Programme Management Lead

We are looking for an experienced programme manager to lead the delivery of our Kinship Care Training and Support Service. This is a new programme which has been running for only a few months, so it’s a real chance to have an impact on the development of this national service.

The Kinship Care Training and Support Service includes an extensive range of workshops and other training events, tailored for kinship carers and delivered online and in-person; and new resources hosted on an enhanced online advice, information and support hub. The service is funded by the Department of Education, initially for another 8 months (up until the end of March 2025) and with the potential for extensions up until March 2027.

The role reports to our Chief Executive and works closely with members of the Executive Team, delivery partners and other stakeholders. As Programme Manager Lead, you will lead the planning, performance monitoring and reporting and work across the organisation to ensure all service elements are delivered on time and on budget.

This is a complex programme with a wide range of stakeholders and multiple elements, so we are looking for someone who is experienced in successfully leading and managing complex programmes, with excellent communication, relationship management and collaboration skills.

• leading the planning, performance monitoring and reporting across the organisation to ensure all service elements are delivered on time and on budget, including:
  • ensuring the construction, governance and delivery of robust project plans
  • creating a quality assurance framework, to ensure internal and external outcomes and outputs are met
  • monitoring and reporting on risks
  • setting up systems for collecting the key performance indicators identified and ensure these are monitored and reported on a monthly and quarterly basis (for Executive Team, Trustees and the Department for Education)
• working closely with the CEO, directors and service delivery teams to ensure the service is well-aligned with Kinship’s wider service offer, to maximise support for kinship families
• working closely with the CEO and directors to ensure appropriate delegation and assignment of tasks and management of dependencies to ensure all service elements are delivered
• promoting, supporting and role modelling a programme management approach across Kinship, supporting and working with the responsible delivery leads to:
  • define and document the scope and plans for individual projects/activities within the service
  • monitor progress and ensure key milestones are met
  • ensure successful delivery to budget and schedule
  • monitor risks and mitigating actions

• demonstrable experience of successfully managing delivery of a complex programme, including set up, service design, stakeholder engagement, service delivery, programme governance and evaluation
• experience of leading and managing programmes with multiple elements, across different departments and with a range of national and local partners
• knowledge and experience of methodologies for planning and monitoring performance, throughout the project lifecycle to ensure objectives are met, ideally with experience of using Asana
• strong leadership and communication skills, with track record of building strong relationships at senior level internally and externally to achieve service objectives and systems change
• excellent budget forecasting and management skills

• lived experience of kinship care
• experience of working within a charity/children’s social care/training environment would be an advantage