutions-focused approach and a commitment to positive outcomes for young people.

If you’re passionate about delivering high-quality services that make a meaningful difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Sport 4 Life UK is driven by a set of values that define our mission:

• All that we do is focused on CHANGING the LIVES of young people.
• We are a TEAM
• QUALITY runs through the core of the organisation
• We do not stand still – we are a PROGRESSIVE organisation

Ready to join our mission? Then here’s your chance to join us in shaping and supporting the next generation.

Person Specification

Essential

Experience

• Experience of managing employability, employment support, mentoring or other relevant services supporting people into positive employment outcomes.
• Experience of managing contracts or funded programmes, including performance targets, reporting requirements and delivery obligations.
• Experience of line managing staff, including supervision, performance management and professional development.
• Experience of working with employers, delivery partners, commissioners or other external stakeholders.
• Experience of using performance data and management information to monitor delivery and improve outcomes.
• Experience of managing competing priorities, operational challenges and deadlines within a service delivery environment.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of employability services, employment pathways and the barriers young people may face when accessing and sustaining employment.
• Strong organisational and contract management skills, with the ability to plan, prioritise and deliver against agreed objectives.
• Ability to analyse performance information, identify risks and implement effective improvements.
• Effective leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate, support and hold colleagues accountable.
• Strong communication and relationship management skills, with the ability to work effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Good understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection and quality assurance within a service delivery environment.
• Ability to manage budgets and resources effectively, working collaboratively with relevant colleagues.
• Good IT skills, including the ability to use case management systems, Microsoft Office and performance reporting tools.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of delivering government-funded or commissioned employment programmes.
• Experience of working with prime contractors, subcontractors or multi-partner delivery arrangements.
• Experience of managing employment programmes with outcome-based or performance-related funding.
• Experience of developing employer partnerships and supporting young people into paid employment or work placements.
• Experience of mobilising new contracts or developing new service delivery models.
• Relevant qualification in management, employability, youth work, careers guidance or a related discipline.

Ready to apply?

Thank you for showing an interest in this role with Sport 4 Life UK. To apply, please tell us a little more about you and your skills.

As a business centred around team culture, people are always at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the richness of ideas and power of each other’s differences, and we’re striving to be an organisation packed full of people that are truly representative of the world that we live in. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is more than a tick box.

We want to hire people, not statistics or stereotypes, who bring fresh ideas to our work and young people. For impartiality, our applications are divided into two sections. Both sections must be completed to successfully apply for this role.

• Part one: Questions about your experience and relevancy to the role – this excludes any personal information and is reviewed by the hiring manager.
• Part two: Contact information and legally required questions – this is reviewed by our HR team for legal reasons and is not disclosed to the hiring manager prior to the interview.