Service Manager

Autism; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Annual leave 33 days

Training & induction

Staff discounts

Healthcare

Life assurance

Flexible benefits

Employee assistance programme

Mindfulness resources

Blue Light Card

Job summary

The National Autistic Society is recruiting a Service Manager for Cardiff Autism Centre. Join a dedicated team delivering personalised services to autistic adults and support independent living, education, work and social opportunities.

You will lead operations, drive service excellence and staff performance while aligning with organisational priorities. A full-time, 35-hour week role based in Cardiff offers a comprehensive benefits package and safeguarding duties.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Resilience under pressure and ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Ideally hold a QCF Level 5 or equivalent, or be willing to work towards this qualification.

Responsibilities

• Prepare services for inspection readiness and contribute to service redesign and transformation.
• Lead safeguarding and risk management processes.
• Lead and develop staff through regular supervisions, appraisals, coaching and mentoring.
• Manage recruitment, onboarding and retention strategies to build resilient teams.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Adaptability

Resilience

Education

QCF Level 5 or equivalent

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Cardiff

Job Reference nationalautisticsociety/TP/1644/648

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Permanent - Full Time

£35,000 per annum

Working Hours:

35

Location:

Cardiff

Closing Date:

18/11/2026

Job Introduction

The National Autistic Society is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and adults who use our services. Successful applicants will be required to complete the relevant safeguarding checks.

Join Us as a Service Manager

The National Autistic Society helps create a world that works for autistic people, and we have a rewarding opportunity for a Service Manager at Cardiff Autism Centre. If you share our values and want to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Service

Our Cardiff Autism Centre (including Ty Ddraig, Ty Yfory and Ty Mor) provides a range of quality, personalised support for autistic adults offering a wide variety of opportunities. The centre is a move-on service providing educational, work and social opportunities to build on attained independence and skill levels.

About the Role

A fantastic role that is responsible for driving operational excellence in the delivery of services, and employee performance. The Service Manager will support continuous improvement and contributes to service development through reflective practice and innovation, in alignment with organisational priorities.

What You’ll Do

• Prepare services for inspection readiness & contribute to service redesign and transformation.
• Lead safeguarding and risk management processes.
• Lead & develop staff through regular supervisions, appraisals, coaching & mentoring.
• Manage recruitment, onboarding and retention strategies to build resilient teams.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong leadership and people management skills witha track recordof developing teams.
• Ideally hold a QCF Level 5 or equivalent, or be willing to work towards this qualification.
• Resilience under pressure and ability to adapt to changing priorities.

This advert is for a full-time position at 35 Hours per week.

What we can offer you

• Pension – Auto-enrolled pension scheme.
• Annual Leave – 33 days (including public holidays). You can buy or sell leave each year.
• Training – Great induction and training, including autism training.
• Discounts – Online staff discount scheme for shopping, cycling, tech, and more (e.g., Asda, Tesco, Nike, Apple).
• Healthcare – Cash plan for permanent staff.
• Life Assurance – 2x your base salary.
• Flexible Benefits – Options like private health, dental insurance, holiday trading, enhanced pension.
• Support – 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme and counselling.
• Mindfulness – Free Headspace app for you and up to 3 family/friends.
• Blue Light Card – Eligibility for discounts.

About our application process

When you write your supporting statement:

• Look at the job description and person specification.
• Tell us how your skills and experience match the role.

We might close this job advert early if we get lots of suitable applications.

To protect our autistic adults at the National Autistic Society, all staff are required to have a criminal background check. Possession of an Enhanced DBS Check either on the Update Service or conducted within the last 12 months would be preferable but not essential.

Applications for this job are sought from anyone who is suitably qualified and experienced for the role but particularly welcome from autistic people.

We are an equal opportunities employer and part of the Disability Confident Employer scheme.

Agencies need not apply.

Please note the National Autistic Society are unable to provide sponsorship for Visas.

The National Autistic Society may use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist our recruitment team with reviewing applications for this role. All application decisions are made by people and are not determined automatically by AI.