Participation Lead

Wigan Council; Wigan; Hybrid; GBP 53,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council in the UK seeks a dynamic leader to oversee the Participation Strategy across Children’s Services. The ideal candidate will have a degree in youth work or a related field and substantial experience in evaluating participation projects. Responsibilities include designing co-production frameworks and ensuring the voices of families are heard to improve services. This is an opportunity to make a real difference in the community with flexible working options and a commitment to diverse teams.

Benefits

Exclusive rewards and benefits

Flexible working patterns

Qualifications

• Experience designing, coordinating, and evaluating participation projects with children, young people, and families.
• Experience in Children’s Services or similar settings is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver the Participation Strategy across Children’s Services.
• Design and implement a co-production framework to enhance the Families First Partnership.
• Ensure transparent feedback mechanisms on service changes.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Communication

Collaboration

Evaluation of Participation Projects

Education

Degree or professional qualification in youth work, teaching, participation, or a related field

Job description

Overview

Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Wigan Life Centre South
College Avenue
Wigan
WN1 1NJ

Salary : Grade 12, £53,460 - £57,379 per annum.

37 hours per week

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough. We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Responsibilities

• You will lead and deliver the Participation Strategy across Children’s Services, championing the Lundy Model of Participation to ensure young people, parents, and carers meaningfully shape service delivery.
• Designing and implementing a co-production framework to enhance the Families First Partnership, mapping participation activity borough wide, coordinating campaigns, and avoiding duplication.
• Ensure transparent feedback mechanisms on service changes, embed inclusive practice across the workforce through training and supervision, and monitor the impact of participation in driving service improvement.
• Balance strategic planning with operational delivery to ensure the voices of families are heard, valued, and acted upon.

About you

• You’re a dynamic leader with a degree or professional qualification in youth work, teaching, participation, or a related field.
• You bring substantial experience designing, coordinating, and evaluating participation projects with children, young people, and families.
• You can manage projects confidently, set goals, and track progress. You are skilled in communication, inspiring trust with diverse audiences and supporting staff to embed participation principles.
• Experience in Children’s Services or similar settings is essential, as is a commitment to improving services through co-production.
• You’re adaptable, collaborative, and driven by a genuine passion to amplify family voices and enhance outcomes.

About us

Wigan Council has been voted ‘Overall Council of the Year’ at the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Awards. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or 'unbroken' between the supporting organisations.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

In our Quality Assurance and Practice Development Team every day is about making a real difference. You’ll work with a passionate, forward-thinking group that champions best practice, delivers high-quality training to empower our workforce, and ensures the voices of children and families shape everything we do.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits; click here to find out more about working for #TeamWigan.

To be appointed to this role you must be able to prove your right to work in the UK. Please visit the link below to check you qualify to apply. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Prove your right to work to an employer

Please contact Alison Hudson - Practice Lead for Family Safeguarding if you would like to have an informal discussion about the role [e-mail]

Interview

Priority Candidates Interview date : Thursday 22nd January 2026

Interview date : Friday 23rd January 2026

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Procedures plus Child and Adult barred list check

The employer is committed to safeguarding

To view the details relating to this position, please click the links below :